Seminar #15 - Eleonora Matarrese: Edible Wild Plants in the Middle Ages – From Ethnobotany to Philology

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are delighted to invite you to the 15th session of our seminar series "Entangled Histories: Borders and Cultural Encounters from the Medieval to the Contemporary Era", supported by the Faculty of Communication and the Master’s Programme in Media and Cultural Studies at Üsküdar University.

IMPORTANT: NEW SECURITY & REGISTRATION PROTOCOLS

Due to our strict security measures, advance registration is now mandatory.

• Quick Registration: The process is absolutely free and takes less than 30 seconds.
• Genuine Names Only: Please join the meeting using your full real name. Generic names (e.g., "iPhone", "User") will not be admitted.
• Link Delivery: To ensure maximum security, the Zoom link will be sent via email only a few minutes before the seminar starts.
• Troubleshooting: If you do not see the link in your primary inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder for an email from "Ticket Tailor".

SEMINAR #15: ELEONORA MATARRESE (University of Bari Aldo Moro)

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Time: 17:00 CET (Rome Time) — Please note we are returning to our usual scheduled time.

Talk Title: "Edible Wild Plants: Widespread and Futuristic Knowledge in the Middle Ages (with Practical Workshop)"

About the Speaker: Eleonora Matarrese is a leading Ethnobotanist and expert in Germanic Philology. Currently a lecturer in Ethnobotany and a researcher in Botanical Iconography at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, she is a member of the Slow Food Alliance and a professional forager. Widely known as "La Cuoca Selvatica" (The Wild Cook) through her acclaimed Bompiani publication, she is a frequent expert guest on major Italian television programmes (RAI 1 and RAI 3).

Her academic work bridges the gap between scientific field research and deep philological analysis, notably in her groundbreaking studies on the Voynich Manuscript (Beinecke 408). Fluent in seven languages, she specialises in the transmission of traditional knowledge across medieval Germanic, and Mediterranean cultures.

Abstract & Practical Workshop: Crossing the Boundary In this session, Eleonora Matarrese will explore how the knowledge of wild plants functioned as a bridge across linguistic and cultural borders. She will discuss the concept of the "border" (the hedge) as the liminal space between the civilised and the "wild" world, and how herbs considered as "magic" in the Middle Ages have since been validated by modern medicine.

Live Workshop: Moving from theory to practice, Eleonora will perform a live demonstration "crossing the boundary", recreating remedies directly from the manuscripts discussed.

• Attendees will see the preparation of the famous Old English "Wið fǣrstice" (Against a Sudden Stab) balm.
• She will demonstrate practical recipes and techniques found in the Nine Herbs Charm and Longobard manuscripts, showing how these ancient preparations can still be effectively created today.

For further information and updates on our next appointments, please visit our official website: https://sites.google.com/view/entangledhistories/home

We thank you for your patience, your solidarity, and your commitment to keeping our intellectual community a safe and respectful space.

Contact Email: entangledhistories.seminars[@]gmail.com