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John Gerard

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Herbal medicine (also called herbalism , phytomedicine or phytotherapy ) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants , which are a basis of traditional medicine . With worldwide research into pharmacology , some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua , a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals , shells and certain animal parts.

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144-498: John Gerard (also John Gerarde , 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn , now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes , first published in 1597, became a popular gardening and herbal book in English in the 17th century. Except for some added plants from his own garden and from North America, Gerard's Herbal is largely

288-645: A legal deposit library and one of the world's largest academic libraries . Cambridge alumni, academics, and affiliates have won 124 Nobel Prizes. Among the university's notable alumni are 194 Olympic medal -winning athletes and several historically iconic and transformational individuals in their respective fields, including Francis Bacon , Lord Byron , Oliver Cromwell , Charles Darwin , Rajiv Gandhi , John Harvard , Stephen Hawking , John Maynard Keynes , John Milton , Vladimir Nabokov , Jawaharlal Nehru , Isaac Newton , Sylvia Plath , Bertrand Russell , Alan Turing , Ludwig Wittgenstein , and others. Prior to

432-541: A 'dietary supplement', though the FDA may withdraw a product from sale should it prove harmful. Canadian regulations are described by the Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate which requires an eight-digit Natural Product Number or Homeopathic Medicine Number on the label of licensed herbal medicines or dietary supplements. Some herbs, such as cannabis and coca , are outright banned in most countries though coca

576-501: A 2018 study, the FDA identified active pharmaceutical additives in over 700 analyzed dietary supplements sold as "herbal", "natural" or "traditional". The undisclosed additives included "unapproved antidepressants and designer steroids", as well as prescription drugs , such as sildenafil or sibutramine . Researchers at the University of Adelaide found in 2014 that almost 20 percent of herbal remedies surveyed were not registered with

720-494: A basis as herbal remedies, including artemisinin , digitalis , quinine and taxanes . In 2015, the Australian Government's Department of Health published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to determine if any were suitable for being covered by health insurance ; herbalism was one of 17 topics evaluated for which no clear evidence of effectiveness was found. Establishing guidelines to assess

864-446: A book that was supposed to be an expert reference guide. It hired L'Obel as an internationally recognised expert on plants, who as Gerard's friend had unwittingly contributed to his book, to proof the translations, fix the mismatched illustrations and right the textual wrongs. When Gerard discovered L'Obel's thankless efforts, he had him dismissed. Although Gerard was an experienced collector and plantsman, he lacked L'Obel's scholarship, as

1008-409: A brief period after the turn of the 20th century, this allowed the steamboat ladies to receive ad eundem degrees from the University of Dublin . In 1998, a special graduation ceremony was held in which the women who attended Cambridge before admission was allowed in 1948 were finally conferred their degrees. Beginning in 1921, women were awarded diplomas that conferred the title associated with

1152-422: A broad administrative grouping of related faculties and other units. Each has an elected supervisory body known as a Council, composed of representatives of the various constituent bodies. The University of Cambridge maintains six such schools: Teaching and research at the university is organised by faculties. The faculties have varying organisational substructures that partly reflect their respective histories and

1296-636: A certain "Captain Nicholas Cleet of the Turky Company" from whom he obtained specimens from the Middle East. He would also visit other collectors and nurserymen such as Richard Pointer of Twickenham , Master Fowle, keeper of the queen's house at St. James and Master Huggens, keeper of the garden at Hampton Court . His servant, William Marshall travelled to the Mediterranean on his behalf and Jean Robin ,

1440-569: A common law corporation. Its corporate titles include the Chancellor , Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge. The college faculties are responsible for giving lectures, arranging seminars, performing research, and determining the syllabi for teaching, all of which is overseen by the university's general board. Together with the central administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor ,

1584-432: A complete range of academic specialties and related courses. Some colleges maintain a relative strength and associated reputation for expertise in certain academic disciplines. Churchill , for example, has a reputation for its expertise and focus on the sciences and engineering, in part due to the requirement imposed by Winston Churchill upon the college's founding that 70% of its students studied mathematics, engineering, and

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1728-465: A customer should inform a herbalist of their consumption of actual prescription and other medication. For example, dangerously low blood pressure may result from the combination of a herbal remedy that lowers blood pressure together with prescription medicine that has the same effect. Some herbs may amplify the effects of anticoagulants. Certain herbs as well as common fruit interfere with cytochrome P450, an enzyme critical to much drug metabolism. In

1872-641: A global leader in the study of mathematics. The university's examination in mathematics, known as the Mathematical Tripos , was initially compulsory for all undergraduates studying for the Bachelor of Arts degree, the most common degree first offered at Cambridge. From the time of Isaac Newton in the late 17th century until the mid-19th century, the university maintained an especially strong emphasis on applied mathematics , and especially mathematical physics . Students awarded first class honours after completing

2016-435: A large number of traditions, myths, and legends. Some are true, some are not, and some were true but have been discontinued but have been propagated nonetheless by generations of students and tour guides. One such discontinued tradition is that of the wooden spoon , the prize awarded to the student with the lowest passing honours grade in the final examinations of the university's Mathematical Tripos . The last of these spoons

2160-480: A large surgical practice and had twice held the rank of Warden in the company, and later became Master. Gerard did well there, and was admitted to freedom of the company on 9 December 1569 and permitted to open his own practice. Although he claimed to have learned much about plants from travelling to other parts of the world (see for instance a letter to Lord Burghley in 1588), his actual travels appear to have been limited. For example, at some time in his later youth, he

2304-496: A long and colorful history in Europe, associated with "sorcery", "magic" and intrigue. Although not frequent, adverse reactions have been reported for herbs in widespread use. On occasion serious untoward outcomes have been linked to herb consumption. A case of major potassium depletion has been attributed to chronic licorice ingestion, and consequently professional herbalists avoid the use of licorice where they recognize that this may be

2448-485: A lower age demographic in the city. Most of the university's older colleges are located near the city centre, through which River Cam flows. Students and others traditionally punt on the River Cam, which provides views of the university's buildings that surround the river. A few of the notable University of Cambridge buildings are King's College Chapel ; the history faculty building designed by James Stirling ; and

2592-410: A lower ethanol percentage than tinctures. They are usually made by vacuum distilling tinctures. Dry extracts are extracts of plant material that are evaporated into a dry mass. They can then be further refined to a capsule or tablet. The exact composition of a herbal product is influenced by the method of extraction. A tea will be rich in polar components because water is a polar solvent . Oil on

