CHAPTER IIl (Part 3)

that the first of these is perhaps engaged in colouring a printed sheet. These portraits are powerfully drawn, and remarkably convincing. It is pleasant to think that we know not merely the names, but the very features of the men who collaborated to give us what is perhaps the most beautiful herbal ever produced. The influence of Fuchs’ illustrations is more strongly felt in later work than that of his text. The majority of the wood engravings in Bock’s ‘Kreuter Butch’ (1546), Dodoens’ ‘ Criydeboeck’ (1554), Turner’s ‘ New Herball’ (1551—1568), Lyte’s ‘Niewe Herball’ (1578) and Jean Bauhin’s ‘Historia plantarum universalis’ (1651), are copied from Fuchs, or even printed from his actual wood-blocks, while a number of his figures reappear in the herbals of Egenolph, d’Aléchamps, Tabernzmontanus, etc., and the commentaries of Ruellius and Amatus Lusitanus on Dios- corides. Fuchs arranged his work alphabetically, making no attempt at a natural grouping of the plants, and his herbal is therefore without importance in the history of plant classification. His influence on methods of plant descrip- tion was, however, considerable, as is shown by the fact that Dodoens, in his ‘Crtiydeboeck,’ took Fuchs’ herbal Iv] Leonhard Fuchs CVCVM($ TYR. Cicvs Titr kif Cocamer, Text-fig. 32. “Cucumis turcicus”=Cucurbtta maxima Duch., Giant Pumpkin [Fuchs, De historia stirpium, 1542]. Reduced. 63 64 The Botanical Renaissance [CH. as a model for the order of description of each plant. Fuchs’ text, as well as his figures, may thus be said to have had an effect, even if an indirect one, on British botany, since the herbals of Lyte and of Gerard are based on the work of Dodoens, in which, as we have just shown, the influence of Fuchs is clearly felt. The publisher Christian Egenolph of Frankfort, though not himself a botanical writer, must be mentioned at this stage, because he brought out, in 1533, a set of plant illus- trations which became particularly well known (e.g. Text- figs. 33 and 85). They do not reflect any great credit on Egenolph, since they were mostly pirated from Brunfels. They were not even used to illustrate a new herbal, but merely a new edition of the old German Herbarius, enlarged and improved by Dr Eucharias Rhodion, and issued under the name of ‘ Kreutterbuch von allem Erdtgewachs.’ Egenolph was evidently a keen man of business, for he made his figures do duty over and over again. He used them not only as illustrations to the herbal, but as a separate publication, without any letter-press, and also in conjunction with an entirely unrelated text, such, for ex- ample, as a Latin version of Dioscorides. Many later editions of the Kreutterbich appeared, and to these a number of figures were added, chiefly copies, on a reduced scale, from those of Bock, who had himself made consider- able use of the drawings in the octavo edition of Fuchs’ herbal. The editions produced under the auspices of Adam Lonicer, the publisher's son-in-law, are particularly well known. No other botanical works of the period had a success comparable to that of this long series of books, of which Rhodion’s ‘Kreutterbuch’ was the prototype. This success was, however, achieved in the teeth of much ad- verse contemporary criticism. Fuchs, in the preface of his ‘Historia stirpium’ (1542), referred with unsparing touch to Egenolph’s botanical mistakes. His trenchant indict- ment may be rendered into English as follows—‘‘ Among all the herbals which exist to-day, there are none which have more of the crassest errors than those which Egenolph, the printer, has already published again and again.” This statement Fuchs supports by means “of actual examples. IV] The Herbal in Germany 65 It must nevertheless be admitted that, even if their quality was poor, the herbals published by Egenolph and his successors did good service in disseminating some knowledge of the plant world among a very wide public. There is, in the British Museum, a beautiful copy of the 1536 edition, with a binding stamped in gold and bear- ing the arms of Mary, Duchess of Suffolk, daughter of Henry VII. The duchess may perhaps have inherited a taste for herbals from her father, for the British Museum also possesses a copy of Vérard’s translation of the ‘Ortus Sanitatis,’ which is known to have been pur- chased by him. Eroopfiel. Vulgago. Panisporcinus. Ciclamen. Malum