Herbarius moguntinus

Herbarius moguntinus (Mainzer Herbal Book) or (according to his preface referred to as) Aggregator practicus de simplicibus is an illustrated Latin herbal which was edited and printed in 1484 by Peter Schöffer in Mainz (Latin: moguntia). Together with the German herbal Gart der Gesundheit (Peter Schöffer, Mainz 1485) and the Latin herbal Hortus sanitatis (Jacobus Meydenbach, Mainz 1491), Herbarius moguntinus belongs to the so-called "Group of Mainz Herbal Incunabula."[1][2][3]

Herbarius moguntinus 1484. Titlepage
Herbarius moguntinus 1484, chapter XII. Artemisia Bifoiſz. Left: recto. Right: verso

Author

The author of the book is not known for sure. By misinterpreting the title page of a reprint (Vicenza 1491), the book was wrongly attributed to Arnaldus de Villa Nova.[4] As a possible but not secured author the Frankfurt physician Johann Wonnecke von Kaub is assumed.[5]

Sources and content

As primary sources the author of the Herbarius moguntinus used well-known medieval encyclopaedias, such as the Liber pandectarum medicinae omnia medicine simplicia continens of Matthaeus Silvaticus (14th c.) and the Speculum natural of Vincent of Beauvais (13th century).[6][7][8]

The first part of the book consists of 150 chapters, in which plants are described, that grow wild or cultivated North of the Alps. Each chapter in the first part is illustrated by a woodcut of symbolic character. The second part shows 96 other medicines of indigenous and of foreign origin in abbreviated form. Pictures are missing in the second part.[9][10]

Woodcuts in the Herbarius moguntinus. Mainz 1484

Editions and translations
  • Mainz. Peter Schöffer 1484.[11]
  • Speier. Anonymous 1484
  • Leuven. Johann Veldener. Herbarius in Dyetsche. 1484.
  • Leuven. Johann Veldener 1485-86. [12]
  • Leipzig. Markus Brand 1484. [13]
  • Passau. Anonymous 1486. [14]
  • Passau. Anonymous 1486 (further edition). [15]
  • Paris. Anonymous 1486.
  • Vicenza. Achates et Gul. Papia 1491. [16]
  • Venice. Bevilaqua (Simon Papia) 1499. [17]
  • Venice. Francesco Bindoni and Maffeo Pasini. Herbolario volgare. 1536 [18]

Notes
  1. Agnes Arber. Herbals. Their origin and evolution. A chapter in the history of botany 1470–1670. University Press, Cambridge 1912, pp. 16–18 (Digitalisat)
  2. Hermann Fischer. Mittelalterliche Pflanzenkunde. Verlag der Münchner Drucke. München 1929, pp. 74–79.
  3. Arnold Klebs: Incunabula scientifica et medica. Brügge 1938, p. 169ff. (Reprint Olms, Hildesheim 2004) (Digitalisat)
  4. Herbarius moguntinus. Ausgabe Vicenza 1491. Titelblatt (Bildlink)
  5. Gundolf Keil: ‘Herbarius Moguntinus’ (‘Aggregator practicus de simplicibus’; ‘Herbarius latinus’). In: Burghart Wachinger u. a. (Hrsg.): Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. 2., völlig neu bearbeitete Auflage, ISBN 3-11-022248-5, Band 3: Gert van der Schüren – Hildegard von Bingen. Berlin/ New York 1981, Sp. 1017–1025
  6. Matthaeus (Silvaticus) Moretus. Liber pandectarum medicinae omnia medicine simplicia continens. Bologna 1474 Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Matthaeus (Silvaticus) Moretus. Liber pandectarum medicinae. Straßburg ca. 1480 (Digitalisat)
  7. Vincentius. Speculum naturale. Straßburg 1481. Band I Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Band II (Digitalisat)
  8. Brigitte Baumann, Helmut Baumann: Die Mainzer Kräuterbuch-Inkunabeln – „Herbarius Moguntinus“ (1484) – „Gart der Gesundheit“ (1485) – „Hortus Sanitatis“ (1491). Wissenschaftshistorische Untersuchung der drei Prototypen botanisch-medizinischer Literatur des Spätmittelalters. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2010,Spätmittelalters. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2010, S. 100.
  9. Arnold C. Klebs: Herbal facts and thoughts. L’art ancien S. A., Lugano 1925.
  10. Brigitte Baumann, Helmut Baumann. Die Mainzer Kräuterbuch-Inkunabeln – „Herbarius Moguntinus“ (1484) – „Gart der Gesundheit“ (1485) – „Hortus Sanitatis“ (1491). Wissenschaftshistorische Untersuchung der drei Prototypen botanisch-medizinischer Literatur des Spätmittelalters. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 104-109 ISBN 978-3-7772-1020-9
  11. Mainz. Peter Schöffer 1484. Teil I und II (Digitalisat). Teil I (Digitalisat)
  12. Leuven. Johann Veldener 1485-6. Part I and II (digitized)
  13. Leipzig. Markus Brand. Part I and II (digitized)
  14. Passau. Anonymous 1486. Part I and II (digitized)
  15. Passau. Anonymous 1486. (further edition). Part I and II (digitized)
  16. Vicenca. Achates et Gul. Papia 1491. Incomplete copy (digitized)
  17. Venice. Bevilaqua (Simon Papia) 1499. Part I and II (Digitalisat )
  18. Herbolario volgare, nel quale se dimostra a conoscer le herbe et le sue virtu ... Venice 1536 (digitized) Includes 19 additional chapters. See also: Hermann Fischer 1929, pp. 78-79
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