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
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, Flanders, in what is now
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and died at
Highgate
Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He studied at the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...
and practiced medicine in the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
and England, including positions as personal physicians to two monarchs. A member of the sixteenth-century Flemish School of Botany, he wrote a series of major treatises on plants in both Latin and Dutch. He was the first botanist to appreciate the distinction between
monocotyledons and dicotyledons. The plant genus ''
Lobelia'' is named after him, as is Lobel's maple ''
Acer lobelii''.
Life
Mathias de l'Obel was born in
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
(Flemish ''Rijsel'') in the
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Duchy of Brabant, Brabant and ...
,
Spanish Netherlands
The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
, now
French Flanders
French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...
in 1538, the son of Jean De l'Obel, a lawyer whose practice specialized in aristocrats in the army. Relatively little is known about his life. By the age of sixteen he had already developed an interest in both botany and medicine. He spent some time traveling and studying in Italy in 1551 and 1563–1564 before studying medicine in
Leuven
Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
and at
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
in France. He sought out Montpellier due to the reputation of
Guillaume Rondelet, as had his earlier contemporary,
Carolus Clusius. It is said that l'Obel was Rondelet's favourite pupil, and on his death in 1566 l'Obel inherited all his manuscripts.
[ His botanical field work was under the supervision of Rondelet's son-in-law, Jacques Salomon d'Assas. He matriculated at the University of Montpellier on 22 May 1565, at the age of twenty-seven. He remained in Montpellier for a further two years, furthering his studies, including botanical expeditions in the ]Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
region.
From 1566–1571, for about four years, he traveled and then he settled in Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
England for about four years (1566–1571), together with his fellow student Pierre Pena (1535–1605), probably as a Protestant refugee.[ He lived on ]Lime Street, London
Lime Street is a minor road in the City of London between Fenchurch Street to the south and Leadenhall Street to the north. Its name comes from the Lime (material), lime burners who once sold lime from there for use in construction.
It is per ...
in any area containing many Protestant refugees from the continent ("come for religion"),[ among fellow Flemings, like James Garrett the apothecary. There he also came to know the English botanist, ]John Gerard
John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular garde ...
.[ He and Pena brought with them their botanical collection and carried out botanical exploration in England before returning to the ]Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
sometime between 1571 and 1574.
In 1596, age 58, L'Obel married Isabeau Laigniez (1576-1642) in Lille . Of their children, one daughter, Mary l'Obel, married Louis Le Myre (Ludovicus Myreus), who collaborated with him, the other, Anne l'Obel married John Wolfgang Rumler. Both sons-in-law, le Myre and Rumler were pharmacists
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...
, with good reputations in London society. He eventually moved permanently to England in 1596. Among the English botanists, his closest friend was Thomas Penny, whom he had first met in Montpellier, and to whom he pays tribute in his dedication of the ''Stirpium adversaria'' (1571).[ l'Obel died in Highgate in 1616 at the age of 78, and was buried in the churchyard of St Denis.
L'Obel's ]coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
displayed on his books alludes to his name, with two poplar (abele) trees (French ''Aubel'').
Work
Following his studies in Montpellier, l'Obel set up a medical practice in England (1566–1571), living initially in London, and then in Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, near Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
at the home of his patron, Edward St. Loe.[ There he was joined in botanical expeditions by Clusius. On his return to continental Europe, he practised in ]Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
(1571–1581) and then Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
(1581–1584). The period from 1571 to 1596, after his return from England, was one of the most productive in his life, with two major publications. Delft had been the residence of William, Prince of Orange (William the Silent) since 1572, and became the capital of the newly independent Netherlands in 1581. In Delft l'Obel served as personal physician (''hofarts'') to the Protestant Prince William. The exact date of this appointment is uncertain, but his ''Kruydtboeck'' (1581) is dedicated to the Prince, and the title page describes l'Obel as ''Medecijn der Princ''. suggesting it was some time between returning to the Low Countries in 1571 and 1581. His name also appears on a list of court personnel dated 1578. William, however, was assassinated in 1584. Claims that after William's death, l'Obel was employed by the Estates General, the governing body of the Netherlands, have been disputed. Following the assassination l'Obel became a city physician
City physician (German language, German: ; , , from Latin ) was a historical title in the Late Middle Ages for a physician appointed by the city council. The city physician was responsible for the health of the population, particularly the poor, ...
in Middelburg, which was then a prosperous centre of trade and capital of the province of Zeeland
Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
. He was responsible for the establishment of a botanical herb garden there, and would have known Ambrosius Bosschaert (1573–1621), the artist, best known for his meticulous flower paintings, who was a member and eventually dean of the Saint Luke’s Guild in Middelburg.