2736-506: A mixture of pure ethanol with water) with the herb. A completed tincture has an ethanol percentage of at least 25% (sometimes up to 90%). Non-alcoholic tinctures can be made with glycerin but it is believed to be less absorbed by the body than alcohol based tinctures and has a shorter shelf life. Herbal wine and elixirs are alcoholic extracts of herbs, usually with an ethanol percentage of 12–38%. Extracts include liquid extracts, dry extracts, and nebulisates. Liquid extracts are liquids with

2880-496: A physical means of purging intestinal parasites. Sick animals tend to forage plants rich in secondary metabolites , such as tannins and alkaloids . University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge , England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the world's third-oldest university in continuous operation . The university's founding followed

3024-503: A plagiarised English translation of Rembert Dodoens 's 1554 herbal, itself highly popular in Dutch, Latin, French and other English translations. Gerard's Herball drawings of plants and the printer's woodcuts are mainly derived from Continental European sources, but there is an original title page with a copperplate engraving by William Rogers . Two decades after Gerard's death, the book was corrected and expanded to about 1,700 pages. Gerard

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3168-401: A result, the university received its first systematic state support in 1919, and a Royal commission was appointed in 1920 to recommend that the university (but not its colleges) begin receiving an annual grant. Following World War II , the university experienced a rapid expansion in applications and enrollment, partly due to the success and popularity gained by many Cambridge scientists. This

3312-425: A risk. Black cohosh has been implicated in a case of liver failure. Few studies are available on the safety of herbs for pregnant women, and one study found that use of complementary and alternative medicines is associated with a 30% lower ongoing pregnancy and live birth rate during fertility treatment. Examples of herbal treatments with likely cause-effect relationships with adverse events include aconite (which

3456-626: A specific profession of herb mixer and combiner (herbalist), called Acaraki . The book from Mataram dated from circa 1700 contains 3,000 entries of jamu herbal recipes, while Javanese classical literature Serat Centhini (1814) describes some jamu herbal concoction recipes. Though possibly influenced by Indian Ayurveda systems, the Indonesia archipelago holds numerous indigenous plants not found in India, including plants similar to those in Australia beyond

3600-551: A topical. Salves , oils, balms , creams, and lotions are other forms of topical delivery mechanisms. Most topical applications are oil extractions of herbs. Taking a food grade oil and soaking herbs in it for anywhere from weeks to months allows certain phytochemicals to be extracted into the oil. This oil can then be made into salves, creams, lotions, or simply used as an oil for topical application. Many massage oils, antibacterial salves, and wound healing compounds are made this way. Inhalation , as in aromatherapy , can be used as

3744-548: A traditional Chinese treatment for intermittent fevers. In India, Ayurvedic medicine has quite complex formulas with 30 or more ingredients, including a sizable number of ingredients that have undergone " alchemical processing ", chosen to balance dosha . In Ladakh, Lahul-Spiti, and Tibet, the Tibetan Medical System is prevalent, also called the "Amichi Medical System". Over 337 species of medicinal plants have been documented by C.P. Kala . Those are used by Amchis,

3888-402: A treatment. It is a popular misconception that herbal medicines are safe and side-effect free. Consumption of herbs may cause adverse effects . Furthermore, "adulteration, inappropriate formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led to adverse reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal." Proper double-blind clinical trials are needed to determine

4032-488: A university department. The colleges also decide which undergraduates to admit to the university, in accordance with university standards and regulations. Costs to students for room and board vary considerably from college to college. Similarly, the investment in student education by each college at the university varies widely between the colleges. Cambridge has 31 colleges, two of which, Murray Edwards and Newnham , admit women only. The other colleges are mixed . Darwin

4176-604: A variety of checks and balances. The council is obliged to advise Regent House on matters of general concern to the university, which it does by publishing notices to the Cambridge University Reporter , the university's official journal. In March 2008, Regent House voted to increase from two to four the number of external members on the council, and this was approved by Her Majesty the Queen in July 2008. The General Board of

4320-411: Is Cambridge University Press & Assessment , which has £1 billion of annual revenue and reaches 100 million learners. All of the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, managing their own personnel and policies, and all students are required to have a college affiliation within the university. Undergraduate teaching at Cambridge is centred on weekly small-group supervisions in

4464-624: Is Deborah Prentice , who began her role in July 2023. While the Chancellor's office is ceremonial, the Vice-Chancellor serves as the university's de facto principal administrative officer. The university's internal governance is carried out almost entirely by Regent House augmented by some external representation from the Audit Committee and four external members of the University's Council . The university Senate consists of all holders of

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4608-407: Is a collegiate university , which means that its colleges are self-governing and independent, each with its own property, endowments, and income. Most colleges bring together academics and students from a broad range of disciplines. Each faculty, school, or department at the university includes academics affiliated with differing colleges. The university is legally structured as an exempt charity and

4752-438: Is a conspiracy to suppress safe and effective herbs, herbs cannot cause harm, whole herbs are more effective than molecules isolated from the plants, herbs are superior to drugs, the doctrine of signatures (the belief that the shape of the plant indicates its function) is valid, dilution of substances increases their potency (a doctrine of the pseudoscience of homeopathy ), astrological alignments are significant, animal testing

4896-539: Is banned in the European Union), St. John's wort , khat , betel nut , the restricted herb ephedra , and guarana . There is also concern with respect to the numerous well-established interactions of herbs and drugs. In consultation with a physician, usage of herbal remedies should be clarified, as some herbal remedies have the potential to cause adverse drug interactions when used in combination with various prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, just as

5040-464: Is based in Addenbrooke's Hospital , where medical students undergo their three-year clinical placement period after obtaining their BA degree. The West Cambridge site is undergoing a major expansion and will host new buildings and fields for university sports. Since 1990, Cambridge Judge Business School , on Trumpington Street , provides management education courses and is consistently ranked among

5184-546: Is clear in his dedication to Burghley, where he presents himself as a gardener. Gerard dismissed L'Obel's criticisms as being due to unfamiliarity with English idioms. Norton decided to proceed with publication despite these difficulties. He decided against using Dodoens' original illustrations since this would have revealed the actual source of the material, but instead rented woodblocks from Nicolaus Bassaeus in Frankfurt , about 1,800 in all, only 16 being original. However, Gerard

5328-497: Is held currently by David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville , who succeeded the Duke of Edinburgh following his retirement on his 90th birthday in June 2011. Lord Sainsbury was nominated by the nomination board. The election took place on 14 and 15 October 2011 with Sainsbury taking 2,893 of the 5,888 votes cast, and winning on the election's first count. The current vice-chancellor

