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37-521: Oliver Mathews (or Matthews ; c.  1520 – c.  1618 ) was a Welsh apothecary and chronicler . He wrote the first history of Shrewsbury , the county town of Shropshire , England , on the River Severn , although as Hugh Owen and John Brickdale Blakeway point out, it contains "strange and unauthorised assertions", and is not considered reliable. According to his own writings, Mathews seems to have been born around 1520. His father

74-477: A " Brittaine ". He moved to Shrewsbury , and on 19 April 1560 was admitted as a half-brother to the Mercers Company, which included an Apothecaries guild, to trade in "Poticarye and Grocerye". The amount he paid to join (thirty-six shillings and eight pence ) indicates that his father was not a freeman of the company, and he had not served a seven-year apprenticeship to a freeman. On 30 September of

111-437: A "quaint chronicler", saying that his age "is in some measure an excuse for the fanciful exposition of early British history" that he wrote. By 1867, the location of the manuscripts was no longer known. Apothecary In some languages and regions, "apothecary" is not archaic and has become those languages' term for "pharmacy" or a pharmacist who owns one. Apothecaries' investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients

148-591: A collection of more than 800 prescriptions. It lists over 700 different drugs. In ancient India, the Sushruta Samhita , a compendium on the practice of medicine and medical formulations, has been traced back to the 1st century BC. The Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching , a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants (3rd century AD), is considered a foundational material for Chinese medicine and herbalism and became an important source for Chinese apothecaries. The book, which documented 365 treatments, had

185-470: A focus on roots and grass. It had treatments which came from minerals, roots and grass, and animals. Many of the mentioned drugs and their uses are still followed today. Ginseng's use as a sexual stimulant and aid for erectile dysfunction stems from this book. Ma huang, an herb first mentioned in the book, led to the introduction of the drug ephedrine into modern medicine. According to Sharif Kaf al-Ghazal, and S. Hadzovic, apothecary shops existed during

222-538: A lease from the Crown from 22 June 1580 for six acres of land and all tithes of grain from the town and fields of Cleobury Mortimer for twenty-one years; these had been possessions of the dissolved Wigmore Priory , employed for the maintenance of a sexton for the parish church . Mathews is recorded as living at Bishop's Castle from at least 1599 to 1611, including in the later heraldic visitation of Shropshire , though his letter from 1615 indicates that he lived at

259-523: A pupil of John Stevens Henslow , Leighton on his return to his native town deferred ordination in order to draw up a flora of Shropshire. In 1843 he was ordained deacon and priest, and took on clerical duties in Shrewsbury until 1848, when he resigned his curacy at St Giles' Church, and thenceforward occupied himself entirely with botany. Leighton suffered from deteriorating eyesight, and soon after 1879 gave up his studies; he donated his collection to

296-508: A subordinate position", because a branch of the Pryce family occupied the Park around that time. Enoch Salisbury instead asserts that Mathews was "neither a Salopian nor a Welshman as some have thought, but a native of Monmouthshire , and born, it is believed, not far from Pontypool ". From his letters, Mathews seems to have considered himself Welsh, and of Celtic descent, referring to himself as

333-538: Is apoteker , which was borrowed from the Dutch apotheker . In Yiddish the word is אַפּטייק apteyk . Use of the term in the names of businesses varies with time and location. It is generally an Americanism, though some areas of the United States use it to invoke an experience of nostalgic revival and it has been used for a wide variety of businesses; while in other areas such as California its use

370-1147: Is current and used to designate a pharmacist/chemist, such as Dutch and German Apotheker , Hungarian patikus , Irish poitigéir , Latvian aptiekārs and Luxembourgish Apdikter . Likewise, "pharmacy" translates as apotek in Danish , Norwegian and Swedish , apteekki in Finnish , apoteka in Bosnian , patika in Hungarian, aptieka in Latvian , апотека ( apoteka ) in Serbian , аптека ( apteka ) in Russian , Bulgarian , Macedonian and Ukrainian , Apotheke in German and apteka in Polish . The word in Indonesian

407-476: Is legally obligated to be run at all times by at least one Apotheker (male) or Apothekerin (female), who actually has an academic degree as a pharmacist – in German Pharmazeut (male) or Pharmazeutin (female) – and has obtained the professional title Apotheker by either working in the field for numerous years, usually by working in a pharmacy store, or taking additional exams. Thus a Pharmazeut

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444-489: Is noon apothecarie, I shal myself to herbes techen yow, That shul been for youre hele and for youre prow. In modern English, this can be translated as: ... and you should not linger, Though in this town there is no apothecary, I shall teach you about herbs myself, That will be for your health and for your pride. In Renaissance Italy , Italian Nuns became a prominent source for medicinal needs. At first they used their knowledge in non-curative uses in

481-561: Is not always an Apotheker . Magdalena Neff became the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Germany when she studied pharmacy at the Technical University of Karlsruhe and later passed the apothecary's examination in 1906. Apothecaries used their own measurement system, the apothecaries' system , to provide precise weighing of small quantities. Apothecaries dispensed vials of poisons as well as medicines, and as

