38 The Earlier English Herbals [ch. 



dealing with herbs. Sixteenth-century representations are 

 shown in Text-figs. 107 and 112. 



The earliest English printed book containing informa- 

 tion of a definitely botanical character is probably the 

 translation of the ' Liber de proprietatibus rerum ' of Bar- 

 tholomaeus Anglicus, which was printed by Wynkyn de 

 Worde before the end of the fifteenth century. This has 

 been briefly mentioned in the last chapter (pp. 10 and 11) 

 and a wood-cut from it is shown in Text-fig. 19. 



2. Banckes' Herbal. 



The first book printed in England, which can really 

 be called a herbal, is an anonymous quarto volume, with- 

 out illustrations, published in 1525. The title-page runs, 

 " Here begynneth a newe mater, the whiche sheweth 

 and treateth of ye vertues and proprytes of herbes, the 

 whiche is called an Herball." On the last page we 

 find the words " Imprynted by me Rycharde Banckes, 

 dwellynge in London, a lytel fro ye Stockes in ye Pultry." 

 I have not been able to satisfy myself that this work is 

 directly derived from any pre-existing book, and it seems 

 possible that it may really have some claim to originality. 

 Dr Payne suggests that it is probably an abridgement 

 of some mediaeval English manuscript on herbs. It is 

 certainly quite a different work from the much more famous 

 Grete Herball, printed in the succeeding year, and, although 

 there are no figures, it is in some ways a better book. 

 Distinctly less space, in proportion, is devoted to the virtues 

 of the plants, and, on the whole, more botanical information 

 is given. For instance, under the heading " Capillus 

 veneris," we find the following description : "This herbe is 

 called Mayden heere or waterworte. This herbe hathe 

 leves lyke to Feme, but the leves be smaller, and it groweth 

 on walles and stones, and in ye myddes of ye lefe is as it 

 were blacke heere." The Grete Herball, on the other hand, 

 vouchsafes only the meagre information, "Capillus veneris 

 is an herbe so named " ! 



In cases where the virtues of the herbs are not strictly 

 medicinal, they are described in Banckes' herbal with more 

 than a touch of poetry. Rosemary has perhaps the 