5472-626: Is legal in most of the South American countries where it is grown. The Cannabis plant is used as a herbal medicine , and as such is legal in some parts of the world. Since 2004, the sales of ephedra as a dietary supplement is prohibited in the United States by the FDA, and subject to Schedule III restrictions in the United Kingdom. Herbalism has been criticized as a potential " minefield " of unreliable product quality, safety hazards, and

5616-518: Is not appropriate to indicate human effects, anecdotal evidence is an effective means of proving a substance works and herbs were created by God to cure disease. Tyler suggests that none of these beliefs have any basis in fact. Up to 80% of the population in Africa uses traditional medicine as primary health care. Native Americans used about 2,500 of the approximately 20,000 plant species that are native to North America. In Andean healing practices,

5760-437: Is not mandated in the United States, but even products made to the same specification may differ as a result of biochemical variations within a species of plant. Plants have chemical defense mechanisms against predators that can have adverse or lethal effects on humans. Examples of highly toxic herbs include poison hemlock and nightshade. They are not marketed to the public as herbs, because the risks are well known, partly due to

5904-462: Is often a legally restricted herb), Ayurvedic remedies , broom , chaparral , Chinese herb mixtures, comfrey , herbs containing certain flavonoids, germander , guar gum , liquorice root , and pennyroyal . Examples of herbs that may have long-term adverse effects include ginseng , the endangered herb goldenseal , milk thistle , senna , aloe vera juice , buckthorn bark and berry , cascara sagrada bark , saw palmetto , valerian , kava (which

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6048-420: Is safer and potentially more effective, for which there is no evidence either condition applies. Phytochemical researcher Varro Eugene Tyler described paraherbalism as "faulty or inferior herbalism based on pseudoscience", using scientific terminology but lacking scientific evidence for safety and efficacy. Tyler listed ten fallacies that distinguished herbalism from paraherbalism, including claims that there

6192-571: Is said to have made one trip abroad, possibly as both a ship's surgeon and captain's lover on a merchant ship sailing around the North Sea and Baltic , for he refers to both Scandinavia and Russia in his writings. Gerard married Anne (or possibly Agnes), who died in 1620, and by her had five children, of whom only one, Elizabeth, survived them. He spent his entire adult life in London, close to Barnards Inn , between Chancery Lane and Fetter Lane . It

6336-429: Is the pseudoscientific use of extracts of plant or animal origin as supposed medicines or health-promoting agents. Phytotherapy differs from plant-derived medicines in standard pharmacology because it does not isolate and standardize the compounds from a given plant believed to be biologically active. It relies on the false belief that preserving the complexity of substances from a given plant with less processing

6480-575: Is thought he resided in a tenement with a garden belonging to Lord Burghley. After his death in February 1612, he was buried at St Andrews, Holborn on 18 February, but the grave is unmarked. Gerard had a successful career with the Barber–Surgeons' Company. He became a member of the Court of Assistants (board of directors) on 19 June 1595, despite being accused of defaming the wife of a colleague in 1578. He

6624-408: Is thought to have been used earlier by John Goodyer and others. Gerard may be seen as one of the founders of botany in the English language, despite being ill-educated was more interested as a herbalist and barber-surgeon in the medicinal properties of plants than in botanical theory. His botanical shortcomings were ascribed by critics in his own time, including John Ray , who commented that despite

6768-478: The Cambridge Theological Federation and associated in partnership with the university. The University of Cambridge's 31 colleges are: In addition to the 31 colleges, the university maintains over 150 departments, faculties, schools, syndicates, and other academic institutions. Members of these are usually members of one of the colleges, and responsibility for the entire academic programme of

6912-539: The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products . In the United States, herbal remedies are regulated dietary supplements by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) policy for dietary supplements. Manufacturers of products falling into this category are not required to prove the safety or efficacy of their product so long as they do not make 'medical' claims or imply uses other than as

7056-596: The Ebers papyrus dates from about 1550 BCE, and covers more than 700 compounds, mainly of plant origin. The earliest known Greek herbals came from Theophrastus of Eresos who, in the 4th century BCE, wrote in Greek Historia Plantarum , from Diocles of Carystus who wrote during the 3rd century BCE, and from Krateuas who wrote in the 1st century BCE. Only a few fragments of these works have survived intact, but from what remains, scholars have noted overlap with

7200-681: The MA or higher degrees and is responsible for electing the Chancellor and the High Steward. Until 1950 when the Cambridge University constituency was abolished, it was also responsible for electing two members of the House of Commons . Prior to 1926, the university Senate was the university's governing body, fulfilling the functions that Regent House has provided since. Regent House is the university's governing body, comprising all resident senior members of

7344-750: The Therapeutic Goods Administration , despite this being a condition for their sale. They also found that nearly 60 percent of products surveyed had ingredients that did not match what was on the label. Out of 121 products, only 15 had ingredients that matched their TGA listing and packaging. In 2015, the New York Attorney General issued cease and desist letters to four major U.S. retailers ( GNC , Target , Walgreens , and Walmart ) who were accused of selling herbal supplements that were mislabeled and potentially dangerous. Twenty-four products were tested by DNA barcoding as part of

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7488-480: The University of Cambridge's Chancellor was given special powers allowing him to prosecute criminals and reestablish order in the city. Attempts at reconciliation between the city's residents and students followed; in the 16th century, agreements were signed to improve the quality of streets and student accommodation around the city. However, this was followed by new confrontations when the plague reached Cambridge in 1630 and colleges refused to assist those affected by

7632-1030: The Wallace Line . Jamu practices may vary from region to region, and are often not recorded, especially in remote areas of the country. Although primarily herbal, some Jamu materials are acquired from animals, such as honey , royal jelly , milk, and Ayam Kampung eggs . Herbalists tend to use extracts from parts of plants, such as the roots or leaves, believing that plants are subject to environmental pressures and therefore develop resistance to threats such as radiation, reactive oxygen species and microbial attack to survive, providing defensive phytochemicals of use in herbalism. Indigenous healers often claim to have learned by observing that sick animals change their food preferences to nibble at bitter herbs they would normally reject. Field biologists have provided corroborating evidence based on observation of diverse species, such as chickens, sheep, butterflies , and chimpanzees . The habit of changing diet has been shown to be

7776-432: The souls of the founders. University of Cambridge colleges were often associated with chapels or abbeys . The colleges' focus began to shift in 1536, however, with the dissolution of the monasteries and Henry VIII 's order that the university disband the canon law that governed the university's faculty and stop teaching scholastic philosophy . In response, colleges changed their curricula from canon law to classics ,

7920-495: The "Lime Street community" in the City of London . Gerard and L'Obel were friends who made occasional field trips together. The South African native botanical plant genus of Gerardiina was named after Gerard in 1897. Herbal medicine Paraherbalism describes alternative and pseudoscientific practices of using unrefined plant or animal extracts as unproven medicines or health-promoting agents. Paraherbalism relies on

