22 Fifteenth-Century Herbals [ch. 



power and virtues of 435 plants and other created things, 

 which serve for the health of man, and are commonly 

 used in apothecaries' shops for medicine. Of these, about 

 350 appear here as they are, with their true colours and 

 form. And, so that it might be useful to all the world, 

 learned and unlearned, I had it compiled in the German 

 ton2"uc. ****** 



" Now fare forth into all lands, thou noble and beautiful 

 Garden, thou delight of the healthy, thou comfort and life 

 of the sick. There is no man living who can fully declare 

 thy use and thy fruit. I thank Thee, O Creator of heaven 

 and earth. Who hast given power to the plants, and other 

 created things contained in this book, that Thou hast granted 

 me the grace to reveal this treasure, which until now has 

 lain buried and hid from the sight of common men. To 

 Thee be glory and honour, now and for ever. Amen." 



Passing from the preface to the botanical part of the 

 German Herbarius, we find that it is divided into chapters, 

 each of which deals with a herb, except in a comparatively 

 small number of cases in which an animal, or a substance 

 useful to man such as butter or lime, forms the subject. 

 The chapters are arranged in alphabetical order. 



The Herbarius zu Teutsch represents a notable 

 advance upon the Latin Herbarius in the matter of the 

 figures. Its publication, according to Dr Payne, "forms an 

 important land-mark in the history of botanical illustration, 

 and marks perhaps the greatest single step ever made in 

 that art." This estimate seems to the present writer to be 

 somewhat exaggerated, but it must at least be conceded 

 that the figures in question are, on the whole, drawn with 

 greater freedom and realism than those of the Latin 

 Herbarius, and are often remarkably beautiful (Text- 

 figs. 7, "]-], 78). The most attractive is perhaps that of 

 the Dodder climbing on a plant with flowers and pods 

 (Text-fig. ']']), which is drawn in a masterly fashion. These 

 wood-cuts form the basis of nearly all botanical illustrations 

 for the next half-century, being copied and recopied from 

 book to book. No work which excelled, or even equalled 

 them was produced until a new period of botanical illus- 

 tration began with the Herbal of Brunfels, published in 

 1530. 



