Johannes Palmberg (c.1640–1691) was a Swedish

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 ...

, physician, and priest. He published the early Swedish textbook in botany, ’’Serta Florea Svecana’’ or ’’Swenske Örtekrantz’’, a

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''. ...

with alphabetically arranged pictures of the 150 most common trees and herbs together with descriptions of their use for medical purposes.

Biography

Johannes Olai Palmberg was born as one of 20 siblings at the rectory at Råby-Rönö parish in Södermanland County, Sweden. His father, Olof Bononis Palmberg, was the local vicar. Palmberg pedigreeTuna

He studied medicine at The Royal Academy in

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

between 1663 and 1668 under professor Daniel Achrelius (1644-1692) while working as de facto town doctor in the municipality. Palmberg was appointed lecturer in medicine and physicae at

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of the thirteen dioceses ...

gymnasium 1674, after a nomination dispute finally settled by King

Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

. He was ordained priest in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

1676, and acted as the headmaster at

gymnasium 1678 and 1684. In 1688 he was appointed rector at Turinge Parish in

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or ''län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockho ...

after proposed by Count

Erik Dahlbergh '' Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was reno ...

(1625–1703). He died in Turinge in his fifties.

Scientist and botanist

Palmberg published in 1671 a dissertation in Latin on

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease, disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, ch ...

– ''Exercitatiomedica brevissimam Scorbuti delineationem exhibeus''. However, it was his floral textbook – ''Serta Florea Svecana'' or ''Swenske Örtekrantz'' (1684) – that has contributed the most to

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

. It was used in Sweden as textbook in botany during sixty years before replaced by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

's ''Flora Svecica'' in 1745 and was the source of Linnaeus's early botanical understanding. Örtekrantzen was published in three editions, the most recent as late as 1738. Swenske Örtekrantz malört

Public educator

Palmberg was also an early public educator and published a number of popular scientific essays in the Swedish language which were included in the almanacs of 1670–1672 with medical advice based on Hippocratic medicine. The therapeutic use of herbs such as camille flowers, ginger, valeriana, wormwood and vervain is described as well as

blood-letting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fl ...

, purging and cupping therapy. In these essays Palmberg strongly advocated against

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, ...

and the use of

astrology 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. Di ...

for medical divination.

Publications

* ''Serta Florea Svecana eller Swenske Örtekrantz'' (1684). * ''Exercitatio medica brevissimam Scorbuti delineationem exhibeus '' (1671) * '' Sundheetzskötsel för gemeent folk'' – popular scientific essay published in 1670 on diagnostics and treatment of common diseases. * ''Johannis Palmbergs Sundheetzskötzels Continuation'' popular scientific essay published 1671 on the use of blood-letting. * ''Johannis Palmbergs Sundheetzskötzels Continuation : on what to keep in a domestic pharmacy and how to maintain health if physicians are not available'' (1672)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Vilhelm Djurberg, :sv:Fredrik Vilhelm Djurberg En svensk medicinsk folkskriftsförfattare på 1600-talet, HYGIEA, part LXII (1900). * Vilhelm Djurberg, En svensk medicinsk folkskriftsförfattare på 1600-talet. Tillägg HYGIEA, part LXVIII (1906). * Oscar Nycander, Personhistorisk tidskrift, part 2 (1906). {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmberg, Johannes 1640 births 1691 deaths People from Södermanland County 17th-century Latin-language writers 17th-century Swedish physicians Botanists active in Europe Swedish biologists 17th-century Swedish botanists 17th-century Swedish Lutheran priests