8064-603: The Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(g)(1)], because they are intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease and/or intended to affect the structure or any function of the body" when no such evidence existed. During the COVID-19 pandemic , the FDA and U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued warnings to several hundred American companies for promoting false claims that herbal products could prevent or treat COVID-19 disease . The World Health Organization (WHO),

8208-639: The American Herbalist Guild, "there is currently no licensing or certification for herbalists in any state that precludes the rights of anyone to use, dispense, or recommend herbs." However, there are U.S. federal restrictions for marketing herbs as cures for medical conditions, or essentially practicing as an unlicensed physician. Over the years 2017–2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to numerous herbalism companies for illegally marketing products under "conditions that cause them to be drugs under section 201(g)(1) of

8352-465: The Bachelor of Arts degree. But since women were not yet admitted to the Bachelor of Arts degree program, they were excluded from the university's governance structure. Since University of Cambridge students must belong to a college, and since established colleges remained closed to women, women found admissions restricted to the few university colleges that had been established only for them. Darwin College ,

8496-625: The Bible, and mathematics. Nearly a century later, the university found itself at the centre of a Protestant schism. Many nobles, intellectuals, and also commoners saw the Church of England as too similar to the Catholic Church and felt that it was being used by The Crown to usurp the counties' rightful powers. East Anglia emerged as the centre of what ultimately became the Puritan movement . In Cambridge,

8640-560: The Cambridge Teaching College for Women, Murray Edwards College , founded in 1954 by Rosemary Murray as New Hall , and Lucy Cavendish College , founded in 1965. Prior to ultimately being permitted admission to the university in 1948, female students were granted the right to take University of Cambridge exams beginning in the late 19th century. Women were also allowed to study courses, take examinations, and have prior exam results recorded retroactively, dating back to 1881; for

8784-586: The Egyptian herbals. Seeds likely used for herbalism were found in archaeological sites of Bronze Age China dating from the Shang dynasty ( c.  1600  – c.  1046 BCE ). Over a hundred of the 224 compounds mentioned in the Huangdi Neijing , an early Chinese medical text, are herbs. Herbs were also commonly used in the traditional medicine of ancient India, where the principal treatment for diseases

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8928-453: The Faculties is responsible for the university's academic and educational policies and is accountable to the council for its management of these affairs. Faculty boards are accountable to the general board; other boards and syndicates are accountable either to the general board or to the council. Under this organizational structure, the university's various arms are kept under supervision of both

9072-470: The French king's gardener sent him seeds. After his death in February 1612 he was buried at the parish church of St Andrews, Holborn . Gerard's 1596 Catalogue ( Catalogus arborum, fruticum, ac plantarum tam indigenarum, quam exoticarum, in horto Johannis Gerardi civis et chirurgi Londinensis nascentium ) is a list of 1,039 rare plants he cultivated in his garden at Holborn, where he introduced exotic plants from

9216-552: The New Court and Cripps Buildings at St John's College . The brickwork of several colleges is notable: Queens' College has some of the earliest patterned brickwork in England and the brick walls of St John's College are examples of English bond , Flemish bond , and Running bond . The university is divided into several sites, which house the university's various departments, including: The university's School of Clinical Medicine

9360-579: The New World, including a plant he misidentified as Yucca . The Yucca failed to bloom in his lifetime, but a pip taken from the plant later bloomed for a contemporary. To this day Yucca bears the name Gerard gave it. The list was the first catalogue of this type ever produced. The only known copy is in the Sloane collection at the British Library . L'Obel wrote an introduction to the text. George Baker describes

9504-628: The Puritan movement was particularly strong at Emmanuel , St Catharine Hall , Sidney Sussex , and Christ's . These colleges produced many nonconformist graduates who greatly influenced, by social position or preaching, some 20,000 Puritans who ultimately left England for New England and especially Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Great Migration decade of the 1630s, settling in the colonial-era Colony of Virginia and other fledgling American colonies. The university quickly established itself as

9648-453: The Tripos system, feeling that students were becoming too focused on accumulating high exam marks at the expense of the subject itself. Pure mathematics at the University of Cambridge in the 19th century achieved great things, though it largely missed out on substantial developments in French and German mathematics. By the early 20th century, however, pure mathematical research at Cambridge reached

9792-509: The UK, endowment reserve stood at £2.469 billion. The 31 colleges reported collective endowment reserve of £4.582 billion . In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2023, the central university, excluding colleges, reported total consolidated income of £2.518 billion, of which £569.5 million was from research grants and contracts. In July 2022, the Dear World, Yours Cambridge Campaign for

9936-510: The United Kingdom to pursue full-time postgraduate study at Cambridge. In October 2021, the university suspended its £400m collaboration with the United Arab Emirates , citing allegations that UAE was involved in illegal hacking of the university's computer and storage systems using NSO Group 's Pegasus software. UAE also was behind the leak of over 50,000 phone numbers, including hundreds belonging to British citizens. Stephen Toope ,

10080-597: The arrival of scholars who left the University of Oxford for Cambridge after a dispute with local townspeople. The two ancient English universities, although sometimes described as rivals, share many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge . In 1231, 22 years after its founding, the university was recognised with a royal charter , granted by King Henry III . The University of Cambridge includes 31 semi-autonomous constituent colleges and over 150 academic departments, faculties, and other institutions organised into six schools . The largest department

10224-541: The arts, architecture, and archaeology were donated by Viscount Fitzwilliam of Trinity College , who also founded Fitzwilliam Museum in 1816. In 1847, Prince Albert was elected the university's chancellor in a close contest with the Earl of Powis . As chancellor, Albert reformed university curricula beyond its initial focus on mathematics and classics, adding modern era history and the natural sciences . Between 1896 and 1902, Downing College sold part of its land to permit

10368-883: The belief that preserving various substances from a given source with less processing is safer or more effective than manufactured products, a concept for which there is no evidence. Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of medicinal plants dates back to the Paleolithic age, approximately 60,000 years ago. Written evidence of herbal remedies dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians , who compiled lists of plants. Some ancient cultures wrote about plants and their medical uses in books called herbals . In ancient Egypt, herbs were mentioned in Egyptian medical papyri , depicted in tomb illustrations, or on rare occasions found in medical jars containing trace amounts of herbs. In ancient Egypt,

10512-516: The central administration and Regent House. The Cambridge University Endowment Fund is the main vehicle of investment for the University. In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2023, the university group, excluding colleges, reported a total endowment of £3.736 billion. The figure includes both restricted and unrestricted funds. When reported strictly using Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs) guidelines, which accounted for only donations that meet certain criteria among non-profit organizations in

