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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
242
In
later
times
many
plants
became
connected
with
the
name
of
Christ,
and
with
the
events
of
the
crucifixion
itself--facts
which
occasionally
explain
their
mysterious
virtues.
Thus
the
vervain,
known
as
the
"holy
herb,"
and
which
was
one
of
the
sacred
plants
of
the
Druids,
has
long
been
held
in
repute,
the
subjoined
rhyme
assigning
as
the
reason:--
"All
hail,
thou
holy
herb,
vervin,
Growing
on
the
ground;
On
the
Mount
of
Calvary
There
wast
thou
found;
Thou
helpest
many
a
grief,
And
staunchest
many
a
wound.
In
the
name
of
sweet
Jesu,
I
lift
thee
from
the
ground."
To
quote
one
or
two
further
instances,
a
popular
recipe
for
preventing
the
prick
of
a
thorn
from
festering
is
to
repeat
this
formula:--
"Christ
was
of
a
virgin
born,
And
he
was
pricked
with
a
thorn,
And
it
did
neither
bell
nor
swell,
And
I
trust
in
Jesus
this
never
will."
In
Cornwall,
some
years
ago,
the
following
charm
was
much
used,
forms
of
which
may
occasionally
be
heard
at
the
present
day:--
"Happy
man
that
Christ
was
born,
He
was
crowned
with
a
thorn;
He
was
pierced
through
the
skin,
For
to
let
the
poison
in.
But
His
five
wounds,
so
they
say,
Closed
before
He
passed
away.
In
with
healing,
out
with
thorn,
Happy
man
that
Christ
was
born."
Another
version
used
in
the
North
of
England
is
this:--
"Unto
the
Virgin
Mary
our
Saviour
was
horn,
And
on
his
head
he
wore
a
crown
of
thorn;
If
you
believe
this
true,
and
mind
it
well,
This
hurt
will
never
fester
nor
swell."
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