A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic,
culinary
Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of outline of food preparation, food preparation, cooking and food presentation, presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as res ...
,
toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
,
hallucinatory
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
,
aroma
An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
s associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A herbal may also classify the plants it describes, may give recipes for
herbal extract
An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form.
The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...
s,
tincture
A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...
s, or
potion
A potion () is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers.” It derives from the Latin word ''potus'' which referred to a drink or drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically ...
s, and sometimes include
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
and animal
medicament
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
s in addition to those obtained from plants. Herbals were often illustrated to assist
plant identification
In biology, determination is the process of matching a specimen of an organism to a known taxon, for example identifying a plant. The term is also used in cellular biology, where it means the act of the differentiation of stem cells becoming fixe ...
.Anderson, p. 2.
Herbals were among the first literature produced in Ancient Egypt,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and Europe as the medical wisdom of the day accumulated by
herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
s,
apothecaries
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and Nor ...
and
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s. Herbals were also among the first books to be printed in both China and Europe. In Western Europe herbals flourished for two centuries following the introduction of moveable type (c. 1470–1670).
In the late 17th century, the rise of modern
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
and
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
reduced the medicinal value of the classical herbal. As reference manuals for
botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
study and plant identification herbals were supplanted by
Floras
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
– systematic accounts of the plants found growing in a particular region, with scientifically accurate botanical descriptions,
classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood.
Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes.
It may also refer to:
Business, organizat ...
, and illustrations. Herbals have seen a modest revival in the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
since the last decades of the 20th century, as
herbalism
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...
and related disciplines (such as
homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
and
aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is based on the usage of aromatic materials including essential oils and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological and physical well-being. It is offered as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative m ...
) became popular forms of
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
.
History
The word ''herbal'' is derived from the
mediaeval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
''liber herbalis'' ("book of herbs"): it is sometimes used in contrast to the word ''
florilegium
In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin ''flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering of ...
'', which is a treatise on flowers with emphasis on their beauty and enjoyment rather than the herbal emphasis on their utility. Much of the information found in printed herbals arose out of
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
and herbal knowledge that predated the invention of writing.
Before the advent of printing, herbals were produced as
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
s, which could be kept as
scroll
A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing.
Structure
A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...
s or loose sheets, or bound into
codices
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
. Early handwritten herbals were often illustrated with paintings and drawings. Like other manuscript books, herbals were "published" through repeated copying by hand, either by professional scribes or by the readers themselves. In the process of making a copy, the copyist would often translate, expand, adapt, or reorder the content. Most of the original herbals have been lost; many have survived only as later copies (of copies...), and others are known only through references from other texts.
As printing became available, it was promptly used to publish herbals, the first printed matter being known as
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 ...
. In Europe, the first printed herbal with
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
(xylograph) illustrations, the ''Puch der Natur'' of
Konrad of Megenberg
Conrad of Megenberg (german: Konrad von Megenberg, la, Conradus Megenbergensis; 1309–1374) was a German Catholic scholar, and a writer.
Biography
Conrad was born in either Mainberg or Mebenburg, both in Bavaria. He was born on 2 February 13 ...
, appeared in 1475.Blunt & Raphael, p. 113. Metal-engraved plates were first used in about 1580. As woodcuts and metal engravings could be reproduced indefinitely they were traded among printers: there was therefore a large increase in the number of illustrations together with an improvement in quality and detail but a tendency for repetition.
As examples of some of the world's most important records and first printed matter, a researcher will find herbals scattered through the world's most famous libraries including the
Vatican Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
in Rome, the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
in London and the major continental libraries.
China, India, Mexico
Shen Nung Pen Ts’ao ching of China
China is renowned for its traditional herbal medicines that date back thousands of years. Legend has it that mythical Emperor
Shennong
Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is venerat ...
, the founder of Chinese herbal medicine, composed the ''
Shennong Bencao Jing
''Shennong Bencaojing'' (also ''Classic of the Materia Medica'' or ''Shen-nong's Herbal Classics'' and ''Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching''; ) is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants, traditionally attributed to Shennong. Researchers belie ...
'' or ''Great Herbal'' in about 2700 BCE as the forerunner of all later Chinese herbals. It survives as a copy made c. 500 CE and describes about 365 herbs. High quality herbals and
monograph
A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject.
In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
s on particular plants were produced in the period to 1250 CE including: the ''Zhenlei bencao'' written by Tang Shenwei in 1108, which passed through twelve editions until 1600; a monograph on the
lychee
Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the Sapindus, soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''.
It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (t ...
by Cai Xiang in 1059 and one on the oranges of Wenzhhou by Han Yanzhi in 1178. In 1406
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
prince Zhu Xiao (朱橚) published the '' Jiuhuang Bencao'' illustrated herbal for
famine food
A famine food or poverty food is any inexpensive or readily available food used to nourish people in times of hunger and starvation, whether caused by extreme poverty, such as during economic depression or war, or by natural disasters such as ...
s. It contained high quality woodcuts and descriptions of 414 species of plants of which 276 were described for the first time, the book pre-dating the first European printed book by 69 years. It was reprinted many times. Other herbals include ''Bencao Fahui'' in 1450 by Xu Yong and ''Bencao Gangmu'' of Li Shizhen in 1590.