10656-555: The centuries. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, strong clashes led to attacks and looting of university properties as locals contested the privileges granted by the British government to the University of Cambridge's academic staff. Residents burned university property in Market Square to the famed rallying cry " Away with the learning of clerks, away with it! ". Following these events,

10800-546: The chancellor and the guild of scholars granted the new university ius non trahi extra , or the right not to be drawn out, for three years, meaning its members could not be summoned to a court outside of the diocese of Ely. After Cambridge was described as a studium generale in a letter from Pope Nicholas IV in 1290, and confirmed as such by Pope John XXII 's 1318 papal bull , it became common for researchers from other European medieval universities to visit Cambridge to study or give lecture courses. The 31 colleges of

10944-516: The college faculties make up the University of Cambridge. Facilities such as libraries are provided on all these levels by the university. The Cambridge University Library is the university's largest and primary library. Squire Law Library is the primary library for the university's students of law . Individual colleges each maintain a multi-discipline library designed for each college's respective undergraduates. College libraries tend to operate 24/7 and their usage in generally restricted to members of

11088-514: The college. Conversely, libraries operated by departments are generally open to all students of the university, regardless of subject. The colleges are self-governing institutions with their own endowments and property, each founded as components of the university. All students and most academics are attached to a college. The colleges' importance lies in the housing, welfare, social functions, and undergraduate teaching they provide. All faculties, departments, research centres, and laboratories belong to

11232-582: The colleges with lectures, seminars, laboratory work, and occasionally further supervision provided by the central university faculties and departments. The university operates eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum and Cambridge University Botanic Garden . Cambridge's 116 libraries hold a total of approximately 16 million books, around nine million of which are in Cambridge University Library ,

11376-401: The company, published in 1890, a biography of Gerard appears under a list of "Eminent Members". While studying he developed the tenement garden in the suburb of Holborn , London, which he refers to frequently in his work, and later published a catalogue of the flowers there. This became popular and he received gifts of seeds and plants from around the world. He also received offers to supervise

11520-519: The construction of Downing Site , the university's grouping of scientific laboratories for the study of anatomy , genetics , and Earth sciences . During this period, the New Museums Site was erected, including the Cavendish Laboratory , which has since moved to West Cambridge , and other departments for chemistry and medicine. The University of Cambridge began to award PhD degrees in

11664-416: The date of their matriculation . Lucy Cavendish , which was previously a women-only mature college, began admitting both men and women in 2021. All other colleges admit both undergraduate and postgraduate students without any age restrictions. Colleges are not required to admit students in all subjects; some colleges choose not to offer subjects such as architecture, art history, or theology, but most offer

11808-577: The death of a local Oxford -area woman, were hanged by town authorities without first consulting ecclesiastical authorities, who traditionally would be inclined to pardon scholars in such cases. But during this time, Oxford's town authorities were in conflict with King John . Fearing more violence from Oxford townsfolk, University of Oxford scholars began leaving Oxford for more hospitable cities, including Paris, Reading , and Cambridge . Enough scholars ultimately took residence in Cambridge to form, along with

11952-492: The disease by locking their sites. Such conflicts between Cambridge's residents and university students have largely disappeared since the 16th century, and the university has grown as a source of enormous employment and expanded wealth in Cambridge and the region. The university also has proven a source of extraordinary growth in high tech and biotech start-ups and established companies and associated providers of services to these companies. The economic growth associated with

12096-731: The drawing of a man on the title page of the Herball depicts Shakespeare, but other scholars dispute this. The art of describing the natural world by direct observation divides Renaissance natural historians from their medieval predecessors, who were largely uncritical adherents of ancient texts. The earliest printed works in Renaissance natural history fell into two categories: 1. newly recovered, translated and corrected editions of ancient texts, and 2. herbals based on empirical knowledge of early botanists. Although Francis Bacon advocated inductive thinking based on observation or description (empiricism) as

12240-419: The fact that the book was the standard botany text in the 17th century, it was by an ignorant man whose lack of foreign languages meant he could not have translated the work. Because it was a practical and useful book, packed with helpful drawings of plants, and because Gerard had a fluid and lively writing manner, his Herball was popular with ordinary literate people in 17th-century England. Although scholars at

12384-456: The festival has existed since 1918 and the celebration itself originated even earlier at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall in 1880. The first television broadcast of the festival was in 1954. The university occupies a central location within the city of Cambridge . University of Cambridge students represent approximately 20 percent of the town's population, which was 145,674 as of 2021, resulting in

12528-419: The first graduate college of the university, matriculated both male and female students from its inception in 1964 and elected a mixed fellowship. Undergraduate colleges, starting with Churchill , Clare , and King 's colleges, began admitting women between 1972 and 1988. Among women's colleges at the university, Girton began admitting male students in 1979, and Lucy Cavendish began admitting men in 2021. But

12672-500: The first third of the 20th century; the first Cambridge PhD in mathematics was awarded in 1924. The university contributed significantly to the Allies' forces in World War I with 13,878 members of the university serving and 2,470 being killed in action during the war. Teaching, and the fees it earned, nearly came to a halt during World War I, and severe financial difficulties followed. As

12816-449: The founding of Sidney Sussex in 1596 and that of Downing in 1800. The most recent college to be established is Robinson , which was built in the late 1970s. Most recently, in March 2010, Homerton College achieved full university college status, making it technically the university's newest full college. In medieval times, many colleges were founded so that their members could pray for

12960-514: The founding of the University of Cambridge in 1209, Cambridge and the area surrounding it already had developed a scholarly and ecclesiastical reputation due largely to the intellectual reputation and academic contributions of monks from the nearby bishopric church in Ely . The founding of the University of Cambridge, however, was inspired largely by an incident at the University of Oxford during which three Oxford scholars, as an administration of justice in

13104-594: The garden in his preface to the Herball as "all manner of strange trees, herbes, rootes, plants, floures and other such rare things, that it would make a man wonder, how one of his degree, not having the purse of a number, could ever accomplish the same". A revised edition in 1599 by John Norton, the Queen's Printer , placed the English and Latin names in opposite columns. The publisher and Queen's Printer John Norton proposed to Gerard an English translation of Dodoens ' popular herbal, Stirpium historiae pemptades sex (1583). This

13248-505: The gardens of noblemen. In 1577, he began work as superintendent at the gardens of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (Lord Burghley, the queen's Lord High Treasurer ) at the Strand and Theobalds , Hertfordshire, a position he continued in for more than 20 years. In 1586, the College of Physicians established a physic garden with Gerard as curator, a position he held till 1604. In 1588, Burghley

