Conrad von Mögenberg Book of Nature In the mid-14th century, he had the honor of compiling the first natural history in the German language. More than half a century later, the book still fascinates people, especially its depictions of cats, which we previously featured on Open Culture. The works that have derived from it also have their own appeal. Kreuter Book In his 1462 book “Herbal Medicines,” Johannes Hartlieb, personal physician to Duke Albert III of Bavaria, Book of Nature Contains 160 rich illustrations.
“Hartlieb’s subject matter is plants, primarily herbs, and their medicinal uses,” the Library of Congress says. You can view and download the book on the site.“what Kreuter Book “What’s special about this book is that it presents text and images side by side. Such lavishly decorated books would be expensive, so it’s unlikely that they were actually used by doctors or pharmacists of the time.”
But even if they may lack scientific utility, these plant displays have a bright, simple boldness that in some ways matches our early 21st century visual aesthetic, a Renaissance version of it. Flat Design.
“Each chapter is Kreuter Book It follows a traditional plant classification system derived from Greek philosophers. Theophrastus“, Hunter Dukes of Public Domain Review writes:also offers a gallery of illustrations from the book. “Animals are depicted as having a knowledge of pharmacology, for example a deer is shown rubbing itself on pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) was used to remove the hunters’ arrows,” but in another passage it says, “the deadly carrot (Tapsia) serves to deceive beggars; if applied to the face it produces the symptoms of leprosy, which can be cured with vinegar. Discussing the poisonous mandrake (see image above), Hartlieb continues von Meggenberg’s suggestion that its magical properties should be kept secret from the common people. Naturally, the common people would never own such a luxurious book. Now we all Accessible Kreuter Book — and most of us know it’s best to stay away from mandrakes altogether.
Related content:
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Mysterious Herb500 beautiful illustrations of medicinal plants by Elizabeth Blackwell in 1737 (to save her family from financial ruin)
Discover a 15th-century Italian manuscript depicting medicinal plants with fantastical human faces
Amazing atlas of plants: New animation shows how different plants relate to each other
Based in Seoul, Colin MaOnershall Writing and broadcastingHe has written papers on cities, languages, and cultures, and his projects include the Substack newsletter. Books about cities And books A city without a state: Walking through 21st-century Los Angeles. Follow us on Twitter CollinhamOnershall or Facebook.
