"The word apothecary, in the Norman period of English history, designated anyone who kept a shop or store of such nonperishable commodities as spices, drugs, comfits and preserves. During the later Middle Ages the term was restricted to those who prepared and sold drugs. Not until the end of the 18^th century were the professions of apothecary and physician clearly distinguished." ~ Harold B. Gill, Jr., The Apothecary in Colonial Virginia

Imagine, for a moment, that you stand in front of your local pharmacy, ready to fill the prescription your doctor has advised. As you walk through the doors, expecting to be confronted with stark, fluorescent lights and endless aisles, you are instead facing a small, dimly-lit room. Behind the work counter a man employs a mortar and pestle, grinding the seeds and herbs that he has laid out before him. You hand him the prescription your doctor gave you and he quickly gets to work.

Prevalent throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, apothecaries were the pharmacists of the past. They originally dispensed herbal remedies that were prescribed by formally trained physicians. In later times, or in remote areas without ready access to doctors, they also diagnosed illnesses and prescribed a treatment plan for their patients.

Physicians would prescribe medication to their patients and the prescriptions would then be taken to the apothecary shops to be filled. In her book Medicine and Society in Later Medieval England author Carole Rawcliffe mentions the possible need for keeping the professions of Physician separated from the dispensing and sale of medicines: "Whether or not physicians themselves were reluctant to prepare and sell the remedies which they prescribed because commercial activities would have undermined their professional status, or simply because it made sense for some tradesmen to specialize as pharmacists in large urban communities, the business of supplying medical and restorative preparations was from quite early on undertaken by spicer-apothecaries."

Apothecary shops were often comprised of more than one room. The main display area of the shop contained shelves which were filled with jars of prepared medicines and herbs. Another room could be used for the actual preparation of specific formulas as prescribed by the doctors. There may also have been a patient consultation room in the larger apothecary shops where the apothecary or his apprentice would assist customers with the selection and purchase of their supplies. Many apothecaries would also have a large garden located on the premises for the growing of the more common medicinal herbs that were used in their practice.

While certain medicinal herbs could be grown by the average home owner in their household gardens for purposes of self-medication, many of the more exotic herbal wares could only be purchased through the local apothecary's shop. These herbs and spices which came from far away lands included ginger, galingal, saffron, cubebs, pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

The Guilds
Beginning in the early medieval period a variety of livery companies were formed in London. These livery companies, or guilds as they were also called, were responsible for the proper licensing and periodic policing of their members. Apothecaries originally belonged to the grocers guild. It wasn't until 1617 that they split off from the grocers to form their own guild concentrating on medicinal herbs and spices as opposed to the focus on culinary herbs and spices as dealt with by the grocers.

The grocers sold herbs, spices and other items direct to the consumer. They did not alter these items in any way. The apothecaries on the other hand would use the herbs and spices as the raw ingredients for a multitude of herbal preparations. These ingredients were distilled, brewed, pounded, ground etc. in order to make a variety of pills, syrups, ointments and other medicines which were then offered for sale to the public.

1180 - Approximate date that The Guild of Pepperers was formed.

1340 - The Grocers Guild of London was granted their charter. This guild was a joining of the grocers, spicers and apothecaries.

1376 - The Guild of Pepperers became known as The Company of Grocers of London

1428 - Royal charter granted to The Worshipful Company of Grocers.

1617 - The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London was granted their charter. The apothecaries split off from the grocers and spicers to form their own guild.

1815 - The Apothecaries Act was passed which allowed the Society of Apothecaries to grant licenses to its qualified members allowing them to practice medicine.

1832 - The British Medical Association was founded.

The Plants
The Latin names of plants sometimes give us a clue as to their historical use. Officinalis, officinale and officinarum used in the second part of a plants Latin name denotes a plant that was believed to have curative properties and was part of the official pharmacoepia. A pharmacopoeia is a list of medicinal herbs along with their uses and may also be referred to as a materia medica. The following virtues of some of the common herbs to be found in a apothecary shop are listed below.

