Hawthorn: The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, and Inspired Through the Ages
One of humankind’s oldest companions, the hawthorn tree, is bound up in the memories of every recorded age and the plot lines of cultures all across the Northern Hemisphere. Hawthorn examines the little-recognized political, cultural, and natural history of this ancient spiky plant.
 
Used for thousands of years in the impenetrable living fences that defined the landscapes of Europe, the hawthorn eventually helped feed the class antagonism that led to widespread social upheaval. In the American Midwest, hawthorn-inspired hedges on the prairies made nineteenth-century farming economically rewarding for the first time. Later, in Normandy, mazelike hedgerows bristling with these thorns nearly cost the Allies World War II. Bill Vaughn shines light on the full scope of the tree’s influence over human events. He also explores medicinal uses of the hawthorn, the use of its fruit in the world’s first wine, and the symbolic role its spikes and flowers played in pagan beliefs and Christian iconography. As entertaining as it is illuminating, this book is the first full appreciation of the hawthorn’s abundant connections with humanity.
1120555185
Hawthorn: The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, and Inspired Through the Ages
One of humankind’s oldest companions, the hawthorn tree, is bound up in the memories of every recorded age and the plot lines of cultures all across the Northern Hemisphere. Hawthorn examines the little-recognized political, cultural, and natural history of this ancient spiky plant.
 
Used for thousands of years in the impenetrable living fences that defined the landscapes of Europe, the hawthorn eventually helped feed the class antagonism that led to widespread social upheaval. In the American Midwest, hawthorn-inspired hedges on the prairies made nineteenth-century farming economically rewarding for the first time. Later, in Normandy, mazelike hedgerows bristling with these thorns nearly cost the Allies World War II. Bill Vaughn shines light on the full scope of the tree’s influence over human events. He also explores medicinal uses of the hawthorn, the use of its fruit in the world’s first wine, and the symbolic role its spikes and flowers played in pagan beliefs and Christian iconography. As entertaining as it is illuminating, this book is the first full appreciation of the hawthorn’s abundant connections with humanity.
22.99 In Stock
Hawthorn: The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, and Inspired Through the Ages

Hawthorn: The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, and Inspired Through the Ages

by Bill Vaughn
Hawthorn: The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, and Inspired Through the Ages

Hawthorn: The Tree That Has Nourished, Healed, and Inspired Through the Ages

by Bill Vaughn

eBook

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Overview

One of humankind’s oldest companions, the hawthorn tree, is bound up in the memories of every recorded age and the plot lines of cultures all across the Northern Hemisphere. Hawthorn examines the little-recognized political, cultural, and natural history of this ancient spiky plant.
 
Used for thousands of years in the impenetrable living fences that defined the landscapes of Europe, the hawthorn eventually helped feed the class antagonism that led to widespread social upheaval. In the American Midwest, hawthorn-inspired hedges on the prairies made nineteenth-century farming economically rewarding for the first time. Later, in Normandy, mazelike hedgerows bristling with these thorns nearly cost the Allies World War II. Bill Vaughn shines light on the full scope of the tree’s influence over human events. He also explores medicinal uses of the hawthorn, the use of its fruit in the world’s first wine, and the symbolic role its spikes and flowers played in pagan beliefs and Christian iconography. As entertaining as it is illuminating, this book is the first full appreciation of the hawthorn’s abundant connections with humanity.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300213751
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 05/26/2015
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 870,414
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Bill Vaughn writes for many publications about topics ranging from sports to the paper industry, fashion to the cattle business. He lives outside Missoula, MT.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 The World's Busiest Tree 1

2 Under the Hawthorn Tree 10

3 The Celtic Forge 25

4 The Hedge Layers 38

5 The American Thorn 66

6 The Return of the Native 84

7 The Tree of Heroes 97

8 The Medicine Tree 116

9 A Tree for All Seasons 140

10 Essence and Spinescence 165

11 The Crown of Thorns 188

12 The Warrior Queen 204

Epilogue 220

Notes 225

Acknowledgments 247

Index 249

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