The Physicians of Myddfai: The Welsh Herbal Tradition

Summary

The knowledge of medicine in Wales goes back to ancient Celtic times when it was banded down orally through many generations. During the 13th century, a Prince of South Wales, Rhys Gryg, instructed his court physician, Rhiwallon, to gather together the knowledge of medicinal plants and their methods of application and to write it down in Welsh. This would enable others to make use of the information both then and during the centuries that followed. Rhiwallon lived at Myddfai, a tiny village in Mid-Wales. He had three sons, who worked as physicians to the court and the neighbouring area. They became famous because of their skills in medicine and in due course a legend grew up around them. The countryside around Myddfai is still very rich in medicinal plants. They include Valeriana officinalis, Filipendula ulmaria, Scrophularia nodosa, Digitalis purpurea, Plantago spp., and Achiltea millefolium; the uses to which the Myddfai Physicians put these plants, and others, are described. ‘Magical’ plants such as Verbena officinalis and Viscum album, which have Druidic connections, are also discussed; some of these are still used today by herbalists. Many of the prescriptions of the Physicians are thus as relevant today as they were in the far past.