1 8 Fifteenth-Century Herbals [ch. 



mistake which arose through the conspicuous citation of his 

 name in the preface to the Venetian editions. 



The descriptions and figures of the herbs are arranged 

 alphabetically. All the plants discussed were natives of 

 Germany or in cultivation there, and the object of the 

 work seems to have been to help the reader to the use 

 of cheap and easily obtained remedies, in cases of illness or 

 accident. 



4. The German Herbarius and related Works. 



Of even greater importance than the Latin Herbarius 

 is the German Herbarius or 'Herbarius zu Teutsch,' some- 

 times also called the German Ortus Sanitatis, or the 

 Smaller Ortus. This folio, which was the foundation of 

 the later works called H ortus (or Ortus) Sanitatis, appeared 

 at Mainz, also from the printing press of Peter Schofifer in 

 1485, the year following the publication of the Latin Her- 

 barius. It has been mistakenly regarded by some authors 

 as a mere translation of the latter. However, the two 

 books are neither the same in the text nor in the illustra- 

 tions. The German Herbarius appears to be an independent 

 work except as regards the third part of the book — the index 

 of drugs according to their uses — which may owe something 

 to the Latin Herbarius. 



It seems from the preface that the originator of the 

 book was a rich man, who had travelled in the east, and 

 that the medical portion was compiled under his direction 

 by a physician. The latter was probably Dr Johann von 

 Cube, who was town physician of Frankfort at the end of 

 the fifteenth century. 



The preface to the Herbarius zu Teutsch begins with 

 the words, "Offt und vil habe ich by mir selbst betracht 

 die wundersam werck des schepfers der natuer." Similar 

 words are found in all the different German editions, and in 

 the later Hortus Sanitatis they are translated into Latin. 

 The preface reveals so clearly and so delightfully the spirit 

 in which the work was undertaken that it seems worth while 

 to translate it almost in extenso. 



It is impossible, however, to grasp the medical ideas 

 characteristic of the earlier herbals, such as those presented 



