View - Roanoke Colonies Illuminated

Title	Pottage of sassafras leaves
Origtitle	Winauk
Variants	Sassafras
Source	Nicolas Monardus's "Joyful News..." 1596
Date	1596
Creator	Nicolas Monardus
Type	Drawing
Origin	Scans from book
Notes	The one period document that I have on my book shelves which mentions sassafras is Harriot (1590 edition) which has in the chapter listing merchantable commodities a section entitled "Sassafras" which states:; " Sassafras, called by the inhabitants Winauk, a kinde of wood of most pleasand and sweete smel; and of most rare vertues in phisick for the cure of many diseases. It is found by experience to bee farre better and of more uses then the wood which is called Guaiacum, or Lignu vitae. For the description of using and the manifolde vertues thereof, I referre you to the book of Monardus, translated and entituled in English, The ioyfull newes from the West Indies."; My memory (meaning I can not find my copy of the book I believe was called Richard Hakluyt's "Principal navigations") is that the other reports of the area now called eastern North Carolina describe the explorers eating the leaves in a soup in a manner much as the cajuns use it as filet but only because they were starving. In any case the plant was well known to the explorers prior to their coming to the new world and apparently already of commercial importance otherwise they would not have mentioned it so prominently in the book.; ; It is also used in one mead recipe in Kenelme Digbie (1669).; Other mentions of its importance in the time period close to 1600 are:; ; M. Grieve (1931) states "The name 'Sassafras', applied by the Spanish botanist Monardes in the 16th century, is said to be a corruption of the Spanish word for saxifrage." Later she states "The tree, which has berries like those of cinnamon, appears to have been cultivated in England some centuries ago, for in 1633 Johnston wrote:'I have given the figure of a branch taken from a little sassafras tree which grew in the garden of Mr. Wilmot at Bon.' Probably it was discovered by the Spaniards in Florida, for seventy years earlier there is mention of the reputation of its roots in Spain as a cure for syphilis, rheumatism, etc., though its efficacy has since been much disputed."; ; http://home.suddenlink.net/search/index.php?q=Winauk&context=search&x=31&y=10; ; ; Hariet; p.9 “Sassafrass, called by the inhabitants Winauk, a kinde of wood of most pleasand and sweete smel …” better and more useful that wood of Guaiacum, or Lignum vitae.; Hariet cites Monardus, translated into English as ‘The joyful newes from the West indies’ for an account of the uses of Winauk.; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia;

pottage of sassafras leaues