terre. Arthanita. Bothormarictt Schweinb:od¢. Text-fig. 33. “Erddpffel” = Ranunculus ficaria L., Lesser Celandine [Rhodion, Kreutterbich, 1533]. Among the German Fathers of Botany, Sprengel in- cludes a comparatively little known name, that of Valerius Cordus (1515—1544), a man whose actual achievement was small, but who, if he had not died so young, would probably have become one of the most famous of the earlier herbalists. His father, Euricius Cordus, was a physician, botanist, and man of letters, so Valerius was brought up in a fortunate environment. At sixteen he graduated at the _ University of Marburg, and, after studying in various towns, A. 5 66 The Botanical Renaissance [cH. he passed from the position of pupil to that of teacher, and expounded Dioscorides at the University of Wittenberg. He travelled widely in search of plants, and visited many of the savants of the period. He is known to have made a stay at Tiibingen, and it is highly probable that he became personally acquainted with Leonhard Fuchs. Cordus had always longed to see, under their native skies, the plants about which the ancients had written, and, in fulfilment of this dream, he undertook a long excursion into Italy. He visited many of the towns, amongst others Padua, Bologna, Florence and Siena, travelling partly on foot and partly on horseback, and generally accompanied by his friend Hieronymus Schreiber. The journey was a very trying one to men accustomed to a more northerly climate. Wild and difficult country had to be traversed in the height of summer, and the exposure and fatigue led to a tragic conclusion. Cordus was injured by a kick from a horse, which brought on a fever, and his companions had great difficulty in getting him as faras Rome. He rallied, however, and his friends were deceived into the belief that he was on the road to recovery. They even thought it safe to leave him, while they made an excursion to Naples, but he did not survive until their return. His fate, like that of Keats, was to see Rome and die. None of the botanical works of Valerius Cordus were published during his life-time, but his commentaries on Dioscorides and his ‘ Historia stirpium’ were edited by Gesner after his death. The great merit of the ‘ Historia’ lies in the vividness of the descriptions. The author seems to have examined the plants for their own sake—not merely in the interest of the arts of healing. Cordus did noteworthy service to medicine, however, for when he passed through Nuremberg on his travels he was able to lay before the physicians of that town a collection of medical recipes, chiefly selected from earlier writings. This work, which had for some time been in use in Saxony in manuscript form, was considered so valuable that, after it had been examined and tested under the auspices of the town council, it was published officially as the Nuremberg ‘ Dispensatorium,’ probably in 1546*. This 1 Various dates are given by different authors for the first edition of the 1v] The Herbal in Germany — 67 is said to be the first work of the nature of a pharmacopceia ever published under government authority. A passing reference may be made at this point to Jacob Theodor of Bergzabern (1520—1590), a herbalist whose work was perhaps of no very great importance, Text-fig. 34. “Ocimoides fruticosum”=Szlene fruticosa L. {[Camerarius, Hortus medicus, 1588]. but who is closely connected with the German Fathers of Botany, having been the pupil both of Otto Brunfels and of Hieronymus Bock. In his books he called himself ‘T'abernzemontanus. ‘ Dispensatorium,’ but 1546 seems to be the best attested. I have not seen any edition prior to 1598. 5-2 68 The Botanical Renatssanuce [cH. Like the majority of the herbalists, Theodor was a medical man, and his study of botany was a hobby which extended over many years. He projected a herbal, but was unable for a long time to carry the idea into effect, being deterred by the cost of the illustrations. This difficulty was eventually overcome, chiefly through the generosity of Count Palatine Frederick III, and of the Frankfort publisher, Nicolaus Basszeus. The herbal first appeared in 1588, under the title ‘Neuw Kreuterbuch,’ and in 1590 the illustrations were published without any text as the ‘Eicones plantarum.’ The herbal is a large and very finely illustrated work. The figures, however, are for the most part not original, but are reproduced from Bock, Fuchs, Dodoens, Mattioli, de !Ecluse and de I'Obel. This collection of wood-blocks became familiar in England a few years later, when they were acquired by the printer John Norton, and used to illustrate Gerard’s ‘Herball’ which appeared in 1597. There is still another German herbalist of the sixteenth century whose work must not be overlooked. This is Joachim Camerarius’ the younger (Plate VI). His father was a celebrated philologist, and a friend of Melanchthon. The son, who was born in 1534, was attracted to botany in his early youth. He studied at Wittenberg and other universities, and travelled in Hungary and Italy. He spent some time in the latter country, and took a doctor's degree in medicine at Bologna. At Pisa, he became acquainted with Andrea Cesalpino. Finally he returned to Germany, and settled down at Nuremberg. Here he cultivated a garden which was kept supplied with rare plants by his friends, and the Nuremberg merchants. Camerarius brought out an edition of Mattioli (‘De plantis Epitome’), but his chief work was the ‘ Hortus medicus et philosophicus,’ which appeared in 1588. The illustrations to this book consist partly of drawings by Gesner, which the author had bought a few years previously, and partly of original figures. It is impossible to discriminate with any exactness between the work of the two men. These wood-cuts, of which Text-figs. 34, 35, 71 and 100 are 1 The name Kammermeister or Camerarius was adopted by Joachim Came- rarius the elder, in place of the family name of Liebhard. VI Plate BEX > OO OR WHER x3 anv cAXSSE KPSCw NA Roa Ox XS: AVLKKI GBs i Fi # 2 3) § ‘ H Be 3 3 FE pect PULSE AO £ aur & x ce ce : £ ~ the younger (1534—1598) JOACHIM CAMERARIUS, [En (Oy He mn DH O-x — eS] eee) Oia Ww B op D.Sc 2. Ss aie MH A 8 - 2 fe a. = <a Pan Ss) 35 & 5 Eg GS 6 SI Ss 48, u Oo SA ae rs [2 og bo > S bss) ald) a a = Ss & oa, 5 Iv] Lhe Herbal in Germany 69 examples, will be discussed more fully in Chapter VII. From the botanical point of view, they represent a con- siderable advance, since the details of floral structure are often shown on an enlarged scale. Camerarius was a good fees Mega apes es LALO ry =F ree TUG ty ? eS. Y cS Text fig. 35. “Palma”=Seedlings of Phentr dactylifera L C) Date Palm [Camerarius, Hortus medicus, 1 5 88]. observer, and his travels furnished him with much in- formation regarding the localities for the plants which he described. 70 The Botanical Renaissance [CH. 2, iIHE HERBAL IN THE Low COUNTRIES: In the sixteenth century, the Herbal flourished exceed- ingly in the Low Countries. This was due in part to the zeal and activity of the botanists of the Netherlands, but perhaps even more to the munificence, and love of learn- ing for its own sake, which distinguished that prince of publishers, Christophe Plantin of Antwerp. In these qualities he forms a notable contrast to Egenolph of Frankfort, to whose shortcomings we have already drawn attention. Plantin’s life extended from about 1514 to 1589, and thus included the central years of that wonderful century. He was a native of Touraine, and studied the art of printing at Caen and other French towns. Towards 1550, he and his wife, Jeanne Riviére, settled in Antwerp, where he worked at book-binding, and his wife sold linen in a little shop. Later, he returned to the profession of printing, and his business in this direction gradually developed, and was eventually transferred to the famous Maison Plantin. Christophe’s reputation grew to such an extent that great efforts were made, in various quarters, to tempt him from Antwerp. The Duke of Savoy and Piedmont, for instance, did all he could to persuade him to come to Turin, promising him extensive printing works and all necessary funds—but he remained faithful to the city of his adoption. Perhaps the most potent factor in his success was his keen judgment of men, which enabled him so to choose his subordinates that he gathered around him an unrivalled staff. One of Plantin’s daughters married Jean Moretus, her father’s chief assistant and successor, and from him the business descended through eight generations of printers to Edouard Jean Hyacinthe Moretus, the last of his race, from whom, in 1876, the citizens of Antwerp purchased the Maison Plantin and its contents. The house had remained practically unchanged since the days when Christophe