The ''Gart der Gesundheit'' ( Early German for Latin ''hortus sanitatis'') was edited in 1485. It was written by Johann Wonnecke von Kaub and it is one of the first printed

herbal A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A herbal m ...

s in German. It was often reprinted until the 18th century. The ''Gart der Gesundheit'' is an important late medieval work concerning the knowledge of natural history, especially that of medicinal plants. In 435 chapters 382 plants, 25 drugs from the animal kingdom and 28 minerals are described and illustrated. The book was edited by

Peter Schöffer Peter Schöffer or Petrus Schoeffer (c. 1425 – c. 1503) was an early German printer, who studied in Paris and worked as a manuscript copyist in 1451 before apprenticing with Johannes Gutenberg and joining Johann Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and m ...

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. Together with the Latin ''

Herbarius moguntinus ''Herbarius moguntinus'' (Mainzer Herbal Book) or (according to his preface referred to as) ''Aggregator practicus de simplicibus'' is an illustrated Latin herbal which was edited and printed in 1484 by Peter Schöffer in Mainz (Latin: moguntia). ...

'' (Peter Schöffer 1484) and the Latin '' Hortus sanitatis'' (Jacob Meydenbach in Mainz 1491), the ''Gart der Gesundheit'' belongs to the "group of Mainz herbal

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

Text

The text is a collection of earlier texts in German and in Latin on drugs from the herbal, animal, and mineral kingdoms. The reader cannot rely on the names the author gives to his citations. Sometimes he gives no name, for example for the citations he took from the ''Physica'' of

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

. More often he even gives incorrect names to his citations.

Illustrations

About 100 of the 379 illustrations in the ''Gart der Gesundheit'' are of high standard quality.

Erhard Reuwich Erhard Reuwich ( nl, Reeuwijk) was a Dutch artist, as a designer of woodcuts, and a printer, who came from Utrecht but then worked in Mainz. His dates and places of birth and death are unknown, but he was active in the 1480s. He came from a famil ...

is supposed to be the creator of these woodcuts, who depict the character of plants in clear lines. Opposing to some modern authors, who called these illustrations "primitive" in a bad sense, Arnold C. Klebs stated in 1925: ::"We who today in our aesthetic demands are drawing away more and more from the slavish copying of nature and demand that a work of art expresses type and character, can better appreciate the didactic value of these simple drawings than the previous generation to whom the photographic appealed as the highest form of truthful representation." Titel Gart3.jpg, Titlepage Egilops und Cassia lignea Gart.jpg, Figure examples. Left - true to nature: Egilops (Chapt. 162). Right - not true to nature: Cassia lignea (Chapt. 126) Gart Artemisia Text.jpg, Chapter 1. Artemiſia heyſſet byfuſz Odermenich.png, Chapter 5. Agrimonia – 0dermynge Aristologia Gart.jpg, Chapter 11. Aristologia – osterlutzye 16 Aaron Aron.jpg, Chapter 16. Aaron –

aron Aron may refer to: Characters *Aron (comics), from the Marvel Universe comic ''Aron! HyperSpace Boy!'' *Aron (Pokémon), in the ''Pokémon'' franchise * Aron Trask, from John Steinbeck's novel ''East of Eden'' *Áron or Aaron, the brother of Mos ...

Azarum1.jpg, Chapter 19. Azarum – haselwortz 20 Affodillus goltwortz.jpg, Chapter 20. Affodillus – goltwortz 21 Acorus geel lilien.jpg, Chapter 21. Acorus – geel lilien 24 Alkekengi boberellen.jpg, Chapter 24. Alkekengi – boberellen 25 Astrens vel Meu meister wortz.jpg, Chapter 25. Astrens vel Meu – meister wortz Auricula muris Gart.jpg, Chapter 28. Auricula muris sive anagallus – muß ore Avena Gart.jpg, Chapter 29. Avena – habern Betonie Gart1.jpg, Chapter 53. Betonica – betonien Berberis Gart.jpg, Chapter 55. Berberis – versyg 79 Berwinca syngrun.jpg, Chapter 79. Berwinca – syngrun 85 Celidonia schelwortz.jpg, Chapter 85. Celidonia – schelwortz 87 Cicuta wontzerling.jpg, Chapter 87. Cicuta – wontzerling

Cicuta virosa ''Cicuta virosa'', the cowbane or northern water hemlock, is a poisonous species of ''Cicuta'', native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America. Description It is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows up ...