13392-467: The highest international standard, thanks largely to G. H. Hardy and his collaborators, J. E. Littlewood and Srinivasa Ramanujan . W. V. D. Hodge and others helped establish Cambridge as a global leader in geometry in the 1930s. The Cambridge University Act 1856 formalised the university's organisational structure and introduced the study of many new subjects, including theology, history, and Modern languages . Resources necessary for new courses in

13536-537: The investigation, with all but five containing DNA that did not match the product labels. In some countries, formalized training and minimum education standards exist for herbalists, although these are not necessarily uniform within or between countries. In Australia, for example, the self-regulated status of the profession (as of 2009) resulted in variable standards of training, and numerous loosely formed associations setting different educational standards. One 2009 review concluded that regulation of herbalists in Australia

13680-851: The last edition of Dodonaeus , which meant to publish the same; but being prevented by death, his translation likewise perished: lastly, my selfe one of the least among many, have presumed to set foorth unto the view of the world, the first fruits of these mine own labours" This led to Gerard being accused of plagiarism , and even of being a "crook". The work, published in 1597, was his Great Herball, or, Generall Historie of Plantes . This edition reused hundreds of woodblocks from Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus ' Kräuterbuch or Eicones Plantarum seu stirpium (Frankfurt, 1590), which themselves had been reused from earlier 16th-century botanical books by Pietro Andrea Mattioli , Rembert Dodoens , Carolus Clusius , and L'Obel. Gerard's lack of scientific training and knowledge led him to frequent inclusion of material that

13824-514: The long-term boiled extracts, usually of harder substances like roots or bark. Maceration is the cold infusion of plants with high mucilage -content, such as sage or thyme . To make macerates, plants are chopped and added to cold water. They are then left to stand for 7 to 12 hours (depending on the herb used). For most macerates, 10 hours is used. Tinctures are alcoholic extracts of herbs, which are generally stronger than herbal teas. Tinctures are usually obtained by combining pure ethanol (or

13968-446: The many scholars already there, the nucleus for the new university's formation. By 1225, a chancellor of the university was appointed, and writs issued by King Henry III in 1231 established that rents in Cambridge were to be set secundum consuetudinem universitatis , according to the custom of the university, and established a panel of two masters and two townsmen to determine these. A letter from Pope Gregory IX two years later to

14112-590: The mathematics Tripos exam are called wranglers , and the top student among them is known as the Senior Wrangler , a position that has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." The Cambridge Mathematical Tripos is highly competitive and has helped produce some of the most famous names in British science, including James Clerk Maxwell , Lord Kelvin , and Lord Rayleigh . However, some famous students, such as G. H. Hardy , disliked

14256-498: The name of the plant species Gerardia . Gerard's Herball references many of the poisonous plants mentioned in Shakespeare 's plays. Additional value has been placed on the Herball by students of literature. For example, the herb which produces the deathlike sleep of Juliet or Cymbeline may refer to nightshade , Mandragora or Doronicum , all listed and described in the Herball . The writer Mark Griffiths has claimed that

14400-447: The naming of Garret Hostel Lane and Garret Hostel Bridge , a street and bridge in Cambridge. The University of Cambridge's first college, Peterhouse , was founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham , the Bishop of Ely . Multiple additional colleges were founded during the 14th and 15th centuries, and colleges continued to be established during modern times, though there was a 204-year gap between

14544-538: The original. For example, he wrote of the entry on the saffron crocus , "Our author in this chapter was of many minds." The plant drawings in the 1633 and 1636 editions used hundreds of woodblocks originally made for an edition of Rembert Dodoens 's original herbal, the basis of Gerard's work. These were shipped from Antwerp to London. Johnson's revisions are the best-known versions, which most later authors refer to, sometimes called Gerard emaculatus ("Gerard freed from blemishes"). Long ascribed this term to John Ray, but it

14688-449: The other female-only colleges have remained female-only colleges as of 2023. As a result of St Hilda's College, Oxford , ending its ban on male students in 2008, Cambridge is now the only remaining university in the United Kingdom with female-only colleges; the two female-only colleges at the university are Newnham and Murray Edwards . As of the 2019–2020 academic year, the university's male to female enrollment, including post-graduates,

14832-462: The other hand is a non-polar solvent and it will absorb non-polar compounds. Alcohol lies somewhere in between. Many herbs are applied topically to the skin in a variety of forms. Essential oil extracts can be applied to the skin, usually diluted in a carrier oil. Many essential oils can burn the skin or are simply too high dose used straight; diluting them in olive oil or another food grade oil such as almond oil can allow these to be used safely as

14976-750: The potential for misleading health advice. Globally, there are no standards across various herbal products to authenticate their contents, safety or efficacy, and there is generally an absence of high-quality scientific research on product composition or effectiveness for anti-disease activity. Presumed claims of therapeutic benefit from herbal products, without rigorous evidence of efficacy and safety, receive skeptical views by scientists. Unethical practices by some herbalists and manufacturers, which may include false advertising about health benefits on product labels or literature, and contamination or use of fillers during product preparation, may erode consumer confidence about services and products. Paraherbalism

15120-612: The practitioners of this medical system. The Indian book, Vedas, mentions treatment of diseases with plants. In Indonesia , especially among the Javanese , the jamu traditional herbal medicine may have originated in the Mataram Kingdom era, some 1300 years ago. The bas-reliefs on Borobudur depict the image of people grinding herbs with stone mortar and pestle , a drink seller, a herbalist, and masseuse treating people. The Madhawapura inscription from Majapahit period mentioned

15264-434: The present-day University of Cambridge were originally an incidental feature of the university; no college within the University of Cambridge is as old as the university itself. The colleges within the university were initially endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, called hostels, which were gradually absorbed by the colleges over the centuries, and they have left some traces, including

15408-443: The prevalence of herbal remedy use. There are many forms in which herbs can be administered, the most common of which is a liquid consumed as a herbal tea or a (possibly diluted) plant extract. Herbal teas , or tisanes, are the resultant liquid of extracting herbs into water, though they are made in a few different ways. Infusions are hot water extracts of herbs, such as chamomile or mint , through steeping . Decoctions are

15552-438: The safety and efficacy of each plant before medical use. Although many consumers believe that herbal medicines are safe because they are natural, herbal medicines and synthetic drugs may interact, causing toxicity to the consumer. Herbal remedies can also be dangerously contaminated, and herbal medicines without established efficacy, may unknowingly be used to replace prescription medicines. Standardization of purity and dosage

