Hungary water
Aqua Hungarica Bateana, renamed spiritus rorismarini in 1746
- Known today as
- Fresh rosemary tops in flower, steeped in spirit of wine and distilled.
- Kind
- Compound
- Constituents
- ethanol, 1,8-cineole and camphor, α-pinene
Revised October 3, 2026: Checked against its sources, each read in full, in part, or in its abstract. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.
Hungary water: what was it used for?
Rubbed on, to restore paralysed limbs, and rubbed hard into gouty hands and feet.
Hungary water: what does modern science say?
A fragrant alcoholic spirit.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- ethanol ChEMBL
- 1,8-cineole and camphorthe rosemary oil
- α-pinene15–25 per cent of the oil
- Mechanism
- Rosemary distilled in spirit: rubbed on, the oil is a rubefacient, which is the palsy and joint use; drunk, it is a strong spirit, and camphor, a large part of rosemary oil, causes convulsions taken by mouth in quantity.
- Toxic dose
- Alcohol; the camphor of the oil is a convulsant by mouth in quantity.
- Syndrome
- Convulsant terpenes (thujone, pinocamphone, camphor)
- Standing
- Rosemary oil has an EMA monograph (adopted 2010) for traditional use: by mouth for dyspepsia, and on the skin for minor muscular and joint pain.
- EMA/HMPC (2011). Community herbal monograph on Rosmarinus officinalis L., aetheroleum (EMA/HMPC/457054/2010). Read in full · the text read
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Hungary water: what lore surrounds it?
The story, as Grieve gives it, is that it was first invented for a Queen of Hungary, who was said to have been completely cured by its continued use, and that a formula dated 1235, said to be in the handwriting of Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, is preserved in Vienna. See Rosemary.
In Their Own Words
Quincy says the College had rejected Hungary water from its new dispensatory, and that what came from France and other countries rich in rosemary was so good and cheap that it was hardly worth making at home.
“The College have rejected this out of their new Diſpenſatory; and indeed what is imported from France and Countries where the Roſemary moſt abounds, is ſo good and cheap, that it is hardly worth any body's while to make it here,”
John Quincy, M.D., Pharmacopœia Officinalis & Extemporanea, or, A Complete English Dispensatory, Part III, distilled waters: 'Aqua Hungarica, Hungary, or the Queen of Hungary's Water'. London: printed for E. Bell and others, 1724; the edition number on the title page is illegible in the scan (Internet Archive OCR text). The text, read in part
Buchan lists Hungary water with volatile salts, spirits of lavender and tincture of castor among the cordial and stimulating medicines for weak or nervous people subject to fainting.
“The proper method with such people is, to expose them to the free air, and to use cordial and stimulating medicines, as volatile salts, Hungary-water, spirits of lavender, tincture of castor, and the like.”
William Buchan, M.D., Domestic Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines. With an Appendix, containing a Dispensatory for the Use of Private Practitioners, Of fainting fits. London: printed for A. Strahan, T. Cadell, 1791 (Project Gutenberg eBook #74359). The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
The Recipe
The recipe: 2 ingredients, each linked to its entry. For Club members. Create a free account or sign in.
Sources
- Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal. Read in part · the text read
- Pharmacopoeia Collegii Regalis Medicorum Londinensis (1746). London. Read in part · the text read
- EMA/HMPC (2010). Assessment report on Rosmarinus officinalis L., aetheroleum and Rosmarinus officinalis L., folium (EMA/HMPC/13631/2009). Read in part · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)
- Sources
- 4 cited: 1 read in full, 3 read in part.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026
- Chicago
“Hungary water.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/hungary-water.
- MLA
“Hungary water.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/hungary-water. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Hungary water. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/hungary-water
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See Also
Poisoned alike: convulsant terpenes (thujone, pinocamphone, camphor)
Hyssop · Camphor · Mint, oil of · Wormwood, oil of · Mugwort · Tansy · Rosemary · Sage · the syndrome, with all of them →
Sharing ethanol
Laudanum · Honeyed wine and honeyed water · Malmsey · Friar’s balsam
Drawing on the same sources: Grieve
Nearby in the alphabet
Human fat (Fat rendered from the bodies of the executed) · Indian and Arabian pills (Two named compound pills of the Arabic-Latin tradition) · Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) · Indian electuary, greater and lesser (the greater and the lesser) · Houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale) · INRI
Historical description, not medical advice.