Sushruta Samhita of India
Traditional herbal medicine of India, known as Ayurveda, possibly dates back to the second millennium BCE tracing its origins to the holy
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
and, in particular, the
Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
. One authentic compilation of teachings is by the surgeon
Sushruta
Sushruta, or ''Suśruta'' (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत, IAST: , ) was an ancient Indian physician. The ''Sushruta Samhita'' (''Sushruta's Compendium''), a treatise ascribed to him, is one of the most important surviving ancient treatises on ...
, available in a treatise called Sushruta Samhita. This contains 184 chapters and description of 1120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources. Other early works of Ayurveda include the ''
Charaka Samhita
The ''Charaka Samhita'' (, “Compendium of ''Charaka''”) is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine). Along with the ''Sushruta Samhita'', it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from ancien ...
'', attributed to
Charaka
Charaka was one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is known as an editor of the medical treatise entitled ''Charaka Samhita'', one of the foundational texts of classical ...
. This tradition, however is mostly oral. The earliest surviving written material which contains the works of Sushruta is the ''
Bower Manuscript
The Bower Manuscript is a collection of seven fragmentary Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. treatises found buried in a Buddhist memorial stupa near Kucha, northwestern China. Written in early Gupta script (late Brahmi script) on birch bark, it is vario ...
''—dated to the 4th century CE.
Hernandez – ''Rerum Medicarum'' and the Aztecs
An illustrated herbal published in Mexico in 1552, ''
Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis
The ''Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis'' (Latin for "Little Book of the Medicinal Herbs of the Indians") is an Aztec herbal manuscript, describing the medicinal properties of various plants used by the Aztecs. It was translated into Latin ...
'' ("Book of Medicinal Herbs of the Indies"), is written in the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
Nauhuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
language by a native physician, Martín Cruz. This is probably an extremely early account of the medicine of the Aztecs although the formal illustrations, resembling European ones, suggest that the artists were following the traditions of their Spanish masters rather than an indigenous style of drawing. In 1570 Francisco Hernández (c.1514–1580) was sent from Spain to study the natural resources of New Spain (now Mexico). Here he drew on indigenous sources, including the extensive botanical gardens that had been established by the Aztecs, to record c. 1200 plants in his ''Rerum Medicarum'' of 1615.
Nicolás Monardes
Nicolás Bautista Monardes (1493 – 10 October 1588) was a Spanish physician and botanist.
Monardes published several books of varying importance. In ''Diálogo llamado pharmacodilosis'' (1536), he examines humanism and suggests studying s ...
’ ''Dos Libros'' (1569) contains the first published illustration of tobacco.
Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome
By about 2000 BCE, medical
papyri
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a d ...
in ancient Egypt included medical prescriptions based on plant matter and made reference to the herbalist's combination of medicines and magic for healing.Stuart, p. 15.
Papyrus Ebers
The ancient Egyptian Papyrus Ebers is one of the earliest known herbals; it dates to 1550 BCE and is based on sources, now lost, dating back a further 500 to 2000 years. The earliest
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian herbal dates from about 2500 BCE as a copied manuscript of the 7th century BCE. Inscribed
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n tablets dated 668–626 BCE list about 250 vegetable drugs: the tablets include herbal plant names that are still in use today including:
saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
turmeric
Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...
and
sesame
Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
.
The ancient Greeks gleaned much of their medicinal knowledge from Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
(460–377 BCE), the "father of medicine" (renowned for the eponymous
Hippocratic oath
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of ethics historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific e ...
), used about 400 drugs, most being of plant origin. However, the first Greek herbal of any note was written by
Diocles of Carystus Diocles of Carystus (; el, Διοκλῆς ὁ Καρύστιος; la, Diocles Carystius; also known by the Latin name Diocles Medicus, i.e. "Diocles the physician"; c. 375 BC – c. 295 BC) was a well-regarded Greek physician, born in Carystus, a ...
in the fourth century BC—although nothing remains of this except its mention in the written record. It was
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
’s pupil
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
(371–287 BCE) in his ''
Historia Plantarum
Historia may refer to:
* Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal
* Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel
* Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics
* ...
'', (better known as the ''Enquiry into Plants'') and ''De Causis Plantarum'' (''On the Causes of Plants'') that established the scientific method of careful and critical observation associated with modern botanical science. Based largely on Aristotle’s notes, the Ninth Book of his ''Enquiry'' deals specifically with medicinal herbs and their uses including the recommendations of herbalists and druggists of the day, and his plant descriptions often included their natural habitat and geographic distribution.Stuart, p. 17. With the formation of the Alexandrian School c. 330 BCE medicine flourished and written herbals of this period included those of the physicians
Herophilus
Herophilos (; grc-gre, Ἡρόφιλος; 335–280 BC), sometimes Latinised Herophilus, was a Greek physician regarded as one of the earliest anatomists. Born in Chalcedon, he spent the majority of his life in Alexandria. He was the first sci ...