Plantin lived and worked there, and it is now preserved as the Musée Plantin-Moretus. It is built round a rectangular courtyard, and its beauty, both in proportion and in detail, is such, that one feels at once that Plantin achieved the ambition 1V] The Herbal in the Netherlands “1 he expressed in his charming sonnet—‘ Le Bonkeur de ce Monde’—“ Avoir une maison commode, propre et belle.” The pictures, furniture and hangings, and not only the wifi LD mn. 81S 0g 0 e385 08 = PITAL 3 ZAS Soe “ig ZB LZ ‘ \\ Wy 4 Z Nts é S “ ‘ \ eo =. a, -ZGZY, SEE — pat \ 4 \ ‘\ EE )Y dt Sct AN bh <. St NS y"s Text-fig. 36. Rembert Dodoens, 1517—1585 [A Niewe Herball, translated by Lyte, 1578]. very presses, fonts, and furnaces for casting the type, but even the old account books and corrected proof-sheets are still to be seen, all in their appropriate places. The 72 The Botanical Renaissance [CH. wage-books are preserved, showing the weekly earnings of compositors, engravers and book-binders, throughout a period of three centuries. In short, the Maison Plantin beggars description, and a visit there is an infallible recipe for transporting the imagination back to the time of the Renaissance, when printing was in its first youth, and was treated with the reverence due to one of the fine arts. The first Belgian botanist of world-wide renown was Rembert Dodoens [or Dodonzeus] (Text-fig. 36). He was a contemporary of Plantin, having been born at Malines in 1517’. He studied at Louvain, and visited the universities and medical schools of France, Italy and Germany, even- tually qualifying as a doctor. He was successful in his profession, being physician to the Emperors Maximilian I] and Rudolph II, and finally becoming Professor of Medicine at Leyden, where he died in 1585. His interest in the medical aspect of botany led him to write a herbal, and, in order to illustrate it, he obtained the use of the wood- blocks which had been employed in the octavo edition of Fuchs’ work. To these a number of new engravings were added. The book was published in Dutch in the year 1554 by Vanderloe, under the title ‘Criydeboeck.’ The text is not a translation of Fuchs, as is sometimes supposed, although Dodoeris took Fuchs as his model for the order of description of each plant. The method of arrangement is his own, and he indicates localities and times of flowering in the Low Countries, information which clearly could not have been derived from the earlier writer. Almost simul- taneously with the first Dutch edition, a French issue appeared under the title of ‘Histoire des Plantes.’ The trans- lation was carried out by Charles de I’Ecluse, with whose own work we shall shortly deal. Dodoens supervised the production of the book, and took the opportunity to make some additions. It became known in England through Lyte’s translation, which will be discussed in a later section of this chapter. The last Dutch edition of the herbal, for which the author himself was responsible, was printed by Vanderloe in 1563. The publisher then parted with Fuchs’ blocks, 1 There has been some uncertainty about this date, but Meerbeck (see Appendix II) seems to have proved that 1517 is correct. Iv] Lhe Herbal in the Netherlands 73 which were probably acquired by the printer of Lyte’s Dodoens in England. This circumstance put great diffi- culties in the way of Dodoens’ wish to reproduce his herbal eae "96 } fies é 3b st a cribs gp puchn et Se A i or oN = oa, 2 } ei La - ms? sete = Text-fig. 37. “Capparis”=Capparis ovata L. [Dodoens, Pemptades, 1583]. fe in Latin. However it proved a blessing in disguise, for he had the good fortune to meet, in Christophe Plantin, ‘un 74 The Botanical Renaissance [cH. homme qui ne reculait devant aucune dépense, pour don- ner aux ouvrages qui sortaient de ses presses toute la perfection et le mérite dont ils étaient susceptibles.” Plantin undertook to produce a much modified Latin translation of the herbal, and to have new blocks engraved for it, whilst Dodoens, on his side, engaged to supply the artists with fresh plants, and to superintend their labours. The work proceeded slowly, and was published in parts. It was finally completed in 1583, and was produced in one volume, under the name of ‘Stirpium historiz pemptades sex sive libri triginta.. In this work, by far the larger number of the figures are original (see Text-figs. 37, 38, 96 and 97);