A disease that infects sheep and cattle. Highly infectious, the word literally means “death” and was used during the Middle Ages with that meaning. It was believed that a need fire could cure it. In some regions of England, the word means “curse,” especially a curse place on livestock or the land itself.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...