Research Literature
BW I:
Bierbaumer, Peter.
Der botanische Wortschatz des Altenglischen. Grazer Beiträge zur Englischen Philologie 1. Bern, Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 1975.
LB:
Cockayne, Oswald Thomas (ed.).
"Leech Book." In: Leechdoms, Wortcunning and Starcraft of Early England. Being a Collection of Documents, for the Most Part never before Printed, Illustrating the History of Sience in this Country before the Norman Conquest. Vol. 2. Rev. Ed. by Charles Singer. London: Longman [et. al.], 1961. 1-360.
LB:
Leonhardi, Günther.
Kleinere angelsächsische Denkmäler I. Bibliothek der ags. Prosa VI. Hamburg: Grand, 1905.
NED:
Murray, James Augustus Henry, H. Bradley, W.A. Craigie, C.T. Onions (eds.).
A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. Oxford: Calrendon Press, 1888.
Deegan, Marilyn.
A Critical Edition of MS. B.L. Royal 12.D.XVII: Bald's 'Leechbook'. Diss. Univ. of Manchester. 1988.
Hankins, Freda Richards.
Bald's 'Leechbook' Reconsidered. Diss. Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 1993.
Hegi, Gustav.
Illustrierte Flora von Mitteleuropa. Mit bes. Berücks. v. Oesterreich, Deutschland u. d. Schweiz. Zum Gebrauche in d. Schulen u. zum Selbstunterricht. Bd 1-7. Wien: Pichler, 1906.
MS London, British Library, Royal 12 D.xvii.
Wright, Cyril E. (ed.).
Bald's Leechbook. Early English manuscripts in facsimile. 5. Kopenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1955.
NED, s.v. clote: "Clote [...] 2. Applied to other plants [...] the Yellow Water Lily (Nuphar lutea, Water clate)". This plant does not have the characteristic barbed hooks burs normally have (cf. Hegi 1906,III,445) and besides the floral heads (the reason for the G name 'Hemsknöpe') there is no visual resemblance.
It is likely that the command genim doccan oþþe clatan þa þe swimman wolde is a scribal error, where the scribe put the phrase oþþe clatan, which in the source text might have anteceded the relative clause, directly behind doccan. This plant name is in the LB →docce recorded three times in the phrases doccan þa þe swimman wille (27/36; 88/26) and doccan, þære þe swimman wille (109/15) (cf. →docce, sīo þe swimman wille). The sentence in discussion might therfore have read: genim doccan þa þe swimman wolde oþþe clatan.