,
Mantias Mantias, ( el, Μαντίας; 3rd century BC) a Greek physician who was the tutor of Heraclides of Tarentum, and one of the followers of Herophilus; and who lived therefore most probably in the 3rd century BC. Galen says that he was no ordinary p ...
, Andreas of Karystos, Appolonius Mys, and
Nicander
Nicander of Colophon ( grc-gre, Νίκανδρος ὁ Κολοφώνιος, Níkandros ho Kolophṓnios; fl. 2nd century BC), Greek poet, physician and grammarian, was born at Claros (Ahmetbeyli in modern Turkey), near Colophon, where his famil ...
. The work of rhizomatist (the rhizomati were the doctors of the day, berated by Theophrastus for their superstition) Krateuas (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
110 BCE) is of special note because he initiated the tradition of the illustrated herbal in the first century BCE.
Dioscorides – ''De Materia Medica''
The ''
De Materia Medica
(Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a ...
'' (c. 40–90 CE; Greek, Περί ύλης ιατρικής "Peri hules iatrikes", 'On medical materials') of Pedanios Dioscorides, a physician in the Roman army, was produced in about 65 CE. It was the single greatest classical authority on the subject and the most influential herbal ever written,Anderson, p. 3. serving as a model for herbals and pharmacopoeias, both oriental and occidental, for the next 1000 years up to the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. It drew together much of the accumulated herbal knowledge of the time, including some 500 medicinal plants. The original has been lost but a lavishly illustrated
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
copy known as the ''
Vienna Dioscurides
The Vienna Dioscurides or Vienna Dioscorides is an early 6th-century Byzantine Greek illuminated manuscript of an even earlier 1st century AD work, ''De materia medica'' (Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς : Perì hylēs iatrikēs in the origi ...
'' dating from about 512 CE remains.
Pliny – ''Natural History''
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
's (23–79 CE) encyclopaedic '' Natural History'' (c. 77–79 CE) is a synthesis of the information contained in about 2000 scrolls and it includes myths and folklore; there are about 200 extant copies. It comprises 37 books of which sixteen (Books 12–27) are devoted to trees, plants and medicaments and, of these, seven describe medicinal plants. In medieval herbals, along with ''De Materia Medica'' it is Pliny's work that is the most frequently mentioned of the classical texts, even though
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
's (131–201 CE) ''De Simplicibus'' is more detailed. Another Latin translation of Greek works that was widely copied in the Middle Ages, probably illustrated in the original, was that attributed to
Apuleius
Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...
: it also contained the alternative names for particular plants given in several languages. It dates to about 400 CE and a surviving copy dates to about 600 CE.
The Middle Ages and Arab World
During the 600 years of the European Middle Ages from 600 to 1200, the tradition of herbal lore fell to the
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
. Many of the monks were skilled at producing books and manuscripts and tending both medicinal gardens and the sick, but written works of this period simply emulated those of the classical era.
Meanwhile, in the Arab world, by 900 the great Greek herbals had been translated and copies lodged in centres of learning in the
Byzantine empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
of the eastern Mediterranean including Byzantium, Damascus, Cairo and Baghdad where they were combined with the botanical and pharmacological lore of the Orient.Stuart, p. 19. In the
medieval Islamic world
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, Muslim botanists and Muslim physicians made a major contribution to the knowledge of herbal medicines. Those associated with this period include Mesue Maior (Masawaiyh, 777–857) who, in his ''Opera Medicinalia'', synthesised the knowledge of Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Indians and Babylonians, this work was complemented by the medical encyclopaedia of
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
(Ibn Sina, 980–1037). Avicenna's ''Canon of Medicine'' was used for centuries in both East and West. During this period Islamic science protected classical botanical knowledge that had been ignored in the West and Muslim pharmacy thrived.
Albertus Magnus – ''De Vegetabilibus''
In the thirteenth century, scientific inquiry was returning and this was manifest through the production of encyclopaedias; those noted for their plant content included a seven volume treatise by Albertus Magnus (c. 1193–1280) a Suabian educated at the University of Padua and tutor to
St Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...
. It was called ''De Vegetabilibus'' (c. 1256 AD) and even though based on original observations and plant descriptions it bore a close resemblance to the earlier Greek, Roman and Arabic herbals. Other accounts of the period include ''De Proprietatibus Rerum'' (c. 1230–1240) of English Franciscan friar
Bartholomaeus Anglicus Bartholomaeus Anglicus (before 1203–1272), also known as Bartholomew the Englishman and Berthelet, was an early 13th-century Scholastic of Paris, a member of the Franciscan order. He was the author of the compendium ''De proprietatibus rerum' ...
and a group of herbals called ''Tractatus de Herbis'' written and painted between 1280 and 1300 by
Matthaeus Platearius
Matthaeus Platearius was a physician from the medical school at Salerno, and is thought to have produced a twelfth-century Latin manuscript on medicinal herbs titled "''Circa Instans''" (also known as "''The Book of Simple Medicines''"), later tra ...
at the East-West cultural centre of Salerno Spain, the illustrations showing the fine detail of true botanical illustration.