/ Conium maculatum 89 Colubrina naterwortz.jpg, Chapter 89. Colubrina – naterwortz 98 Caput monachi ryngel blomen.jpg, Chapter 98. Caput monachi – ryngel blomen 99 Cinoglossa hundesczung.jpg, Chapter 99. Cinoglossa – hundesczung 101 Cardo disteln.jpg, Chapter 101. Cardo – disteln

Dipsacus fullonum ''Dipsacus fullonum'', syn. ''Dipsacus sylvestris'', is a species of flowering plant known by the common names wild teasel or fuller's teasel, although the latter name is usually applied to the cultivated variety ''D. fullonum'' var. ''sativus' ...

Dipsacus sylvestris ''Dipsacus fullonum'', syn. ''Dipsacus sylvestris'', is a species of flowering plant known by the common names wild teasel or fuller's teasel, although the latter name is usually applied to the cultivated variety ''D. fullonum'' var. ''sativus' ...

Kapitel 119.png, Chapter 119.

Succisa pratensis ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

. Incorrectly assigned to chapter 119 Camphora Castaneus Gart.jpg, Chapter 122. Castaneus – kestenbaum 133 Cartamus wilder saffran.jpg, Chapter 133. Cartamus – wilder saffran 148 Diapensia sanickel.jpg, Chapter 148. Diapensia – sanickel Enula Gart.jpg, Chapter 154. Enula campana – alantwortz Esula Gart.jpg, Chapter 158. Esula – Wolffsmilch Eufragia.png, Chapter 160. Eufragia – augentrost egilops.png, Chapter 162. Egilops vel egilopa – ackeley Edera terrestis Gart.jpg, Chapter 164. Edera terrestis – gundelrebe 166 Elleborus niger swartz nyeszwortz.jpg, Chapter 166. Elleborus niger – swartz nyeszwortz Fumus terre Gart.jpg, Chapter 176. Fumus terre – ertrauch oder katzen kerbeln Filla Gart.jpg, Chapter 179. Filla – benedictenwortz Faba Gart.jpg, Chapter 180. Faba – bonen Frage Gart.jpg, Chapter 190. Frage – ertbern 195 Gladiolus slotten krut oder geel swerteln.jpg, Chapter 195. Gladiolus – slotten krut oder geel swertel Galla Gart.jpg, Chapter 203. Galla – galopffel 207 Gallitricum scharlach.jpg, Chapter 207. Gallitricum – scharlach 212 Hermodattilus zytloisz.jpg,

Taraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the dandelion genus in the family Asteraceae (syn. Compositae). The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn i ...

. Falsch zugeordnet zum Kapitel 212 Hermodattilus – zytloisz 213 Herba paralisis slusselblomen.jpg, Chapter 213. Herba paralisis – slusselblomen 214 Herba rubea storckes snabel.jpg, Chapter 214. Herba rubea – storckes snabel 215 Humulus hoppen.jpg, Chapter 215. Humulus – hoppen 217 Jusquiamus bilsensamen.jpg, Chapter 217. Jusquiamus – bilsensamen

Hyoscyamus niger ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. Histor ...

/ Hyoscyamus albus 218 Juniperus wegholler.jpg, Chapter 218. Juniperus – wegholler 223 Lactuca lattich.jpg, Chapter 223. Lactuca – lattich Lilium album Gart.jpg, Chapter 229. Lilium album – wyß lilien 234 Lavendula lavendel.jpg, Chapter 234. Lavendula – lavendel 251 Menta myntz.jpg, Chapter 251. Menta – myntz 253 Malva bappeln.jpg, Chapter 253. Malva – bappeln 254 Millefolium garbe.jpg, Chapter 254. Millefolium – garbe 256 Marrubium andorn.jpg, Chapter 256. Marrubium – andorn 257 Mandragora alrun Man.jpg, Chapter 257. Mandragora – alrun Man 258 Mandragora alrun Fraw.jpg, Chapter 258. Mandragora – alrun Fraw 260 Moracelsi mulberen.jpg, Chapter 260. Moracelsi – mulberen

Morus alba ''Morus alba'', known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although ...

