TURNER'S HERBAL 93 



poysoned to deth of serpentes, and such venemous bestes," and 

 of the one who, owing to having eaten " a pece of citron," 

 remained, Daniel-Hke, unhurt by the poison of the snakes, whilst 

 the other who had not taken this precaution " fell down sterk 

 dede." And finally, the moral — " Wherefore it were wisdome 

 that noblemen and other that are bydden to dynner of theyr 

 enemies or suspected frendes before they eat any other thyng 

 should take a pece of citron." 



The later sixteenth-century herbahsts owed much to the 

 famous herbalists of the Netherlands, and above all to that 

 prince amongst pubhshers, Christophe Plantin of Antwerp, 

 whose personality secured him a unique place in the literary 

 world. Indeed, there is a splendour about the works of the 

 Flemish herbalists unequalled by any others of this period, 

 with the exception of the Bavarian doctor Leonhard Fuchs. 

 There is no comparison between them and the Italian herbalists 

 of the Renaissance, who, for the greater part, devoted themselves 

 to studying the classical writers and identifying the plants 

 mentioned by the old authorities. France, curiously enough, 

 contributed comparatively Httle when the herbal was at its 

 zenith, though it must of course be remembered that the 

 Bauhins, who rank as Swiss herbalists, were of French extrac- 

 tion. But it is difficult to estimate the influence of the works 

 of those three notable friends, Rembert Dodoens, Charles de 

 I'Escluse and Matthias de I'Obel, particularly on the Enghsh 

 herbalists. The most famous English herbal — Gerard's — is 

 virtually a translation of the Pemptades of Dodoens. Lyte's trans- 

 lation of the Cmydthoeck was the standard work on herbs during 

 the latter part of the century, and Parkinson incorporated a large 

 part of de TObel's unfinished book in his Theatrum Botanicum. 



De rObel, after whom the little garden flower — lobelia — is 

 named, spent the greater part of his life in England. He was 

 a Fleming by birth and a doctor by profession,^ and he was 



1 He studied medicine at Montpelier under Guillaume Rondelet, who 

 bequeathed him his botanical manuscripts. D'Alechamps, Pena and Jean 

 Bauhin, all famous herbalists, were also pupils of Rondelet. 