518-401: Is restricted to licensed pharmacies. The profession of apothecary can be dated back at least to 2600 BC to ancient Babylon , which provides one of the earliest records of the practice of the apothecary. Clay tablets have been found with medical texts recording symptoms, prescriptions, and the directions for compounding. The Papyrus Ebers from ancient Egypt, written around 1500 BC, contain

555-404: Is still the case, medicines could be either beneficial or harmful if inappropriately used. Protective methods to prevent accidental ingestion of poisons included the use of specially-shaped containers for potentially poisonous substances such as laudanum . Apothecary businesses were typically family-run, and wives or other women of the family worked alongside their husbands in the shops, learning

592-792: The Middle Ages in Baghdad , operated by pharmacists in 754 during the Abbasid Caliphate , or Islamic Golden Age . Apothecaries were also active in Al-Andalus by the 11th century. By the end of the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer ( c.  1342 –1400) was mentioning an English apothecary in the Canterbury Tales , specifically " The Nun's Priest's Tale " as Pertelote speaks to Chauntecleer (lines 181–184): ... and for ye shal nat tarie, Though in this toun

629-855: The Italian peninsula. From the 15th century to the 16th century, the apothecary gained the status of a skilled practitioner. In London, the apothecaries merited their own livery company , the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries , founded in 1617. Its roots, however, go back much earlier to the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180. Similarly in Ireland, Apothecaries were organized since before 1446. In Ireland and Great Britain they were allowed to diagnose in addition to compounding and dispensing, becoming regulated general medical practitioners and

666-592: The Mercer's Company until 6 August 1572, when he paid to become a full brother and freeman, which was the last time he appears in their records. He seems to have continued to live in Shrewsbury, and trade as an apothecary there, until at least 1576, before retiring to Bishop's Castle . On 7 January 1577, he married Jane Broughton, daughter of Edward Broughton of the Broughton family , at Bishop's Castle. He obtained

703-410: The convents to solidify the sanctity of religion among their sisters. As they progressed in skill they started to expand their field to create profit. This profit they used towards their charitable goals. Because of their eventual spread to urban society, these religious women gained "roles of public significance beyond the spiritual realm (Strocchia 627). Later apothecaries led by nuns were spread across

740-634: The early nineteenth century, and Hamer reported in 1869 that "several living persons remember the Matthews family residing at the Park", with one old man of that name still living in the area who claimed to be a descendant of Oliver Mathews. Salisbury reported that some of Mathews' descendants lived in Herefordshire as well as Shropshire , though none in Monmouthshire . His family's connection to Cleobury Mortimer may also have persisted, with

777-824: The first woman to be licensed to practice medicine in Britain by passing the examination of the Society of Apothecaries. By the end of the 19th century, the medical professions had taken on their current institutional form, with defined roles for physicians and surgeons, and the role of the apothecary was more narrowly conceived, as that of pharmacist (dispensing chemist in British English). In German-speaking countries, such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, pharmacies or chemist stores are still called apothecaries or in German Apotheken . The Apotheke ("store")

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814-702: The forerunners of General Practitioners there. However, there were ongoing tensions between apothecaries and other medical professions, as is illustrated by the publication of 'A Short View of the Frauds and Abuses Committed by Apothecaries' by the Physician Christopher Merrett in 1669 and the experiences of Susan Reeve Lyon and other women apothecaries in 17th century London. Often women (who were prohibited from entering medical school) became apothecaries which took away business from male physicians. In 1865 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became

851-495: The literature on lichens , producing as his major work Lichen Flora of Great Britain in 1871. This reached a third edition in 1879. He was editor of the Transactions of Shropshire Archaeological Society for many years. Leighton issued the exsiccata series Lichenes Britannici exsiccati . In an 1854 work, Leighton coined the term ardella to refer to the small, spot-like fruiting bodies characteristic of

888-475: The name of this second wife is not legible in the parish records. In any case, "Jane, wife of Oliver Mathews, gent" was buried on 9 January 1611 at Bishop's Castle, with most sources assuming this to be his first wife, Jane née Broughton. Although his date of death is not known, Mathews had died by 2 April 1618, when his will (which had been made on 20 June 1615) was proved. Morgan states that Mathews' family held Park farm near Caersws for many generations, until

925-594: The names Matthews and Oliver continuing there for several generations. Four works by Mathews are known, consisting of one letter with historical notes, two blackletter chronicles , and a final piece appended to the first chronicle: These manuscripts have been published a number of times. A 1693 letter from David Evans of the Ashmolean Museum to Humphrey Foulkes summarises Mathews' history of Caersws , and mentions his histories of Shrewsbury and Bristol . Evans had direct access to Mathews' manuscripts, and

962-634: The national herbarium at Kew Gardens . He died at Lucifelde, Shrewsbury, on 28 February 1889, aged eighty-three, and was buried in the Shrewsbury General Cemetery in nearby Longden Road. In 1841, he brought out his Flora of Shropshire , the etchings to illustrate some of the genera being his own. He then began working on the cryptogams , and in 1851 the Ray Society published his Angiocarpous Lichens elucidated by their Sporidia . From that date onward Leighton published widely in

