Writing Plant Lore for Arbroath Abbey

Information

At The New Scriptorium in Arbroath Abbey: A book making and illustration workshop inspired by Medieval folklore and plant medicine led by art historian Christie Dooley with illustrators Laura Darling and Hana Koen.

Folk Medicine refers to the herbal remedies shared between women and other secular practitioners in the Middle Ages. A departure from classical medicine endorsed by the medieval church, such folk practices faced discrimination and suspicion; they were deemed both ignorant and superstitious. Unlike the classical herbal books (liber herbalis) produced in medieval scriptoria by monastic communities, the vital knowledge of these ‘outsider’ healers continued to evade written documentation, being passed on generationally via local oral traditions.

Bridging the gap between miracles and magic, this workshop in the New Scriptorium reconsiders the perseverance of folk medicine alongside the history of the medieval abbey, inviting a previously mistrusted custom into the inner sanctum. Indeed, it was in these very monastic settings where official herbals were written, and pilgrims travelled to receive hospice care and other medical treatment.

Posing the question ‘what would a modern herbal produced by local people look like?’, Christie, Laura and Hana will lead participants in the co-creation of a small book or zine, using a reimagined assortment of scribal tools and plant-based materials.

This project has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund through Visit Scotland. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.

Short Sharp Stories, part of The Arbroath Town Writers’ programme, will bring writers and young people together to focus on the skills involved in creating a short story. Hospitalfield is working with Arbroath 2020+2 and Historic Environment Scotland to develop this and the wider Town Writers’ programme. April 2022 to September 2022. Thanks also for funding from Creative Scotland and Angus Council Town Centre Funds.