Western Europe
Perhaps the best known herbals were produced in Europe between 1470 and 1670. The invention in Germany of printing from movable type in a printing press c. 1440 was a great stimulus to herbalism. The new herbals were more detailed with greater general appeal and often with Gothic script and the addition of woodcut illustrations that more closely resembled the plants being described.
Three important herbals, all appearing before 1500, were printed in Mainz, Germany. Two of these were by
Peter Schoeffer
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
, his Latin ''Herbarius'' in 1484, followed by an updated and enlarged German version in 1485, these being followed in 1491 by the ''Hortus Sanitatis'' printed by
Jacob Meyderbach
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
. Other early printed herbals include the ''Kreuterbuch'' of
Hieronymus Tragus
Hieronymus Bock ( Latinised Hieronymus Tragus; c. 1498 – 21 February 1554) was a German botanist, physician, and Lutheran minister who began the transition from medieval botany to the modern scientific worldview by arranging plants by their re ...
from Germany in 1539 and, in England, the ''New Herball'' of William Turner in 1551 were arranged, like the classical herbals, either alphabetically, according to their medicinal properties, or as "herbs, shrubs, trees". Arrangement of plants in later herbals such as ''Cruydboeck'' of
Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert Van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father of botany.
Life
Dodoens was born Rember ...
and John Gerard's ''Herball'' of 1597 became more related to their physical similarities and this heralded the beginnings of scientific
classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood.
Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes.
It may also refer to:
Business, organizat ...
. By 1640 a herbal had been printed that included about 3800 plants – nearly all the plants of the day that were known.
In the
Modern Age
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, European herbals diversified and innovated, and came to rely more on direct observation than being mere adaptations of traditional models. Typical examples from the period are the fully illustrated ''De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes'' by
Leonhart Fuchs
Leonhart Fuchs (; 17 January 1501 – 10 May 1566), sometimes spelled Leonhard Fuchs and cited in Latin as ''Leonhartus Fuchsius'', was a German physician and botanist. His chief notability is as the author of a large book about plants and th ...
(1542, with over 400 plants), the astrologically themed ''
Complete Herbal
Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His book ...
'' by
Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His boo ...
(1653), and the ''Curious Herbal'' by
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...
(1737).
Anglo-Saxon herbals
Anglo-Saxon plant knowledge and gardening skills (the garden was called a ''wyrtzerd'', literally, herb-yard) appears to have exceeded that on the continent. Our limited knowledge of
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
plant vernacular comes primarily from manuscripts that include: the Leechbook of Bald and the
Lacnunga
The ''Lacnunga'' ('Remedies') is a collection of miscellaneous Anglo-Saxon medical texts and prayers, written mainly in Old English and Latin. The title ''Lacnunga'', an Old English word meaning 'remedies', is not in the manuscript: it was given t ...
. The Leechbook of Bald (Bald was probably a friend of
King Alfred
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
of England) was painstakingly produced by the scribe Cild in about 900–950 CE. This was written in the
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
(native) tongue and not derived from Greek texts. The oldest illustrated herbal from Saxon times is a translation of the Latin ''Herbarius Apulei Platonici'', one of the most popular medical works of medieval times, the original dating from the fifth century; this Saxon translation was produced about 1000–1050 CE and is housed in the British Library. Another vernacular herbal was the ''Buch der natur'' or "Book of Nature" by
Konrad von Megenberg
Conrad of Megenberg (german: Konrad von Megenberg, la, Conradus Megenbergensis; 1309–1374) was a German Catholic scholar, and a writer.
Biography
Conrad was born in either Mainberg or Mebenburg, both in Bavaria. He was born on 2 February 13 ...
(1309–1374) which contains the first two botanical woodcuts ever made; it is also the first work of its kind in the vernacular.
Anglo-Norman herbals
In the 12th and early 13th centuries, under the influence of the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
, the herbals produced in Britain fell less under the influence of France and Germany and more that of Sicily and the Near East. This showed itself through the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
-influenced Romanesque framed illustrations. Anglo-Saxon herbals in the vernacular were replaced by herbals in Latin including Macers Herbal, ''De Viribus Herbarum'' (largely derived from Pliny), with the English translation completed in about 1373.
Fifteenth-century incunabula
The earliest printed books and broadsheets are known as
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 ...
. The first printed herbal appeared in 1469, a version of Pliny's '' Historia Naturalis''; it was published nine years before Dioscorides ''De Materia Medica'' was set in type. Important incunabula include the encyclopaedic ''De Proprietatibus Rerum'' of
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
friar Bartholomew Anglicus (c. 1203–1272) which, as a manuscript, had first appeared between 1248 and 1260 in at least six languages and after being first printed in 1470 ran to 25 editions. Assyrian physician
Mesue
Yuhanna ibn Masawaih (circa 777–857), ( ar, يوحنا بن ماسويه), also written Ibn Masawaih, Masawaiyh, and in Latin Janus Damascenus, or Mesue, Masuya, Mesue Major, Msuya, and Mesuë the Elder was a Persian people, Persian or Assyria ...
