Plants for Dyes and Aromas
Without any source of commercial dyes it was necessary
for the medieval household
to find plants from which they could extract dyes for cloth, food, inks
and paints. Some colors extracted were blue from woad, red from madder,
and yellow from lady's bedstraw.Scents were also important, be they pleasing
or objectionable. Pleasing scents helped to mask odors created by poor personal
hygiene and close proximity to human and animal waste. Objectionable scents were
used to drive out vermin and snakes and to protect clothes from fleas and moths,
among other things.
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