You are looking at a page out of the Voynich manuscript, an as-yet untranslated text from the first half of the 15th-century. Shown is an illustration of what may be a type of sage plant. Many types of common herbs were likely taken as a means of birth control in the Middle Ages, but knowledge of their doses, efficacy, and degree to which they were used is as mysterious as the Voynich text itself.
According to John M. Riddle, sage has been used to stimulate menstruation in Haiti and Jamaica, and has been considered an abortificant drug in traditional Indian medicine. Sage, along with parsley, rosemary, and thyme, are all members of the mint family, long associated with contraceptive and abortificant properties.
In 1966, Simon and Garfunkel produced a rendition of “Scarborough Fair,” featuring these herbs — their song comes from a folk ballad possibly tracing back to the Middle Ages, when in the months of August and September the town of Scarborough held an annual “fair,” which was more like an outdoor market. In fact, the fair was held annually into the 18th century. In light of the association of the herbs parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme with birth control, the lyrics make sense. The song is about a man sending his friend to the fair to find his true love. The lyrics also spell out that proof of the woman’s love will be apparent if she can do some seemingly impossible tasks.
Btw, the four herbs in the song’s refrain had other associations besides birth control: parsley was thought to take away feelings of bitterness, sage meant wisdom, rosemary could mean fidelity, and thyme connoted courage and love.
Source(s): Riddle, _Eve’s Herbs_, Palgrave, 1997, pp. 26, 61-63. Image from _The Voynich Manuscript: the World’s Most Mysterious and Esoteric Manuscript_, Skinner, Rafal, et al., Watkins, 2017, Folio 45 recto, @ storiesfromscarvorough.wirpress.com/2016/04/15/ scarborough-fair-a-traditiinal-yorkshire-ballad-part-ii/ .