(926–1016) wrote the popular ''De Simplicibus'', ''Grabadin'' and ''Liber Medicinarum Particularum'' the first of his printings being in 1471. These were followed, in Italy, by the ''Herbarium'' of Apuleius Platonicus and three German works published in Mainz, the ''Latin Herbarius'' (1484), the first herbal published in Germany, ''German Herbarius'' (1485), the latter evolving into the ''
Ortus Sanitatis
The ''Hortus Sanitatis'' (also written ''Ortus''; Latin for ''The Garden of Health''), a Latin natural history encyclopaedia, was published by Jacob Meydenbach in Mainz, Germany in 1491.
It describes species in the natural world along with their ...
'' (1491). To these can be added Macer’s ''De Virtutibus Herbarum'', based on Pliny's work; the 1477 edition is one of the first printed and illustrated herbals.
Fifteenth-century manuscripts
In medieval times, medicinal herbs were generally referred to by the apothecaries (physicians or doctors) as "
simple
Simple or SIMPLE may refer to:
*Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple
Arts and entertainment
* ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track
* "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018
* "Simple", a song by Johnn ...
s" or "
officinal
Officinal drugs, plants and herbs are those which are sold in a chemist or druggist shop. Officinal medical preparations of such drugs are made in accordance with the prescriptions authorized by a pharmacopoeia. ''Officinal'' is not related to th ...
s". Before 1542, the works principally used by apothecaries were the treatises on simples by
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
and Serapion’s ''Liber De Simplici Medicina''. The ''De Synonymis'' and other publications of Simon Januensis, the ''Liber Servitoris'' of Bulchasim Ben Aberazerim, which described the preparations made from plants, animals and minerals, provided a model for the chemical treatment of modern pharmacopoeias. There was also the ''
Antidotarium Nicolai
The ''Antidotarium Nicolai'', also known as the ''Antidotarium parvum'' or small antidotarium, was a late 11th or early 12th-century Latin book with about 150 recipes for the creation of medicines from plants and minerals. It was written in the cir ...
'' of Nicolaus de Salerno, which contained
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
ical compounds arranged in alphabetical order.
Spain and Portugal – de Orta, Monardes, Hernandez
The Spaniards and Portuguese were explorers, the Portuguese to India (
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.
His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
) and Goa where physician
Garcia de Orta
Garcia de Orta (or Garcia d'Orta) (1501 – 1568) was a Sephardic Jewish physician, herbalist and naturalist of the Portuguese Renaissance, who worked primarily in the former Portuguese capital of Goa and the Bombay territory (Chaul, Bassein & Da ...
(1490–1570) based his work ''Coloquios dos Simples'' (1563). The first botanical knowledge of the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
came from Spaniard
Nicolas Monardes
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
(1493–1588) who published ''Dos Libros'' between 1569 and 1571. The work of Hernandez on the herbal medicine of the Aztecs has already been discussed.
Germany – Bock, Brunfels and Fuchs
Otto Brunfels
Otto Brunfels (also known as Brunsfels or Braunfels) (believed to be born in 1488 – 23 November 1534) was a German theologian and botanist. Carl von Linné listed him among the "Fathers of Botany".
Life
After studying theology and philosophy ...
(c. 1489–1534),
Leonhart Fuchs
Leonhart Fuchs (; 17 January 1501 – 10 May 1566), sometimes spelled Leonhard Fuchs and cited in Latin as ''Leonhartus Fuchsius'', was a German physician and botanist. His chief notability is as the author of a large book about plants and th ...
(1501–1566) and
Hieronymus Bock
Hieronymus Bock ( Latinised Hieronymus Tragus; c. 1498 – 21 February 1554) was a German botanist, physician, and Lutheran minister who began the transition from medieval botany to the modern scientific worldview by arranging plants by their re ...
(1498–1554) were known as the "German fathers of botany" although this title belies the fact that they trod in the steps of the scientifically celebrated
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 ...
whose writings on herbalism were ''Physica'' and ''Causae et Curae'' (together known as ''Liber subtilatum'') of 1150. The original manuscript is no longer in existence but a copy was printed in 1533. Another major herbalist was
Valerius Cordus
Valerius Cordus (18 February 1515 – 25 September 1544) was a German physician, botanist and pharmacologist who authored the first pharmacopoeia North of the Alps and one of the most celebrated herbals in history. He is also widely credited with ...
(1515–1544).
The 1530, ''Herbarum Vivae Eicones'' of Brunfels contained the admired botanically accurate original woodcut colour illustrations of Hans Weiditz along with descriptions of 47 species new to science. Bock, in setting out to describe the plants of his native Germany, produced the ''New Kreuterbuch'' of 1539 describing the plants he had found in the woods and fields but without illustration; this was supplemented by a second edition in 1546 that contained 365 woodcuts. Bock was possibly the first to adopt a botanical classification in his herbal which also covered details of ecology and plant communities. In this, he was placing emphasis on botanical rather than medicinal characteristics, unlike the other German herbals and foreshadowing the modern
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
. ''De Historia Stirpium'' (1542 with a German version in 1843) of Fuchs was a later publication with 509 high quality woodcuts that again paid close attention to botanical detail: it included many plants introduced to Germany in the sixteenth century that were new to science. The work of Fuchs is regarded as being among the most accomplished of the Renaissance period.
