bēo-wyrt

Old-English: beovyrt, beowirt, beowyrt, biouuyrt, biowyrt, buuyrt, beowurt,

Latin (Machine generated): ACANTALEUCA, ACANTAN, ACANTON, APIAGO, APIASTRUM, MARRUBIUM, MARUBIUM, UENERIAM,

• →flēo-wyrt;
• →wyrt;

• A: plant: introduced
  Melissa officinalis L., balm, Zitronenmelisse
• B: plant: native Ssp. meridionalis (Beg.) Beg is native; ssp. nigra is rare and not native (cf. Clapham 1962,751-752 and Stace 1997,559)
  Ballota nigra L., black horehound, Langzähnige Schwarznessel
• C: plant: foreign "Native of S. Asia, C. and western N. America. Introduced into Europe by 1557 and recorded as naturalized in England by 1660." (Clapham 1962,1051)
  ? Acorus calamus L., sweet flag, Kalmus
• D: plant: native Clapham (1962,873): doubtfully native.
  ?? Onopordum acanthium L., cotton thistle, Gewöhnliche Eselsdistel
• E: plant: foreign Clapham (1962,729): Naturalized in waste places in W. Cornwall (including Scilly Is.), first recorded 1820. Native of S. Europe from Spain to Thrace.
  ?? Acanthus mollis L., bear's breech, Pracht-Akanthus
• F: plant
  ?? -, thistle species, Distelart

• Comment on (A): Melissa officinalis L., balm, Zitronenmelisse

  = L APIASTRUM , APIAGO (cf. André s.vv.). M. officinalis is not native to the British Isles, the time of introduction is uncertain. One early source is John Gerard who does mentions the virtues of this plant for beekeepers and its active use (cf. Grieve, s.v. balm).

• Comment on (B): Ballota nigra L., black horehound, Langzähnige Schwarznessel

  The glosses in which bēowyrt is equated with MARUBIUM (→hūne = Ballota nigra L.) can be explained by the strong outward similarity of Melissa officinalis L. and Ballota nigra L. (both are labiates); Marzell (2000,3,128) states that almost all old names of M. officinalis are also used for similar labiates frequented by bees; e.g. for Lamium L., dead nettle, Taubnessel, which is also very similar to Ballota nigra L. (Marzell 2000,1,535).

• Comment on (C): ? Acorus calamus L., sweet flag, Kalmus

  Cockayne's (1961,II,317f) interpretation of bēowyrt as Acorus calamus L. must probably be refuted, because this plant was not indigenous to England (cf. Britten / Holland 1886,33 and Hegi, 1906,II,134) and especially because this interpretation does not go with any of the glosses. Cockayne's interpretation is based on HA VII: "þeos wyrt þe man on leden UENERIAM 7 on ure geþeode beowyrt nemneþ [...] Wiþ þæt beon æt ne fleon genim þas ylcan wyrte þe we UENERIAM nemdon" (Cockayne 1961,I,96ff.). UENERIA is the άκορος‚ (=Acorus calamus L.) of antiquity, but the author of the OE HA probably used beowyrt for UENERIA[M] in chapter VII because of its use against the swarming of bees, since he did not know the true identity of the plant denoted by UENERIA. Nevertheless, D'Aronco (1998,49) uses this meaning, too, but points out André's identification of ACORUM as Iris pseudacorus L.; Arsdall (2000,150,fn.109) supports the identification on account of the illustration in Cotton Vitellius C iii (fol. 24v, col.1).

• Comment on (D): ?? Onopordum acanthium L., cotton thistle, Gewöhnliche Eselsdistel

  This plant is the ACANTHION of Dioscorides (Berendes 1902,272). ACANTALEUCA also denotes Onopordon acanthium L. (cf. Marz. 2000,3,405) or some other kind of thistle (cf. André, 1985, s.v. LEUCACANTHA). HA CLIV: The source is Dioscorides III 19, where Acanthus mollis L. (cf. Berendes 1902,272f.) is described. Cf. also Laud 121: ACANTALEUCA.i. beowyrt; the lemma, which also occurs in Dur 9 (ACANTALEUCA smælthistel), probably stands for Greek λευκάκανθα (Dioscorides III 22; Berendes 1902,274). Since the name 'bees' plant' does not go with any of the species of thistle mentioned, I assume that the glosses are due to confusion of Greek melamphyllon (lit. 'blackleaf'), which is a synonym of ACANTHUS (Berendes 2000,272; also in glosses: cf. CGL 6, 11 s.v. ACANT[H]US), with Gk melissophyllon ('honey leaf'), the Gk name of Melissa officinalis (Berendes 2000,334).

• Etymology: loan-rendition Etymology-Comment:

  OE loan-rendition from L APIASTRUM or APIAGO (itself probably a loan-translation from Gk melissophyllon); OLG bini-wurt, OHG bini-wurz are probably independent loan-renditions;

• Word-Formation: noun/noun
• Word-Formation-Comment: -

• DOE: s.v. bēowyrt. MED: s.v. bē-wŏrt
• Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: Digital Edition