In 1596 he moved from Middelburg, returning once more to England, becoming personal physician and ''botanicus regius'' (Botanist Royal) to King James I of England in 1607. From there he periodically returned to Middelburg for a visit. Amongst his responsibilities in England was as superintendent of the 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. is ...
of Lord Zouch in Hackney, a partnership brought about by Clusius. This was a physic garden
A physic garden is a type of herb garden with medicinal plants. Known since at least 800, they are the predecessors of botanical gardens.
History
Modern botanical gardens were preceded by medieval physic gardens, often monastic gardens, that ...
and at the time, one of the few in existence in England. It became a gathering place for botanists, enabling l'Obel to become an important link between England and the continent.[ He also accompanied Lord Zouch on his posting as ambassador to Denmark in 1598, where he carried out botanical exploration. The latter was published in 1605 as an appendix to the second edition of ''Stirpium adversaria''.][ It was through Zouch that he obtained the post of ''botanicus regius''.][
In 1597 he became involved in a controversy surrounding his friend John Gerard. In 1596 he had provided a preface to Gerard's ''Catalogus''. The following year, Gerard was working on a translation of Dodoens's ''Stirpium historiae pemptades sex'' (1583), to be published by John Norton, the Queen's Printer. James Garrett, on a visit to the Norton's publishing house, saw the proofs and alerted Norton as to both errors and unattributed borrowings from Lobelius. Norton then hired Lobelius as an expert editor, but when Gerard discovered this, he had Lobelius dismissed, and had the work published under his own name as ''The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes'' (1597). Lobelius provides an account of this in his ''Stirpium illustrationes'' (1655)][ in which he accuses Gerard of ]plagiarism
Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
.[
He spent much of his life looking for a rational way to classify plants that could be tested by ]empiricism
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological view which holds that true knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along ...
.
In the ''Stirpium'' of 1571,[ it is the form of the ]leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
and their venation that he favoured. In doing so he distinguished between grass-like plants with long straight parallel veins, while the majority had broad leaves with net-like venation. He was the first to recognise the fundamental difference between monocotyledons (grass-like) and dicotyledons
The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...
, although he never suggested names to group these plants under.[
]
Life and times
Lobelius has been described as the least well known of a group variously called the ''Ecole flamande de Botanique du XVIme siècle'' (16th century Flemish school of botany) or Flemish "Fathers of Botany", which, in addition to Lobelius, included Carolus Clusius and Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish people, Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinization (literature), Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father o ...
. Lobelius[ and others have stated that the collection and cultivation of plants had been a preoccupation in the Southern Netherland (Flanders or ''Galliae Belgicae'') since the crusades, and that Flemish gardens contained many rare plants, although these were destroyed in the civil wars of the sixteenth century, and he mentions many important growers such as Carolus de Croy, and his wife Marie de Brimeu, Joannes de Brancion and Joannes van der Dilf.][
At the opening of the sixteenth century the general belief was that the plant world had been completely described by ]Dioscorides
Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...
, in his ''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, ...
''. During Lobelius' lifetime, botanical knowledge was undergoing enormous expansion, partly fueled by the expansion of the known plant world by New World exploration, the discovery of printing and the use of wood-block illustration. This period is thought of as a botanical Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
. Europe became engrossed with natural history from the 1530s, and gardening and cultivation of plants became a passion and prestigious pursuit from monarchs to universities. The first botanical gardens appeared as well as the first illustrated botanical encyclopaedias, together with thousands of watercolours and woodcuts. The experience of farmers, gardeners, foresters, apothecaries and physicians was being supplemented by the rise of the plant expert. Collecting became a discipline, specifically the '' Kunst- und Wunderkammern'' (cabinets of curiosities) outside of Italy and the study of naturalia became widespread through many social strata. The great botanists of the sixteenth century were all, like Lobelius, originally trained as physicians, who pursued a knowledge of plants not just for medicinal properties, but in their own right. Chairs in botany, within medical faculties were being established in European universities throughout the sixteenth century in reaction to this trend, and the scientific approach of observation, documentation and experimentation was being applied to the study of plants.