Absinthe (Artemisia absinthium) - this plant is more commonly called wormwood. This bitter tasting herb was once used to flavor beers and ales as hops are used by brewers in the modern day. The essential oil of wormwood was once used as a powerful expeller of worms.

Mrs. M. Grieve devotes a total of four pages to the description of wormwood in her book The Modern Herbal including the following: "The intensely bitter, tonic and stimulant qualities have caused Wormwood not only to be an ingredient in medicinal preparations, but also to be used in various liqueurs, of which absinthe is the chief, the basis of absinthe being absinthol, extracted from Wormwood. Wormwood, as employed in making this liqueur, bears also the name 'Wermuth' - preserver of the mind - from its medicinal virtues as a nervine and mental restorative. If not taken habitually, it soothes spinal irritability and gives tone to persons of a highly nervous temperament...When taken to excess it produces giddiness and attacks of epileptiform convulsions."

Alecost (Balsamita major tanacetoides) - this herb, also known as costmary, was used as a general tonic by apothecaries and was another one of the herbs used to flavor ale in the Middle Ages.

Betony (Stachys officinalis) - English apothecary Nicholas Culpeper mentioned the following use of betony in his book The Complete Herbal and English Physician: "The powder mixed with pure honey, is no less available for all sorts of coughs or colds, wheezing, or shortness of breath, distillations of thin rheum upon the lungs, which causes consumptions."

Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) - Culpeper mentions "It is under the sign of the Lion, and Sol claims dominion over it. If the herb was but as much used as it is neglected, it would half spoil the spectacle maker's trade; and a man would think, that reason should teach people to prefer the preservation of their natural before artificial spectacles..."

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) - Fennel, along with dill and mint, was used in gripe water which was fed to babies in small doses to help relieve the gas and cramps associated with colic.

Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) - Culpeper attributed the following use to this herb: "The powder of the dried herb given for some time together, cures melancholy..." The smoke produced from burning this plant was also used in exorcisms to get rid of evil spirits and other malicious entities.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) - lavender was used with other herbs such as lemon balm and chamomile to make sleep pillows. These aromatic pillows were placed under ones head at night to help promote a restful nights sleep for anyone suffering from insomnia.A drop or two of the essential oil of lavender could be rubbed into the temples to alleviate the pain of a headache.

Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) - Culpeper applauds the merits of this plant by exclaiming "Jupiter seems to own this herb. It is of great use to physicians to help the diseases of the lungs, and for coughs, wheezing, and shortness of breath, which it cures both in man and beast."

Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) - marigolds were added to herbal formulas for their antiseptic properties which helped to heal wounds.The flower petals were also used to make a nutritious, healing broth for convalescents. Culpeper mentions this use of calendula as follows: "The flowers, either green or dried, are much used in possets, broths, and drink, as a comforter of the heart and spirits, and to expel any malignant or pestilential quality which might annoy them."

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) - Mrs. M. Grieve mentions the use of rosemary as follows: "It was an old custom to burn Rosemary in sick chambers, and in French hospitals it is customary to burn Rosemary with Juniper berries to purify the air and prevent infection. Like Rue, it was placed in the dock of courts of justice, as a preventative from the contagion of gaol-fever."

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum officinale) - this herb, according to John Gerard in his book The Herbal, was used to "taketh away in one night, or two at the most, any bruise, black or blue spots gotten by falls or women's wilfulness, in stumbling upon their hasty husband's fists, or such like."

Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) - this plant was used for a variety of digestive complaints and was also thought to provide protection from the black death, otherwise known as the plague.

Colonial Apothecaries
"My job, as an historical re-enactor, is to portray an 18^th-century apothecary and what he knew. What we know about herbs today is very different from what the colonial apothecary or midwife knew. They were barely out of the Middle Ages in their thinking, influenced heavily by superstitions, and with no idea of testing materials before trying them out on their clients. They followed the path of individualized experimentation, and when they erred they almost never knew why."