15696-593: The safety and efficacy of herbal products, the European Medicines Agency provided criteria in 2017 for evaluating and grading the quality of clinical research in preparing monographs about herbal products. In the United States, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health of the National Institutes of Health funds clinical trials on herbal compounds, provides fact sheets evaluating

15840-593: The safety, potential effectiveness and side effects of many plant sources, and maintains a registry of clinical research conducted on herbal products. According to Cancer Research UK as of 2015, "there is currently no strong evidence from studies in people that herbal remedies can treat, prevent or cure cancer". The use of herbal remedies is more prevalent in people with chronic diseases , such as cancer, diabetes , asthma , and end-stage kidney disease . Multiple factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, education and social class are also shown to have associations with

15984-445: The sciences. Other colleges have more informal academic focus and even demonstrate ideological focus, such as King's , which is known for its left-wing political orientation, and Robinson and Churchill , both of which have a reputation for academic focus on sustainability and environmentalism. Three theological colleges at the university, Westcott House , Westminster College , and Ridley Hall Theological College , are members of

16128-542: The specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international public health, published Quality control methods for medicinal plant materials in 1998 to support WHO Member States in establishing quality standards and specifications for herbal materials, within the overall context of quality assurance and control of herbal medicines. In the European Union (EU), herbal medicines are regulated under

16272-494: The student with the lowest passing grade deserving of the spoon, leading to discontinuation of the tradition. Each Christmas Eve, The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols , sung by the Choir of King's College , are broadcast globally on BBC World Service television and radio and syndicated to hundreds of additional radio stations in the U.S. and elsewhere. The radio broadcast has been a national Christmas Eve tradition since 1928, though

16416-470: The time recognised that it was a pirated work with many limitations, there is evidence of the book remaining in practical use as a medicinal herbal even in the early 19th century. Agnes Arber notes how a man born in 1842 recounts that in his childhood there was still a woman who used the Herball for treating the ailments of her neighbours. Despite some shortcomings in Gerard's effort, Linnaeus honoured him in

16560-759: The time. His flawed (from the perspective of some of his contemporaries) Herball is dedicated to Burghley. He surrounded himself with influential friends and contacts, including Lancelot Browne , George Baker, and the apothecaries James Garrett, Hugh Morgan and Richard Garth. Garret was a Huguenot living and working in London, and a neighbour of the Flemish botanist Matthias de l'Obel (also known as Lobelius). Many of these had fine gardens and would exchange plants. Garth, who described Gerard as "a worshipful gentleman and one that greatly delighteth in strange plants" had South American contacts from where he would import rarities. He also exchanged plants with Clusius and cultivated

16704-617: The top 20 business schools in the world by Financial Times . Many of the sites are quite close together, and the area around Cambridge is reasonably flat. Furthermore, students are not permitted to hold car park permits except under special circumstances. For these reasons, of the favourite modes of transport for students is the bicycle; an estimated one-fifth of journeys in the city are made by bike. The University of Cambridge and its constituent colleges include many notable locations, some of which are iconic or of historical, academic, religious, and cultural significance, including: Cambridge

16848-507: The university and colleges concluded, raising a total of £2.217 billion in commitments. The university maintains multiple scholarship programs. The Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students covers tuition costs for two students and maintenance grants for up to four years. In 2000, Bill Gates of Microsoft donated US$ 210 million through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to endow Gates Cambridge Scholarships for students from outside

16992-707: The university and the colleges, the Chancellor, the High Steward , the Deputy High Steward, and the Commissary. Public representatives of Regent House are the two Proctors , elected to serve for one year terms upon their nominations by the colleges. Although the University Council is the university's principal executive and policy-making body, the Council reports to, and is held accountable by, Regent House through

17136-563: The university is divided among them. The university has a department dedicated to providing continuing education , the Institute of Continuing Education , which is based primarily in Madingley Hall , a 16th-century manor house in Cambridgeshire . Its award-bearing programmes include both undergraduate certificates and part-time master's degrees. A school in the University of Cambridge is

17280-489: The university's high tech and biotech growth has been labeled the Cambridge Phenomenon, and has included the addition of 1,500 new companies and as many as 40,000 new jobs added between 1960 and 2010, mostly at Silicon Fen , a business cluster launched by the university in the late 20th century. Partly because of the University of Cambridge's extensive history, which now exceeds 800 years, the university has developed

17424-531: The university's operational needs, which may include a number of departments and other institutions. A small number of bodies called syndicates hold responsibility for teaching and research, including for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate , the University Press , and the University Library . The Chancellor of the university is limitless term position that is mainly ceremonial and

17568-480: The university, which arranges lectures and awards degrees, but undergraduates receive their overall academic supervision within the colleges through small group teaching sessions, which often include just one student; though in many cases students go to other colleges for supervision if the teaching fellows at their college do not specialise in a student's particular area of academic focus. Each college appoints its own teaching staff and fellows, both of whom are members of

17712-506: The use of entheogens , in particular the San Pedro cactus ( Echinopsis pachanoi ) is still a vital component, and has been around for millennia. Some researchers trained in both Western and traditional Chinese medicine have attempted to deconstruct ancient medical texts in the light of modern science. In 1972, Tu Youyou , a pharmaceutical chemist and Nobel Prize winner , extracted the anti-malarial drug artemisinin from sweet wormwood ,

17856-487: The way to understand and report on the natural world, the early Renaissance printed herbals were slightly modified adaptations of works by their medieval predecessors. These somewhat unscientific early scientists generally contented themselves with listing plants and occasionally other things like animals and minerals and noting their medical uses. John Gerard worked within the early wave of Renaissance natural historians, who sought to systematise natural history while retaining

18000-405: The work of Clusius , which he rearranged to follow more closely L'Obel's scheme of his 1570 Stirpium adversaria nova . It is thought to be a disguise for the original source. In the preface ("To the courteous and well-willing Readers"), Gerard acknowledged Priest's efforts, but claimed the work was his own; "and since that Doctor Priest , one of our London Colledge, hath (as I heard) translated

18144-519: The work. As curator of the College garden, he would have been familiar with Priest and his work. The completed book appears to include much of Priest's work, with his own completion of the text in the form of annotations from his own garden, and for the first time, some North American plants. An example is the first English description of the potato, which he mistakenly believed came from Virginia , not South America (see illustration). He then incorporated some unpublished material from L'Obel and material from

18288-546: The works of the ancients. The basis for Gerard's Herball and those of Dodoens and other herbalists was De Materia Medica of Dioscorides , an early Greek writer whose work was seen a definitive text, coupled with works by Gerard's contemporaries, the German botanists Leonard Fuchs , after whom Fuchsia is named, and L'Obel after whom Lobelia is named. Both Fuchs and L'Obel were early botanists who worked empirically with plants. They were well educated, as were other members of