Low Countries – Dodoens, Lobel, Clusius
The Flemish printer
Christopher Plantin
Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp.
Life
Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city of ...
established a reputation publishing the works of Dutch herbalists
Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert Van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father of botany.
Life
Dodoens was born Rember ...
and
Carolus Clusius
Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists.
Life
Clu ...
and developing a vast library of illustrations. Translations of early Greco-Roman texts published in German by Bock in 1546 as ''Kreuterbuch'' were subsequently translated into
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
as ''Pemptades'' by Dodoens (1517–1585) who was a Belgian botanist of world renown. This was an elaboration of his first publication ''Cruydeboeck'' (1554).
Matthias de Lobel
Mathias de l'Obel, Mathias de Lobel or Matthaeus Lobelius (1538 – 3 March 1616) was a Flemish physician and plant enthusiast who was born in Lille, Flanders, in what is now Hauts-de-France, France, and died at Highgate, London, England. He ...
(1538–1616) published his ''Stirpium Adversaria Nova'' (1570–1571) and a massive compilation of illustrations while Clusius's (1526–1609) magnum opus was ''Rariorum Plantarum Historia'' of 1601 which was a compilation of his Spanish and Hungarian floras and included over 600 plants that were new to science.
Italy – Mattioli, Calzolari, Alpino
In Italy, two herbals were beginning to include botanical descriptions. Notable herbalists included
Pietro Andrea Mattioli
Pietro Andrea Gregorio Mattioli (; 12 March 1501 – ) was a doctor and naturalist born in Siena.
Biography
He received his MD at the University of Padua in 1523, and subsequently practiced the profession in Siena, Rome, Trento and Gorizia ...
(1501–1577), physician to the Italian aristocracy and his ''Commentarii'' (1544), which included many newly described species, and his more traditional herbal ''Epistolarum Medicinalium Libri Quinque'' (1561). Sometimes, the local flora was described as in the publication ''Viaggio di Monte Baldo'' (1566) of
Francisco Calzolari
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
.
Prospero Alpini
Prospero Alpini (also known as Prosper Alpinus, Prospero Alpinio and Latinized as Prosperus Alpinus) (23 November 15536 February 1617) was a Venetian physician and botanist. He travelled around Egypt and served as the fourth prefect in charge of ...
(1553–1617) published in 1592 the highly popular account of overseas plants ''De Plantis Aegypti'' and he also established a
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
in Padua in 1542, which together with those at Pisa and Florence, rank among the world's first.
England – Turner, Gerard, Parkinson, Culpeper
The first true herbal printed in Britain was Richard Banckes' ''Herball'' of 1525 which, although popular in its day, was unillustrated and soon eclipsed by the most famous of the early printed herbals, Peter Treveris's ''
Grete Herball
The ''Grete Herball'' (The Great Herbal) is an Early Modern encyclopedia and the first illustrated herbal produced in English. It is preceded by Richard Banckes's unillustrated ''Herball'' ( 1525), which was the first printed English herbal ever ...
'' of 1526 (derived in turn from the derivative French ''Grand Herbier'').
William Turner (?1508–7 to 1568) was an English naturalist, botanist, and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
who studied at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and eventually became known as the “father of English botany." His 1538 publication ''Libellus de re Herbaria Novus'' was the first essay on scientific botany in English. His three-part ''A New Herball'' of 1551–1562–1568, with woodcut illustrations taken from Fuchs, was noted for its original contributions and extensive medicinal content; it was also more accessible to readers, being written in vernacular English. Turner described over 200 species native to England. and his work had a strong influence on later eminent botanists such as
John Ray
John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...
and
Jean Bauhin
Jean Bauhin (24 August 1511 – 23 January 1582) was a French physician. He was born in Amiens, France and died in Basel, Switzerland, where he had to relocate after converting to Protestantism.
He was the physician to Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of ...
.
John Gerard (1545–1612) is the most famous of all the English herbalists.Raphael, p. 251. His ''Herball'' of 1597 is, like most herbals, largely derivative. It appears to be a reformulation of Hieronymus Bock's ''Kreuterbuch'' subsequently translated into
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
as ''Pemptades'' by
Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert Van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father of botany.
Life
Dodoens was born Rember ...
(1517–1585), and thence into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
by
Carolus Clusius
Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists.
Life
Clu ...
, (1526–1609) then re-worked by Henry Lyte in 1578 as ''A Nievve Herball''. This became the basis of Gerard's ''Herball'' or ''General Historie of Plantes''. that appeared in 1597 with its 1800 woodcuts (only 16 original). Although largely derivative, Gerard's popularity can be attributed to his evocation of plants and places in Elizabethan England and to the clear influence of gardens and gardening on this work.
He had published, in 1596, ''Catalogus'' which was a list of 1033 plants growing in his garden.
