“Wild thyme; hot and dry; if it be boiled in vinegar and a fomentation be made of it for the head, it will help with the headache that comes from coldness. If it be boiled in wine or in ale and drunk, it will cure the pain of the abdomen that comes from coldness, and it will provoke the urine and menstruation. If this herb be boiled in vinegar and a spoonful of it be given every day, it will open the oppilation of the liver and spleen.”

Tadhg Ó Cuinn, An Irish Materia Medica, 1415

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Cover art by Ernst Ferdinand Oehme

Thyme, Thymus vulgaris and Wild Thyme, Thymus serpyllum or Thymus praecox is also called German thyme, mother of thyme, common thyme and garden thyme. It’s called tím in Gaeilge and tìom or lus an rìgh, ‘the king’s plant’ in Scots Gaelic. The name vulgaris means ‘ordinary or common’ in latin in the sense of being widespread. The name Thyme is derived from the Greek word thumos or thymos, meaning ‘spiritedness’ or ‘courage’. The specific name serpyllum is derived from the Greek word meaning to ‘creep’. 

Personally, I naturally gravitate towards Thyme as I do other plants in the mint family. It feels, looks and smells healthy. It’s as if my body naturally knows what it needs. When I learned later in life as I started learning more of herbalism that thyme contained the powerful antibacterial and antiviral chemical, thymol, I wasn’t surprised. When I’m feeling sick or lethargic and know I have a cold coming on, thyme is the first thing I reach for and it never disappoints. Despite thyme’s small flowers, because of their aromatic qualities, they’re popular with bees and other pollinators. Thyme honey is renowned to be particularly flavorful. 

Thyme was likely first used by the Indo-Europeans and Gauls in mainland Europe near France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Dioscorides mentioned thyme as being used to treat asthma, headaches, convulsions, wounds, lethargy as well as to expel worms and encourage menstrual flow. In Ireland, thyme was traditionally mixed with navelwort, stitchwort, honeysuckle and sage to cure tuberculosis as well as used to treat lung ailiments, coughs like whooping cough, shortness of breath and all disorders of the ‘head and nerves’.¹ It was also used to treat toothaches², rhuematism³, sore throat⁴, asthma⁵, anxiety⁶, colic⁷, digestive ailments⁸, and for general wellness as well as use for perfume or to freshen rooms^9,10. Thyme, sage & mint chopped & mixed up into an infusion was also often given to cure illness.¹¹ Naturally, it was also used for flavoring¹² and in food items such as bread, soups and stuffing.¹³ It had similar recommendations and uses throughout Scotland, Wales and Britain.¹⁴ 

In certain parts of Britain and Scotland it was also used to stimulate sexual desire and girls often wore a sprig of it to attract a suitor. Sometimes they went a step further and gave their sweethearts embroidered scarves with thyme on it to again, as in times of old, instill courage for them to perform a chivalrous deed or profess their mutual affection. Drinking thyme infusions, often mixed with anise hyssop or other mint varieties especially as a cordial or with alcohol throughout the autumn season was said to keep colds away during the winter and this practice was unanimous across nearly the entirety of Scotland at one time.¹⁵ In Wales it was recommended to make a decoction of wild thyme and ale and apply it as an external poultice to cure pain in the ‘shoulders, arms and legs.’¹⁶ 

Thyme was also associated with death in Wales and was often thrown on the body in the burial process. A curious custom survived in the area where it was said that beginning with the new year, children made what was called an ‘apple gift’ to win their elder’s favor. Children went door to door of shops and houses sharing an apple or orange with three sticks thrust into it forming a tripod. It was smeared with flour or meal as well as oats or wheat and finally covered in thyme or another sweet evergreen. It was said that an older interpretation of the custom harkened back to the Druidic days where it heralded a solar myth. The three rays were of the sun, the apple the sun itself and the grains of wheat or oats represented Avagddu, the evil principle of darkness for which the sun fights throughout the winter for the world’s life.¹⁷

In the middle ages, a somewhat unanimous recipe throughout Europe was for thyme to be infused with honey which was considered a potent remedy for heart or lung issues such as asthma and whooping cough. It was also a common legend that wherever thyme grew wild was a place where fairies lived or that had received a fairy’s blessing. Shakespeare referenced this belief in his famous abode of the queen of the fairies, who resided on a “bank whereon the wild thyme blows”. 

