Why is a Research Network needed? Some historians rely on a few websites and popular texts as sources for their information about plants and medicinal uses. Some medical herbalists claim herbal traditions based on mythologies which fit with their current beliefs but are poorly evidenced. There is a lack of extensive and scholarly sources of research on plants, people and practice using herbs as medicines.
The Herbal History Research Network is needed to promote a scholarly approach – an approach which is systematic, objective and developmental. The Network is needed to connect together people who share common interests in researching the history of herbal medicine in a scholarly way. Scholarly researchers do not ignore inconvenient findings, do take responsibility for acknowledging sources, and do try to contextualise and interpret findings without preconceptions.
At the present time there is limited organised and knowledgeable support for researchers in relation to the history of Western herbal medicine. A few specialist scholars are actively researching plants and their use in health contexts in a variety of historical periods. However, a much larger number of other non-specialist researchers encounter medicinal plants in a range of contexts. These research studies range from medicinal plants in classical studies to medieval institutions to household healthcare in early modern social history and oral folklore in modern times. Judging from the range of queries reported by individual specialists in this field, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding about credible and reliable sources for information on medicinal plants. The resources available for these kinds of research also present particular methodological issues, for example concerning the identification of plants, reliable translations, accurate naming of plants, substitutions in different cultures, and interpretation of texts and images.
Awareness of the kinds of problem identified above is increasing. As a consequence a small group of researchers have come together, including professionally trained medical herbalists with active interests in the history of medicine, ranging from classical studies to medieval, early modern and modern medicine. Members of the group have particular expertise in their specific areas, as well as professional training in medical sciences, plant materia medica and herbal therapeutics. One concern is that there is much uncritically sourced and repeated information, and little access to original sources which can be used in an effective way. The formation of a Herbal Medicine Historical Research Network with the overall aim of promoting scholarly research in herbs and herbal traditions. This group has arranged a number of seminars designed to bring together scholars working in fields incorporating historical elements of herbal medicine. The seminars have enabled these individuals to present their knowledge to date concerning the sources used and the particular problems overcome (or still faced ) in their research in addition to the further sources available.