999-664: The nearby village of Snead . He and his wife had a daughter, Jane, and two sons, Thomas, and Edward. His daughter Jane married Shrewsbury goldsmith Thomas Gittins on 11 December 1599, and had at least three children by 1615: Thomas, Symon, and Elizabeth. Mathews' son Thomas, a mercer , was admitted to the Mercers Company on 4 October 1608, and had three sons: Thomas (bapt. 1616), Oliver (bapt. 1617), and Edward (bapt. 1618), all christened at St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury . One source, William Allport Leighton , reports that Mathews married again on 30 November 1602 at Church Stoke , but

1036-415: The past such as urine, fecal matter, earwax, human fat, and saliva, are no longer used and are generally considered ineffective or unsanitary. Trial and error were the main source for finding successful remedies, as little was known about the chemistry of why certain treatments worked. For instance, it was known that drinking coffee could help cure headaches, but the existence and properties of caffeine itself

1073-611: The same year, he was admitted as a Burgess of Shrewsbury. He became a prosperous businessman, and in 1570/1571 is recorded as having owned land worth twenty shillings in the Welsh Ward of Shrewsbury. In 1571, Queen Elizabeth I gave the Manor of Arwystli to Robert Dudley , causing Mathews to complain of the "given awaie of the parkes of Caersouse from the burgesses to keep the King's breeding Mares." Mathews frequently served as warden of

1110-536: The son was born there on 17 May 1805. He went to school at the Unitarian Manse on Claremont Hill , Shrewsbury, with Charles Darwin , who first encouraged him to be interested in plants. He went on to Wolverhampton Grammar School , and in 1822 was articled to a solicitor in Shrewsbury. On the death of his father he abandoned the study of the law in favour of the church. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge , and graduated B.A. in 1833. Having been

1147-514: The spellings of names that he gives differ from Hearne's later transcription. This letter was collected with the correspondence of Edward Lhuyd , and published by Rupert Morris in 1911. Shrewsbury publisher Stafford Price sent the manuscripts to John Thorpe , who communicated them to Thomas Hearne ; Hearne transcribed them as an appendix to his History and Antiquities of Glastonbury (1722). In 1877, Shrewsbury publisher T. W. Bickley reprinted Hearne's 1722 transcription of all these manuscripts under

Oliver Mathews - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-661: The title The Scituation, Foundation, and Auncient Names of the Famous Towne of Sallop (the title of the most notable manuscript). Assessing his work in their History of Shrewsbury (1825), topographers Hugh Owen and John Brickdale Blakeway described it as containing "strange and unauthorised assertions", but noted that Mathews' statement that he was ninety-five years old when writing it "disarms all criticism", and ultimately write that he "amused his age" by penning it. Williams called his works "quaint and curious compositions", while editor William Valentine Lloyd described him as

1221-470: The trade in tobacco which was imported as a medicine. The term "apothecary" derives from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη ( apothḗkē , "a repository, storehouse") via Latin apotheca ("repository, storehouse, warehouse", cf. bodega and boutique ), Medieval Latin apothecarius ("storekeeper"), and eventually Old French apotecaire . In some European and other languages, the term

1258-920: The trade themselves. Women were still not allowed to train and be educated in universities so this allowed them a chance to be trained in medical knowledge and healing. Previously, women had some influence in other women's healthcare, such as serving as midwives and other feminine care in a setting that was not considered appropriate for males. Though physicians gave medical advice, they did not make medicine, so they typically sent their patients to particular independent apothecaries, who did also provide some medical advice, in particular remedies and healing. Many recipes for medicines included herbs, minerals, and pieces of animals (meats, fats, skins) that were ingested, made into paste for external use, or used as aromatherapy. Some of these are similar to natural remedies used today, including catnip , chamomile , fennel , mint , garlic , and witch hazel . Many other ingredients used in

1295-400: Was Richard Mathews, a yeoman of Kinton near Chirbury , said by Richard Williams Morgan to have been from an "old and respectable family". Antiquary Richard Williams writes that they had "settled for many generations" near Caersws at Park farm, where he says Oliver Mathews appears to have been born. However, Edward Hamer, another antiquary, notes that if so they "appear to have occupied

1332-484: Was a precursor to the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology . In addition to dispensing herbs and medicine, apothecaries offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed by other specialist practitioners, such as surgeons and obstetricians . Apothecary shops sold ingredients and the medicines they prepared wholesale to other medical practitioners, as well as dispensing them to patients. In 17th-century England, they also controlled

1369-465: Was still a mystery. William Allport Leighton William Allport Leighton (17 May 1805 – 28 February 1889) was an English Church of England clergyman and botanist. He was the only son of William and Lucy Maria Leighton. His mother was the daughter and coheiress of John Allport of Prescot, near Baschurch , Shropshire. His father was the keeper of the Talbot Hotel in Shrewsbury , and

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