18432-465: Was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Gerard wrote to him commending himself as a suitable superintendent of the university botanic garden , writing "to signe for ye University of Cambridge for planting of gardens". Amongst his qualifications he wrote "by reason of his travaile into farre countries his great practise and long experience". There is no evidence for the travel claim and nothing seems to have come of his application. By 1595, when he

18576-524: Was a Latin version of an earlier work in Flemish by Dodoens, his Cruydeboeck (Herb Book, 1554). It had been translated into English in 1578 by Henry Lyte as A Niewe Herball and proved popular. Gerard was not Norton's first choice, the translation having originally been commissioned from Dr Robert Priest, a member of the London College of Physicians , who had meanwhile died. Although Gerard acknowledges Priest's role, he implies that he died before starting

18720-769: Was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948 . The constituency was not a geographical area; rather, its electorate consisted of university graduates. Before 1918, the franchise was restricted to male graduates with a doctorate or MA degree. For the first several centuries of its existence, as was the case broadly in England and the world, the University of Cambridge was only open to male students. The first colleges established for women were Girton College , founded by Emily Davies in 1869, Newnham College , founded by Anne Clough and Henry Sidgwick in 1872, Hughes Hall , founded in 1885 by Elizabeth Phillips Hughes as

18864-650: Was appointed to the Court of Assistants, he had built up a reputation as a skilled herbalist and spent much time commuting from the Court to the garden he founded close to his cottage in Holborn, and also attending to his duties for Burghley. In 1596 he requested that the Barber–Surgeons' Company establish a physic garden ("Mr. Gerrard's garden") in East Smithfield , but this was not done. It was reported that Queen Elizabeth held his achievements in high regard. In October 1603, Gerard

19008-549: Was awarded in 1909 to Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, an oarsman of the Lady Margaret Boat Club at St John's College . It was over one metre in length and had an oar blade for a handle. It can now be seen outside the Senior Combination Room of St John's College. Since 1908, examination results have been published alphabetically within class rather than in strict order of merit, which made it difficult to ascertain

19152-563: Was born at Nantwich , Cheshire, towards the end of 1545, receiving his only schooling at nearby Willaston , about two miles away. Nothing is known of his parentage, but the coat of arms on his Herball implies he was a member of the Gerards of Ince . Around the age of 17, in 1562, he became an apprentice to Alexander Mason (died 3 April 1574), a barber-surgeon of the Barber–Surgeon's Company (Company of Barbers and Surgeons) in London. Mason had

19296-526: Was diet. De Materia Medica , originally written in Greek by Pedanius Dioscorides ( c.  40  – c.  90 CE ) of Anazarbus , Cilicia , a physician and botanist, is one example of herbal writing used over centuries until the 1600s. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and African countries presently uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. Some prescription drugs have

19440-471: Was granted a lease on a garden adjoining Somerset House , by Anne of Denmark , the queen consort to King James I , in which he was described as "surgeon and herbarist to the King". He relinquished the lease to Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury . According to Anna Pavord , Gerard was a doer and not a scholar. Deborah Harkness notes that Gerard was not part of the community of Lime Street naturalists in London at

19584-460: Was incorrect, folkloric or mythical, such as the barnacle tree that bore geese (see illustration). Nevertheless, the work, including over 1,000 plants in 167 chapters remained popular, providing in English information about the names, habits and uses ("vertues") of many plants known and rare. It was seen as the best and most exhaustive work of its kind and a standard reference for some time. Modern authorities disagree on how much of Gerard's Herball

19728-506: Was made an examiner of candidates for admission to the freedom of the company on 15 January 1598 and Junior Warden in August 1597, under the mastership of George Baker. Following a further dispute with a senior warden, he relinquished his positions of "second warden and upper governor" on 26 September 1605, but this was resolved and on 17 August 1607 he was elected Master of the company. In the Annals of

19872-425: Was nearly balanced with its total student population being 53% male and 47% female. In 2018 and later years, the university has come under some criticism and faced legal challenges over alleged sexual harassment at the university. In 2019, for example, former student Danielle Bradford, represented by sexual harassment lawyer Ann Olivarius , sued the university for its handling of her sexual misconduct complaint. "I

20016-416: Was needed to reduce the risk of interaction of herbal medicines with prescription drugs , to implement clinical guidelines and prescription of herbal products, and to assure self-regulation for protection of public health and safety. In the United Kingdom, the training of herbalists is done by state-funded universities offering Bachelor of Science degrees in herbal medicine. In the United States, according to

20160-512: Was not without controversies, however. For example, Cambridge researchers were accused in 2023 of helping to develop weapon systems for Iran. The University of Cambridge was one of only two universities to hold parliamentary seats in the Parliament of England and was later one of 19 represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom . The constituency was created by a Royal charter of 1603 and returned two members of parliament until 1950 when it

20304-525: Was original. Garret made a chance visit to the Norton publishing shop, where he discovered the proofs of the Herball and alerted the Nortons both to errors he discovered in the proofs and the incorporation of some of L'Obel's material. This is recounted by L'Obel in his Stirpium illustrationes (1655), which accuses Gerard of plagiarism . Although the Norton firm was not concerned about plagiarism, it feared errors in

20448-423: Was the first college to admit both men and women. In 1972, Churchill , Clare , and King's were the first previously all-male colleges to admit female undergraduates. In 1988, Magdalene became the last all-male college to accept women. Clare Hall and Darwin admit only postgraduates, and Hughes Hall , St Edmund's , and Wolfson admit only mature undergraduate and graduate students who are 21 years or older on

20592-561: Was then faced with the difficulty of matching them to the text and frequently mislabelled them. After Gerard's death in 1612, an enlarged, revised and corrected edition of the Herball appeared in 1633 and as a third edition in 1636. These were edited by Thomas Johnson , a London apothecary and botanist, commissioned by the heirs to the estate of John Gerard. Johnson's edition contained many corrections and new empirical observations. He added over 800 new species and 700 figures. Through anecdotal comments, Johnson carefully distanced himself from

20736-693: Was told that I should think about it very carefully because making a complaint could affect my place in my department", Bradford alleged in 2019. In 2020, hundreds of current and former students accused the university in a letter, citing "a complete failure" to deal with sexual misconduct complaints. The relationship between the university and the city of Cambridge has sometimes been uneasy. The phrase town and gown continues to be employed to distinguish between Cambridge residents (town) and University of Cambridge students (gown), who historically wore academical dress . Ferocious rivalry between Cambridge's residents and university students have periodically erupted over

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