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.
Britten, James, and Robert Holland.
A Dictionary of English Plant-Names. London: Trübner, 1886.
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.
Luick, Karl.
Historische Grammatik der englischen Sprache. Mit dem nach den hinterlassenen Aufzeichnungen ausgearb. zweiten Kapitel hrsg. von Friedrich Wild und Herbert Koziol. Stuttgart: Tauchnitz, 1964.
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.
The identification is based on a gloss of the 13th century: Widebawne, i. haluewude (WW 557/45), for which we have no L lemma. Wide- is an ME form of OE widu[1] 'wood, forest, Holz, Wald'; bawne = ModE, 'Melissa officinalis L., balm, Melisse (cf. Britten / Holland 1886,28).
Etymology: Lit. 'half wood, Halbholz'; if the plant denoted by this name was C. nepeta, the name refers to the lignifying stalks of this half-shrub (cf. Hegi 1906,V,2290f).