What were herbs used for in the Dark Ages? Just about everything. They were medicines, cosmetics, and dyes. They were even, in some cases, used for disguise, and that's how our heroine uses the gipsywort and other materials she has gathered.
I . . . went to the stream to gather gipsywort. In a secluded clearing, I extracted the dye and stored it in a leather drinking pouch.
[Later she uses the dye to darken her skin.] I took off all my clothes and the knife I always wear strapped to my thigh. I poured some of the gipsywort infusion into the wash basin and mixed it with water so the color wouldn’t be too intense. I rubbed the stain over my face, neck, arms and my legs up to the crotch, figuring it was best to play safe. I didn’t want anyone to spot a white thigh in the latrine. Then I crushed the chalk into a fine powder and worked it into my hair. I pressed a few seed pods over some teeth to make them look rotten.Excerpt from "Courting Trouble" by Elaine Drew
I gave the gipsywort time to dry and the powder time to settle, then I strapped on my knife and dressed in my old nurse’s clothes.
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