arnement

Ingredients

lyes of ale, whete, poudre of the grete fetheres of the gos, salt, pych, arnement, wex

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Tak the grete fetheres of the gos and do away the rowe and thanne bren hem and mak a poudre therof and do hyt in a molour (p. 149). Then, after preparing the wound site, the practitioner is instructed to 'tak goud stal ale that ys mad of whete clene wythoute barly or any other corn and fyl therof a pot that be hol and newe and put therto salt / and pych and arnement of eche elyche moche / and of wex more thane of any othyr and seth al thys ryӡt wel tylle at hyt be thykke' (p. 149).

Evidence

"arnement = iron or copper sulphate"

Remarks

The term 'arnement' is explicitly defined as iron or copper sulphate (vitriol), which is a key precursor to iron gall ink. Although here the mixture is described as a 'medecyn for the comyne festre' (fistula), the recipe shares common chemical components and thickening processes used in ink making, such as the use of carbonaceous 'poudre' from burnt feathers and mineral sulfates (p. 149). The recipe underscores the complexity and laboriousness of medieval medicinal preparation, emphasizing that such processes were intended to showcase the practitioner's prowess and the ritualistic potency of the cure (p. 153).