In 1911, Fr. Johannes Künzle published what would become one of the most important
books written on Herbal Medicine in the 20th Century. This bold and outspoken Swiss priest wrote
what was little more than a pamphlet on herbs and their use. His brief booklet, of fewer than 40 pages,
sought to educate the common people of central Europe about the flowers, weeds
and trees that grew in abundance, and how they may be used to treat common
illnesses. Like his predecessor, Fr.
Kneipp, his vision was of kitchen medicine, folk medicine, and a firm faith
that God had provided all an individual of family could need for general health
in the “Herbs and Weeds”. His little
book became a best seller. This led to fame
that he generally did not desire, and to clashes with the medical
establishment. He challenged that
establishment and won court battles, proving that his herbs were sometimes even
more effective than their medicine. This
made Fr. Künzle an international figure.
Fr. Künzle
revitalized the tradition of “German Folk Medicine”, and his booklet was likely
to be found in any German speaking home.
Unfortunately, then came the World Wars.
Much of the world was at war with Germany and its allies. Books written in the German language were not
to be seen in homes in America, England or France (etc.). Fr. Künzle’s little booklet was never translated
into English during his lifetime; only one such effort was made decades later,
and that disappeared quickly. By the
2,000s, only scarce reference was found of Fr. Künzle, even online. I only became aware of his work through Maria
Treben, the great Austrian herbalist who once more brought German Folk Medicine
to the collective consciousness of the modern world. Made curious by brief mentions of Fr. Künzle
in her books, I began a fruitless search for an English translation of his
book either to purchase or in libraries.
Fortunately, I had an Austrian friend.
Jolanta Wittib
and I met on The Grow Network Forums. I
quickly recognized her as a skilled and experienced herbalist, in the tradition
to which I was being drawn. So, I asked
her if she would be interesting in collaborating on this book. To my surprise, she did… and, we have spent
days and months enjoying and discussing this great work. All credit for the translation and the photos
goes to Jolanta.
What became
evident to us early on was that the simple translation of the work was not
sufficient. The brief booklet assumed a
regional knowledge of plants. Some plants and many terms would be unfamiliar to English readers. Moreover, much has been learned about herbs
and illnesses since Fr. Künzle’s time.
We decided to write our own commentary on his work, and expand on many
points, as professional herbalists. The
result was an entirely new work of more than 150 pages! Do not fear though, Fr. Künzle’s words are
still there, intact. His wisdom and delightful
character shine through.
We hope you
will enjoy our book, and that it will find a valued place in your library. For now, it is an eBook only, in .pdf format. Should we be able to offer it in print one
day, those who purchase the eBook will receive an email offering a substantial
discount on the printed version. Until
then, you may wish to print out a paper copy on your home printer – we’ve made
every attempt to format the book so that it will print well on a home printer,
and can be spiral or clip bound on the left side.
Please click
the button/link below to purchase our eBook.
You will receive an email with the file attached once payment has
processed. Any updates to the book will
be available at no additional cost.
You might add the price of the ebook to this page.
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