These were also turbulent times. Following the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
in the mid sixteenth century, and the subsequent Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
there was much religious intolerance and persecution, while in the Netherlands the northern provinces started a rebellion against the governing Spaniards, the Eighty Years War (1568–1648). As a result many people fled or emigrated[ and many herbal and botanical gardens were destroyed. Lobelius stated that it was becoming increasingly difficult to live in his native Flanders.][
]
Publications
''Stirpium adversaria nova'' (1570-71)
Lobelius' first publication, ''Stirpium adversaria nova'' (1571) was written at the end of his stay in England, published in London and dedicated to Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. It was written in collaboration with Pierre Pena (Petrus Pena), his fellow student and traveling companion from Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
,[ and was an important milestone in botanical history, placing emphasis on medicine and botany as sciences that must be based on thorough and exact observation. The extent of Pena's contribution is unknown, although his name appears first on the title page (''see illustration'').][ Like his contemporaries, l'Obel's interest in plants was driven by their ]pharmacological
Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...
properties. The ''Stirpium'' was l'Obel's major botanical work[ and included information on about 1,200–1,300 plants that they had collected in the area around Montpellier, in the ]Cévennes
The Cévennes ( , ; ) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the '' départements'' of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geographical, ...
, in the Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
, and in England, and included additional information on cultivation and the manufacture of plant products, such as beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
. This was one of the earliest attempts to classify plants according to their natural affinities, rather than their medical uses. L'Obel based this on the form of their leaves. His concepts of genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
and family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
formed the basis of later more definitive classifications such as that of Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, and some of his groupings have survived into modern times. Although it was eventually to be the work on which l'Obel's reputation would rest, based on the system of classification that he set out,[ at the time of its publication, it met with only moderate success and much criticism.
]
''Plantarum seu stirpium historia'' (1576)
The ''Stirpium adversaria'' was followed five years later by ''Plantarum seu stirpium historia'' (1576). This was a two volume publication consisting of a new work, the ''Stirpium observationes'' together with a re-issue of the ''Stirpium adversaria'', titled ''Nova stirpium adversaria'' as a companion piece, together with a treatise on herbal remedies by Rondelet and a multilingual index to the composite work. It included 1,486 engravings of plants, including those from works by Pietro Mattioli, Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish people, Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinization (literature), Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father o ...
, and Charles de l’Écluse. In 1581 he produced his ''Kruydtboeck'', a Dutch translation of the former work. This was well received and considered a milestone in plant systematics. Lobelius' hometown of Lille sent him a gift of 50 pounds in recognition of the importance of the work.
Late works
In 1605 he reissued the ''Stirpium'', including in it an essay on the pharmacological studies of his mentor, Guillaume Rondelet, the ''Pharmacopoeia Rondelletii''. At the time of his death in 1616, his ''Stirpium illustrationes'' was unpublished, and was not published till 1655 (in part) by William How. In the meantime, John Parkinson had used it in his ''Theatrum botanicum'' (1640).[
]
Attributed works
A further publication, the ''Stirpium seu Plantarum Icones'' (1581) in the form of a Flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
was for a long time attributed to l'Obel, despite his name not appearing anywhere in it or mentioning it in his correspondence, and is still sold and displayed in museums as one of his works. However, there is good evidence that this was a work produced by the well known Antwerp publisher Christophe Plantin
Christophe Plantin (; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book Printer (publisher), printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. He established in Antwerp one of the most prominent publishing houses of his time, th ...
for Severinus Gobelius, physician to the Duke of Prussia.[ Plantin had a large collection of wood-cuts, both produced in his workshop or purchased by him, with which he illustrated many of the major botanical publications of the time, which he assembled according to the classification used by Lobelius in his ''Kruydtboeck'' of the same year. This work was reissued in 1591 as ''Icones stirpium''.
]
List of selected publications
: ''see , ,[ , ''
* - Also available as
** Reissued as:
:: including Rondelet's ''Formulae remediorum'', to be appended as a companion volume to his ''Plantarum, seu, Stirpium historia'' of the same year.
:: Third version 1605.
*
*
*
*]
2nd ed. 1618 (posthumous) as ''Pharmacopoeia Rondelletii''
;Posthumous
*
*
*
3rd. edition P & I Chouët, 1620
; Attributed
*
**
** 3rd ed. 1655 Warren, London
Legacy
Eponomy
The plant genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
'' Lobelia'' Plum. ex L., and the botanical family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Lobeliaceae were named after him by Charles Plumier in 1703.
See also
* History of botany
The history of botany examines the human effort to understand life on Earth by tracing the historical development of the discipline of botany—that part of natural science dealing with organisms traditionally treated as plants.
Rudimentary ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
Books
*
**
*
*
*
* (see also The Jewel House)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Historical sources
*
* (2nd edition 1599)
*
*
*
*
*
Bibliography
*
*
Chapters
* , in
* , in
* , in
* , in
Articles
*
*
*
Websites
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Lobelius' works
at Biodiversity Heritage Library
The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobelius, Matthaeus
1538 births
1616 deaths
Flemish botanists
Scientists from Lille
Court of James VI and I
Court physicians
Pre-Linnaean botanists
Flemish physicians