In Andrew Lang’s The Grey Fairy Book (1900) he referenced thyme in a similar fashion when he wrote of a tale of three brother’s venturing out late on Halloween. Their grandmother warned them not to go, for there were surely witches abound, but they didn’t listen. The youngest was determined on finding and picking wild thyme and blackberries when suddenly their neighbor’s little black pony came upon them. The eldest brother insisted on taking it back to the stable himself and one by one all of the brother’s jumped atop the pony’s back. Despite their size, it galloped along easily. The wind suddenly rose and instead of heading towards the horse pond, the pony cantered steadily towards the sea-shore. The boys pulled and tugged in vain and the pony lunged into the foaming billows as it approached the sea, drowning all three. As the waves covered their heads they cried out “The cursed little black pony is bewitched. If we had only listened…” This tale is very remnant of many other legends regarding the Scottish water kelpie. There is a sweet old Irish poem by the famous Belfast Irish poet Sir Samual Ferguson called Cean Dubh Deelish, the Dear Black Head where he mentions his love having a “…mouth of honey, with the thyme for fragrance.”¹⁸ 

Thyme is in the Lamiaceae family and native to the Mediterranean but has become naturalized throughout Europe. Thyme has very small rounded leaves with dainty white, pink or purple flowers that typically bloom from late spring through midsummer and it may have been associated with Bealtaine or the Summer Solstice. It’s a perennial hardy from zones 4 through 9, grows up to 30 cm. or 1 ft and does well in open sunny areas typical of plateaus, mountains or rocky areas with well drained soil. Thyme’s energy is hot and dry. 

The leaves and flowers are edible and taste slightly bitter or pungent. It’s most commonly used in an infusion, tincture, extract, decoction, ointment, balm or salve, oil, steam bath or mouthwash and poultice. Those with thyroid issues should avoid thyme in large amounts as it can stimulate the thyroid gland and cause changes in heart or breathing rate. It can also cause temporary infertility in men. Thyme is also not recommended for those with hormone-sensitive conditions related to ovarian or uterine cancer as it can sometimes act like estrogen in the body. 

Benefits

analgesic, anthelmintic, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anticancer and antitumor, antifungal, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antirheumatic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, aromatic, blood tonic, calmative, carminative, dental tonic, depression alterative, digestive tonic, emmenagogue, expectorant, hair tonic, heart tonic, hepatoprotective, hypnotic, hypotensive, liver tonic, neuroprotective, skin tonic, weight alterative 

Recipe

Thyme and Raspberry Cordial

Ingredients:  4 tbsp. black tea, 1 sliced lemon, 1 sliced orange, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. cloves, 12 sprigs of thyme, 12 oz. or 1 1/2 cups raspberry liqueur, 12 oz. or 1 1/2 cups whiskey, 2.8 oz. or 1/4 cup lemon juice

Instructions: Bring approx. 2 1/2 liters or 10 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add tea, lemon and orange slices, sugar, cloves and thyme. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth. Stir in raspberry liqueur, whiskey and lemon juice. Serve warm.

References

1. K’Eogh, John. Edited by Michael Scott, 1986. An Irish Herbal. 1735. Pg. 149.
2. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0546, Page 124
3. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1124, Page 37
4. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0828, Page 109
5. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0447, Page 165
6. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0897, Page 239
7. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0776, Page 376
8. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1118, Page 23
9. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0679, Page 388
10. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0417, Page 469
11. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0860, Page 124
12. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0944, Page 313
13. Irish Folk Duchas, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0773, Page 128
14. Allen, David and Hatfield, Gabrielle, Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain & Ireland, Timber Press, 2004, pg. 218.
15. Logan, James, The Scottish Gael, 1876, pg. 155. 
16. Myddvai, Meddygon, Pughe, John and Williams, John, The Physicians of Myddvai, Wales, 1861.
17. Sikes, Wirt, British Goblins, Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, Sampson Low, London, 1880, pg. 253. 
18. Williams, Alfred, Studies in Folk-Song and Popular Poetry, Elliot Stock, London, 1895, pg. 162.

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