We’ve all have heard of the fuchÂsia, a flower (or genus of flowÂerÂing plant) native to CenÂtral and South AmerÂiÂca but now grown far and wide. Though even the least botanÂiÂcalÂly litÂerÂate among us know it, we may have occaÂsionÂal trouÂble spelling its name. The key is to rememÂber who the fuchÂsia was named for: LeonÂhart Fuchs, a GerÂman physiÂcian and botanist of the sixÂteenth cenÂtuÂry. More than 450 years after his death, Fuchs is rememÂbered as not just the nameÂsake of a flower, but as the author of an enorÂmous book detailÂing the variÂeties of plants and their medÂiÂcÂiÂnal uses. His was a landÂmark achieveÂment in the form known as the herbal, examÂples of which we’ve feaÂtured here on Open CulÂture from ninth- and eighÂteenth-cenÂtuÂry EngÂland.
But De HisÂtoÂria StirÂpiÂum ComÂmenÂtarii Insignes, as this work was known upon its iniÂtial 1542 pubÂliÂcaÂtion in Latin, has worn uncomÂmonÂly well through the ages. Or rather, Fuchs’ perÂsonÂal, hand-colÂored origÂiÂnal has, comÂing down to us in 2022 as the source for Taschen’s The New Herbal. “A masÂterÂpiece of RenaisÂsance botany and pubÂlishÂing,” accordÂing to the pubÂlishÂer, the book includes “over 500 illusÂtraÂtions, includÂing the first visuÂal record of New World plant types such as maize, cacÂtus, and tobacÂco.”
BuyÂers also have their choice of EngÂlish, GerÂman, and French ediÂtions, each with its own transÂlaÂtions of Fuchs’ “essays describÂing the plants’ feaÂtures, oriÂgins, and medÂiÂcÂiÂnal powÂers.” (You can also read a Dutch verÂsion of the origÂiÂnal online at Utrecht UniÂverÂsiÂty Library SpeÂcial ColÂlecÂtions.)
NatÂuÂralÂly, some of the inforÂmaÂtion conÂtained in these nearÂly five-cenÂtuÂry-old sciÂenÂtifÂic writÂings will be a bit datÂed at this point, but the appeal of the illusÂtraÂtions has nevÂer dimmed. “Fuchs preÂsentÂed each plant with meticÂuÂlous woodÂcut illusÂtraÂtions, refinÂing the abilÂiÂty for swift species idenÂtiÂfiÂcaÂtion and setÂting new stanÂdards for accuÂraÂcy and qualÂiÂty in botanÂiÂcal pubÂliÂcaÂtions.” Over 500 of them go into the book: “WeighÂing more than 10 pounds,” writes ColosÂsal’s Grace Ebert, “the nearÂly 900-page volÂume is an ode to Fuchs’ research and the field of RenaisÂsance botany, detailÂing plants like the leafy garÂden balÂsam and root-covÂered manÂdrake.”
Taschen’s reproÂducÂtions of these works of botanÂiÂcal art look to do jusÂtice to LeonÂhart Fuchs’ legaÂcy, espeÂcialÂly in the brilÂliance of their colÂors. It’s enough to reinÂforce the assumpÂtion that the man has received tribÂute not just through fuchÂsia the flower but fuchÂsia the colÂor as well. But such a dual conÂnecÂtion turns out to be in doubt: the colÂor’s name derives from rosaniÂline hydrochloÂride, also known as fuchÂsine, origÂiÂnalÂly a trade name applied by its manÂuÂfacÂturÂer Renard frères et Franc. The name fusÂchine, in turn, derives from fuchs, the GerÂman transÂlaÂtion of renard. The New Herbal is, of course, a work of botany rather than linÂguisÂtics, but it should nevÂerÂtheÂless stimÂuÂlate in its beholdÂers an awareÂness of the interÂconÂnecÂtion of knowlÂedge that fired up the RenaisÂsance mind.
via ColosÂsal
RelatÂed conÂtent:
A BeauÂtiÂful 1897 IllusÂtratÂed Book Shows How FlowÂers Become Art NouÂveau Designs
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
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