John Parkinson (1567–1650) was apothecary to
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
and a founding member of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. He was an enthusiastic and skilful gardener, his garden in Long Acre being stocked with rarities. He maintained an active correspondence with important English and Continental botanists, herbalists and plantsmen importing new and unusual plants from overseas, in particular the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Parkinson is celebrated for his two monumental works, the first ''Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris'' in 1629: this was essentially a gardening book, a
florilegium
In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin ''flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering of ...
for which
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
awarded him the title ''Botanicus Regius Primarius'' – Royal Botanist. The second was his ''Theatrum Botanicum'' of 1640, the largest herbal ever produced in the English language. It lacked the quality illustrations of Gerard's works, but was a massive and informative compendium including about 3800 plants (twice the number of Gerard's first edition ''Herball''), over 1750 pages and over 2,700 woodcuts. This was effectively the last and culminating herbal of its kind and, although it included more plants of no discernible economic or medicinal use than ever before, they were nevertheless arranged according to their properties rather than their natural affinities.
Nicholas Culpeper (1616–1654) was an English
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
,
herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
,
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
apothecary
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...
and
astrologer
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
from London's East End. His published books were ''A Physicall Directory'' (1649), which was a pseudoscientific pharmacopoeia. ''The English Physitian'' (1652) and the ''Complete Herbal'' (1653), contain a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge. His works lacked scientific credibility because of their use of
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
, though he combined diseases, plants and astrological prognosis into a simple integrated system that has proved popular to the present day.
Legacy
The legacy of the herbal extends beyond medicine to botany and horticulture. Herbal medicine is still practiced in many parts of the world but the traditional grand herbal, as described here, ended with the European Renaissance, the rise of modern medicine and the use of synthetic and industrialized drugs. The medicinal component of herbals has developed in several ways. Firstly, discussion of plant lore was reduced and with the increased medical content there emerged the official pharmacopoeia. The first British Pharmacopoeia was published in the English language in 1864, but gave such general dissatisfaction both to the medical profession and to chemists and druggists that the General Medical Council brought out a new and amended edition in 1867. Secondly, at a more popular level, there are the books on culinary herbs and herb gardens, medicinal and useful plants. Finally, the enduring desire for simple medicinal information on specific plants has resulted in contemporary herbals that echo the herbals of the past, an example being
Maud Grieve
Maud Grieve in 1928
Sophie Emma Magdalene Grieve (née Law; 4 May 1858 – 21 December 1941) also known as Maud, Margaret, Maude or Mrs. Grieve, was the principal and founder of The Whins Medicinal and Commercial Herb School and Farm at Chalf ...
's ''
A Modern Herbal
Maud Grieve in 1928
Sophie Emma Magdalene Grieve (née Law; 4 May 1858 – 21 December 1941) also known as Maud, Margaret, Maude or Mrs. Grieve, was the principal and founder of The Whins Medicinal and Commercial Herb School and Farm at Chalf ...
'', first published in 1931 but with many subsequent editions.
The magical and mystical side of the herbal also lives on. Herbals often explained plant lore, displaying a superstitious or spiritual side. There was, for example, the fanciful
doctrine of signatures
The doctrine of signatures, dating from the time of Dioscorides and Galen, states that herbs resembling various parts of the body can be used by herbalists to treat ailments of those body parts. A theological justification, as stated by botanists ...
, the belief that there were similarities in the appearance of the part of the body affected the appearance of the plant to be used as a remedy. The astrology of Culpeper can be seen in contemporary
anthroposophy
Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers ...
(
biodynamic gardening
Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture based on pseudo-scientific and esoteric concepts initially developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). It was the first of the organic farming movements. It treats soil fertility, ...
) and alternative medical approaches like
homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
,
aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is based on the usage of aromatic materials including essential oils and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological and physical well-being. It is offered as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative m ...
and other
new age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
medicine show connections with herbals and traditional medicine.
It is sometimes forgotten that the plants described in herbals were grown in special herb gardens (physic gardens). Such herb gardens were, for example, part of the medieval monastery garden that supplied the simples or officinals used to treat the sick being cared for within the monastery. Early
physic garden
A physic garden is a type of herb garden with medicinal plants. Botanical gardens developed from them.
History
Modern botanical gardens were preceded by medieval physic gardens, often monastic gardens, that existed by 800 at least. Gardens of ...
s were also associated with institutes of learning, whether a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
,
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
or
herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
. It was this medieval garden of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, attended by
apothecaries
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and Nor ...
and
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s, that established a tradition leading to the systems gardens of the eighteenth century (gardens that demonstrated the classification system of plants) and the modern
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
. The advent of printing, woodcuts and metal engraving improved the means of communication. Herbals prepared the ground for modern botanical science by pioneering plant description, classification and illustration. From the time of the ancients like Dioscorides through to Parkinson in 1629, the scope of the herbal remained essentially the same.