Morus nigra ''Morus nigra'', called black mulberry or blackberry (not to be confused with the blackberries that are various species of ''Rubus''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae that is native to southwestern Asia and the Iberian Pe ...

263 Morabacci brambernstruch.jpg, Chapter 263. Morabacci – brambernstruch 272 Muscus bysum.jpg, Chapter 272. Muscus – bysum Raden.png, Chapter 277. Nigella –

raden is a Japanese termRaden.

dosten 292 Os de corde cervi eyn beyn daz man fyndet in dem hertzen des hirtzen.jpg, Chapter 292. Os de corde cervi – eyn beyn daz man fyndet in dem hertzen des hirtzen 298 Pionia benonien korner oder benedicten korner.jpg, Chapter 298. Pionia – benonien korner oder benedicten korner 299 Papaver magsamen.jpg, Chapter 299. Papaver – magsamen 300 Polegium poley.jpg, Chapter 300. Polegium – poley 303 Porrum lauch.jpg, Chapter 303. Porrum – lauch 319 Pisa heyssen erbeysz.jpg, Chapter 319. pisa – heyssen erbeys Premula veris.png, Chapter 333. Premula veris – maßlieben 337 Rosa rosen.jpg, Chapter 337. Rosa –

rosen Rosen is a surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, the name deriving from the German word for roses. Notable people with this surname include: People A–H * Adam Rosen (born 1984), American-born British luger Olympian * Al Rosen (1924–2015), Amer ...

341 Ribes iohans drubelin.jpg, Chapter 341. Ribes – iohans drubelin Sambucus Gart.jpg, Chapter 346. Sambucus – holler Gart der Gesundheit 1485a.jpg, Chapter 349. Solatrum – nachtschede 354 Saxifraga stein brech.jpg, Chapter 354. Saxifraga – stein brech 359 Stafisagria byszmyntz oder luszkrut.jpg, Chapter 359. Stafisagria – byszmyntz oder luszkrut 364 Spinachia benetz.jpg, Chapter 364. Spinachia – benetz 366 Sticados arabicum blumen von arabien.jpg, Chapter 366. Sticados arabicum – blumen von arabien 367 Sticados citrinum heysset rynblumen oder motten krut.jpg, Chapter 367. Sticados citrinum heyssent – rynblumen oder motten krut 371 Spodium gebrant helfen beyn.jpg, Chapter 371. Spodium – gebrant helfen beyn 399 Tanacetum reinfar.jpg, Chapter 399. Tanacetum – reinfar 410 Urtica nesseln.jpg, Chapter 410. Urtica – nesseln 413 Viola heyssent violen.jpg, Chapter 413. Viola heyssent – violen 415 Valeriana vel fu baldrian.jpg, Chapter 415. Valeriana vel fu – baldrian 417 Vermicularis muer pfeffer oder duben kropff.jpg, Chapter 417. Vermicularis – muer pfeffer oder duben kropf 429 Yringus krusz distel.jpg,

Carduus marianus ''Silybum marianum'' is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (thou ...

. Incorrectly assigned to chapter 429 Yringus – krusz distel freyschem krut.png, Chapter 432. Yacea – freyschem krut Gart Harnschau.jpg, Harnschau

Editions

(

) March, 28. 148
(Digitalisat)
*

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

(Hans Schönsperger?) August, 22. 148
(Digitalisat)
*

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

1485 *

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

1486 * Augsburg (Hans Schönsberger) June, 5. 148
(Digitalisat)
* Augsburg (Hans Schönsberger) March, 7. 1487 *

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

(Conrad Dinckmut) March, 31. 148
(Digitalisat)
* Straßburg 148
(Digitalisat)
* Straßburg 148
(Digitalisat)
* Augsburg (Hans Schönsberger) December, 15. 148
(Digitalisat)
*

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

(Arends) 1492 * Augsburg (Hans Schönsberger) August, 13. 149
(Digitalisat)
* Augsburg (Hans Schönsberger) May, 10. 149
(Digitalisat)
* Augsburg (Hans Schönsberger) May, 13. 1499 * Straßburg (Johann Prüß) 150

* Straßburg (R. Beck) 151

ref>Arnold C. Klebs. ''Incunabula scientifica et medica.'' The Saint Catherine Press Ltd., 1938, p. 171f.
(Digitalisat)
/ref>

Notes

Herbals Incunabula

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Gart der Gesundheit (1485)