See also:

• SPIKENARD, or NARD (O. Fr. spiquenard, Lat. spica nardi, from spica, ear of corn, and Gr. vapSos, Pers. nard, Skt. nalada, Indian spikenard, from Skt, nal, to smell)

SPIKENARD, or NARD (O. Fr. spiquenard, See also:

• LAT

Lat. spica See also:

• NARDI, JACOPO (b. 1476)

nardi, from spica, See also:

• EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear of See also:

• CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. granum, seed, grain)
• CORN (fromm Lat. corms, horn)

corn, and Gr. vapSos, Pers. nard, Skt. nalada, See also:

• INDIAN

Indian spikenard, from Skt, nal, to See also:

• SMELL (connected etymologically with " smoulder " and " smoke ")

smell)  , a celebrated per-fume which seems to have formed one of the most durable aromatic ingredients in the costly unguents used by the See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans and Eastern nations . The ointment prepared from it (" ointment of pistic nard "1) is mentioned in the New Testament (See also:

• MARK
• MARK, CARL (1858– )
• MARK, GOSPEL OF ST
• MARK, ST

Mark xiv . 3-5; See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John xii . 3-5) as being " very costly," a See also:

• POUND
• POUND (2)—(a)

pound of it being valued at more than 300 denarii (over £io) . This appears to represent the prices then current for the best quality of nard, since See also:

• PLINY, THE ELDER
• PLINY, THE YOUNGER

Pliny (H.N. xii . 26) mentions that nard sj ikes reached as much as See also:

• LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo denarii per lb, and, although he does not mention the See also:

• PRICE
• PRICE, BARTHOLOMEW (1818–1898)
• PRICE, BONAMY (1807-1888)
• PRICE, RICHARD (1723-1791)

price of nard ointment, he states (xiii . 2) that the " unguentum cinnamomintim," a similar preparation, ranged from 25 to 300 denarii according to its quality . Nard ointment also varied considerably in price from its liability to sophistication (Ibid. xii . 26, 27; xiii . 2) . The genuine ointment2 1 The meaning of the word " pistic " is uncertain, some rendering it " genuine," others " liquid," and others taking it for a See also:

• LOCAL

local name 2 The use of See also:

• ALABASTER
• ALABASTER, or ARBLASTIER, WILLIAM (1567-1640)

alabaster vessels for preserving these fragrant unguents was customary at a very See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period . See also:

• THEOPHRASTUS

Theophrastus (c .

314 B.C.) states that vessels of See also:

• LEAD
• LEAD (pronounced iced)

lead and alabaster were best for the purpose, on See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of their See also:

• DENSITY (Lat. densus, thick)

density and coolness, and their See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power (unguentum nardinum sive foliatum) contained costus (the See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root of Saussurea See also:

• LAPPA

lappa), amomum (the fruits of Amomum cardamomum), See also:

• BALM

balm (the oleoresin of Balsamodendron opobalsamum) and See also:

• MYRRH (from the Latinized form myrrha of Gr. µuppa; the Arabic murr, bitter, was applied to the substance from its bitterness)

myrrh, with See also:

• INDIAN

Indian nard (Ibid. xiii . 2) . The exact botanical source of the true or . Indian nard was See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long a See also:

• MATTER

matter of uncertainty, the descriptions given by See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient authors being somewhat vague, but it is now identified as Nardostachys jatamansi, • a plant of the See also:

• VALERIAN

valerian See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order, the fibrous root-See also:

• STOCKS

stocks or spikes " of which are still collected in the mountains of Bhotan and See also:

• NEPAL, NEPAUL

Nepal . The name " spike " is applied apparently from its resemblance in shape to a spike or See also:

• EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear of bearded See also:

• CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. granum, seed, grain)
• CORN (fromm Lat. corms, horn)

corn . The root is crowned by the bases of several stems, each about 2 in. or more in length and as thick as the See also:

• FINGER

finger . To these the fibrous See also:

• TISSUE (Fr. tissu, tissue, participle of tisser, Lat. texere, to weave)

tissue of former leaves adheres and gives them a See also:

• PECULIAR

peculiar bristly See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance . It is this portion that is chiefly collected . Other and inferior varieties of nard are mentioned by Dioscorides and subsequent writers . See also:

• CELTIC

Celtic nard, obtained from the Ligurian See also:

• ALPS

Alps and See also:

• ISTRIA (Ger. Istrien)

Istria, consisted of the roots of See also:

• PLANTS

plants also belonging to the valerian order (Valeriana celtica and V. saxatilis) . This was exported to the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East and thence to See also:

• EGYPT

Egypt, and was used in the preparation of See also:

• BATHS

baths . See also:

• MOUNTAIN (0. Fr. montaigne; popular Lat. montanea, an adjectival form from the classical mons, montis, whence Eng. " mount," a form usually used along with the name of an individual mountain, e.g. Mt Everest)
• MOUNTAIN, THE (La Montagne)

Mountain nard was collected in See also:

• CILICIA

Cilicia and See also:

• SYRIA

Syria, and is supposed to have consisted of the root of Valeriana tuberosa .

The false nard of See also:

• DAUPHINE

Dauphine, used in later times, and still employed as a See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm in See also:

• SWITZERLAND

Switzerland, is the root-stock of See also:

• ALLIUM (Lat. for " garlic ")

Allium victorialis . It presents a singular resemblance to the spikes of Indian nard, but is devoid of fragrance . It is remarkable that all the nards belong to the natural order Valerianaceae, the odour of valerian being considered disagreeable at the See also:

• PRESENT

present See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day; that of Nerdostachys jatamansi is intermediate between valerian and patchouli, although more agreeable than either . The name " See also:

• SPIKENARD, or NARD (O. Fr. spiquenard, Lat. spica nardi, from spica, ear of corn, and Gr. vapSos, Pers. nard, Skt. nalada, Indian spikenard, from Skt, nal, to smell)

spikenard has also been applied in later times to several plants . The Spikenard of the See also:

• UNITED

United States is Aralia racemosa, and another See also:

• SPECIES

species of the same genus, A. nudicaulis, or See also:

• WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

• SARSAPARILLA

sarsaparilla, is known as " wild spikenard." In the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West Indies Hyplis suaveolens is called " spikenard, and in See also:

• GREAT

Great See also:

• BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain the name " ploughman's spikenard " is given to Inula conuza .