The greatest legacy of the herbal is to botany. Up to the seventeenth century, botany and medicine were one and the same but gradually greater emphasis was placed on the plants rather than their medicinal properties. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, plant description and classification began to relate plants to one another and not to man. This was the first glimpse of non-anthropocentric botanical science since Theophrastus and, coupled with the new system of
binomial nomenclature
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
, resulted in "scientific herbals" called ''
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
s'' that detailed and illustrated the plants growing in a particular region. These books were often backed by
herbaria
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
, collections of dried plants that verified the plant descriptions given in the Floras. In this way modern botany, especially
plant taxonomy
Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things).
Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...
, was born out of medicine. As herbal historian
Agnes Arber
Agnes Robertson Arber FRS (23 February 1879 – 22 March 1960) was a British plant morphologist and anatomist, historian of botany and philosopher of biology. She was born in London but lived most of her life in Cambridge, including the las ...
remarks – "Sibthorp's monumental ''Flora Graeca'' is, indeed, the direct descendant in modern science of the ''De Materia Medica'' of Dioscorides."Arber, p. 270.
See also
*
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
*
Herbalism
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...
*
List of culinary herbs and spices
This is a list of culinary herbs and spices. Specifically these are food or drink additives of mostly botanical origin used in nutritionally insignificant quantities for flavoring or coloring.
This list does not contain fictional plants such a ...
*
List of florilegia and botanical codices
A timeline of illustrated botanical works to 1900.
BCE
* ''Enquiry into Plants'' Theophrastus (371—287 BCE)
1–100 CE
* c. 77 ''De Materia Medica'' Dioscorides (40–90 CE)
* '' Naturalis Historiae'' Gaius Pliny the ...
References
Bibliography
* Arber, Agnes 1986. ''Herbals, Their Origin and Evolution, a Chapter in the History of Botany 1470–1670.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . (first published in 1912).
* Anderson, Frank J. ''An Illustrated History of the Herbals.'' New York: Columbia University Press. .
* Andrews, Theodora 1982. ''A Bibliography on Herbs, Herbal Medicine, “Natural” Foods, and Unconventional Medical Treatment''. Littleton, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. .
* Blunt, Wilfrid & Raphael, Sandra 1980. ''The Illustrated Herbal.'' London: Francis Lincoln. .
* Culpeper, Nicholas 1995 ''Culpeper's Complete Herbal: A Book of Natural Remedies of Ancient Ills''. (The Wordsworth Collection Reference Library) Contemporary Publishing Company. .
* Dwivedi, Girish & Dwivedi, Shridhar 2007 ''History of Medicine: Sushruta – the Clinician – Teacher par Excellence'' National Informatics Centre (Government of India).
* Greene, Edward L. 1981. ''Landmarks of Botanical History: Part 1''. ed. Egerton, Frank N. from 1909 edition. Stanford: Stanford University Press. .
* Grieve, Maud 1984. ''A Modern Herbal.'' Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books. (first published in 1931).
* Henrey, Blanche 1975. ''British botanical and horticultural literature before 1800.'' Vols 1–3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
* Hong-Yen Hsu 1980. ''Oriental Materia Medica: A Precise Guide''. Long Beach, CA: Oriental Healing Arts Institute. .
* Jackson, Benjamin D. 1900. ''A Glossary of Botanical Terms''. London: Duckworth & Co.
* Kutumbian, P. 2005. ''Ancient Indian Medicine.'' Orient Longman. .
* Keys, John D. 1976. ''Chinese Herbs, Their Botany, Chemistry, and Pharmacodynamics.'' Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. .
* Morelon, Régis & Rashed, Roshdi 1996. ''Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. Vol. 3''.
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
. .
* Morton, Alan G. 1981. ''History of Botanical Science: An Account of the Development of Botany from Ancient Times to the Present Day''. London: Academic Press. .
* Pavord, Anna 2005. The Naming of names. Bloomsbury: London .
* Raphael, Sandra 1986. ''Herbal''. In Goode, Patrick & Lancaster, Michael. "The Oxford Companion to Gardens." Oxford: Oxford University Press. . pp. 249–252.
* Reed, Howard S. 1942. ''A Short History of the Plant Sciences''. New York: Ronald Press.
* Rohde, Eleanour Sinclair 1974. ''The Old English Herbals.'' London: Minerva Press. .
* Singer, Charles 1923. Herbals. ''The Edinburgh Review'' 237: 95–112.
* Stuart, Malcolm (ed.) 1979. ''Herbs and Herbalism.'' London: Orbis publishing Limited. .
* Tang, W. & Eisenbrand, G. 1992. ''Chinese Drugs of Plant Origin''. New York: Springer-Verlag. .
* Toresella, Sergio 1996. ''Gli erbari degli alchimisti.'' In ''Arte farmaceutica e piante medicinali — erbari, vasi, sturmenti e testi dalla raccolte liguri'', Liana Soginata (ed). Pisa: Pacini Editore.
* Unschuld, Paul U. 1985. ''Medicine in China: A History of Ideas''. California: University of California Press. .
* Woodland, Dennis W. 1991. ''Contemporary Plant Systematics''. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. .
* Wujastyk, Dominik 2003. ''The Roots of Ayurveda: Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings''. London: Penguin Classics. .
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...