Don Craig, writer, cabinet maker, and historical re-enactor

The apothecary trade made its way to the New World with the arrival of European immigrants where the practice was in great demand. In addition to supplying medicines to their customers colonial apothecaries also set broken bones, extracted rotten teeth and performed other surgical procedures and were more of a general practitioner than pharmacist.

Colonial apothecaries may also have trained one or more apprentices in the art and craft of apothecary. These apprentices, who usually trained for a period of 7 years, acted as an assistant to the apothecary and would perform the more menial duties while learning the trade of apothecary. Other apothecaries may have trained under a doctor or surgeon until they acquired sufficient knowledge to open their own shop. A recreation of an 18^th century apothecary shop can be found at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

Colonial apothecaries were also exposed to a variety of new medicinal plants which were native to North America through their contacts and association with various Native American tribes. Some of these healing plants found in the new world and exploited by the colonial apothecary were later introduced to their European counterparts and included herbs such as Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) and bee balm (Monarda didyma).

Certain native American herbs could be dangerous if the proper method of application was not followed. For example Jamestown weed (Datura stramonium), which was also known as Jimsonweed, thorn apple, locoweed, Indian apple, and devil's trumpet, was a very dangerous plant capable of producing powerful hallucinogenic effects and even death when taken internally. American Indians used this powerful but potentially dangerous plant under carefully monitored circumstances for a variety of shamanistic and medicinal purposes.

Snake Oil and other Quackery
The herbal remedies dispensed at the apothecary shops often had a dubious reputation. Many of them had merit while others were nothing more than snake oil sold by quacks pretending to be educated men. These patent medicines were consumed in great quantity by eager patients wanting a quick cure to all their ills. Theriac, also known as treacle, was an universal cure-all widely available at most apothecary shops. Various recipes for this panacea existed some of which contained up to 64 different ingredients. Many of the ingredients were of herbal origin but this miraculous elixir sometimes included noxious ingredients such as the skin of roasted vipers.

Garlic was also known as poor man's treacle during the Renaissance. It was thought to cure a wide range of illnesses in addition to being capable of scaring away vampires and werewolves. Today's herbalists have proven that this herb is indeed a panacea as it can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and it has also been shown to have antibacterial properties.

In Conclusion
Over time, apothecaries have evolved into our modern day pharmacists, administering prescriptions according to the doctor's instructions and helping customers within the boundaries of their expertise. Although today's pharmacists are not allowed to prescribe drugs or diagnose patients your local pharmacist may be able to offer generic medical advice on a limited basis.

Herbal remedies are still used with great frequency in today's society. A look at your local health food and natural grocery stores will reveal a vast amount of herb based pills, tinctures, lotions and essential oils lining the shelves from which customers can choose, just like they did at the apothecary shops of old.

Further Study
Craig, Don. "Snailwater and Sun-Downers", The Herb Quarterly, Fall 1993, 26-30.

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper's Complete Herbal and English Physician Enlarged. Glenwood, IL: Meyerbooks, 1990.

Gerard, John. The Herbal or General History of Plants. NY: Dover Publications, 1975.

Gill JR., Harold B. The Apothecary in Colonial Virginia. Charlottesville, VA: The University Press of Virginia, 1972.

Grieve, Mrs. M. A Modern Herbal in Two Volumes. NY: Dover Publications, 1982.

Lamont-Brown, Raymond. Royal Poxes and Potions; The Lives of Court Physicians, Surgeons and Apothecaries. United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing, 2001.

Rawcliffe, Carole. Medicine and Society in Later Medieval England. London: Sandpiper Books, 1999.

Smythe, Lynn. "The Art and Craft of the Apothecary." Winter 2005 issue of The Herb Quarterly, pages 50-54.

This article by Lynn Smythe, http://voices.yahoo.com/apothecary-ancient-origins-our-modern-day-pharmacists-575084.html?cat=71