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Leonhart Fuchs

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Leonhart Fuchs
Portrait byHeinrich Füllmaurer[de],Tübingen, 1541
Born(1501-01-17)17 January 1501
Wemding,Duchy of Bavaria,Holy Roman Empire
Died10 May 1566(1566-05-10)(aged 65)
Tübingen,Duchy of Württemberg,Holy Roman Empire
Education
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsUniversity of Tübingen
Notable studentsJohann Bauhin

Leonhart Fuchs(German:[ˈleːɔnhaʁtˈfʊks];17 January 1501 – 10 May 1566),[1]sometimes spelledLeonhard Fuchs[a]and cited in Latin asLeonhartus Fuchsius,[2]was a German physician and botanist. His chief notability is as the author of a large book about plants and their uses as medicines, aherbal,which was first published in 1542 inLatin.It has about 500 accurate and detailed drawings of plants, which were printed fromwoodcuts.The drawings are the book's most notable advance on its predecessors. Although drawings had been used in other herbal books, Fuchs' book proved and emphasized high-quality drawings as the most telling way to specify what a plant name stands for.

Life

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Photograph of the house where Fuchs was born
Fuchs Geburthaus, Wemding
Photo of Erfurt University, dating to Fuchs' time
Main building of Erfurt University in 16th C
Photograph of the original medial school at the University of Ingolstadt
Old medical school at Ingolstadt

Fuchs was born in 1501 inWemding(Marktplatz 5), nearDonauwörthinDonau-Riesin the thenDuchy of Bavaria,as the youngest son of Johann (Hans) Fuchs and his wife Anna Denten.[b][1][4]His father was the townBurgomaster,and both parents came from families ofmunicipal councillors(Ratsherr).[4]The exact date of his birth is unknown, but this was at the height of theGerman Renaissance.[5]His father died prematurely in 1506, leaving Leonhart to be brought up by his mother and grandfather, an earlier Burgomaster.[6][7]

His family considered him gifted, but felt that local schools could not provide him with the education he needed. In 1511, with help from relatives, he was sent to theLateinschule(grammar school)[c]inHeilbronn(150 km west of Wemding), whereKonrad Költer,theRektor(1492–1527), also recognised his abilities.[7][2][8]At that time, the school, had an excellent reputation, and Költer in particular for his teaching ofTerenceandHorace.[4]The following year, Fuchs transferred to theMarienschuleinErfurt,Thuringia (320 km to the north), which provided intensive teaching in the classical languages, as a prerequisite to entrance in theUniversity of Erfurt,which he then progressed to after six months. He was now eleven years old. At the time, the university at Erfurt was considered one of the premier German institutions of higher learning.[9]At Erfurt, hematriculatedin the Faculty of Arts, and by the 1516–7 wintersemesterhad obtained hisBaccalaureus artium,enabling him to teach, and he returned to Wemding to open a private school, at the age of 17.[6]It was at Erfurt that he began his friendship with his contemporary,Joachim Camerarius.[7][10]

On 28 June 1519 he started classes at theHochschule(University of Ingolstadt), 62 km east of Wemding. There he studied Latin, Greek and Hebrew under,Johann ReuchlinandJacob Ceporinustogether with some philosophy and botany, and obtained hisMagister Artiumon 17 January 1521. During this time he became acquainted with the writings ofMartin Luther,another graduate of Erfurt, and adopted theLutheranfaith.[4]He then began to study medicine, obtaining hisMedicinae Doctoron 1 March 1524.[1][6][7]

From 1524 to 1526, he practiced as a doctor inMunich,until he was offered the chair of medicine at the University of Ingolstadt in 1526. The university was firmlyRoman Catholicand carefully monitored the religious practices and opinions of its professors, creating problems for Fuchs' Lutheran views. Thus, in 1528 he accepted a position as personal physician toGeorg, Margrave of Brandenburg-AnsbachinAnsbach(then Onoltzbach or Onsbach), aProtestant.The position, which he held to 1531, came with a promise of a professorship at a university the Margrave was planning to found there.[11][6][1]

Fuchs was called toTübingenbyUlrich, Duke of Württembergin 1533 to help in reforming theUniversity of Tübingenin the spirit ofhumanism.He created its first medicinal garden in 1535 and served as chancellor seven times, spending the last thirty-one years of his life as professor of medicine. Fuchs died in Tübingen in 1566.[1]

While practicing in Munich he met and married Anna Catherina Friedberger, the daughter of a city councillor,[d](b. 1500 – d. 24 February 1563) in 1524. With her he had 4 sons and 6 daughters, two of whom died in infancy.[6][7][3]

Work

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While working at Ansbach, Fuchs began his long career of scientific publications, beginning with hisErrata recentiorum medicorum(Errors of modern doctors)[13]in 1530, which he dedicated to his new patron. In this list of 60 "errors", Fuchs took a stand on the controversy between "Arabist" and Greek medical traditions, siding solidly with the latter, and pointing out the contradictions. In places, he went too far in rejecting or ignoring some aspects of Arab medicine that were uncontested. He also criticized the confusion in nomenclature which led to the production of medicines that did not demonstrate the alleged effects. The book was well received by some, with Brunfels reproducing it in the second volume of his own herbal (Novi herbarii) in 1531. In others it invoked fury.[14]Fuchs rebutted "Arabist" criticisms of the work in hisParadoxorum medicinae(1535), an expanded version of theErrata.[15][6]

Of his works onbotanical illustration,theCodex Fuchs(Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus) is considered the most significant example of the Renaissance, with nine volumes, consisting of 1529 coloured plates. Those that are signed, are by Ziegler or Meyer.[16]

Scientific views

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Like hismedieval predecessorsand his contemporaries, Fuchs was heavily influenced by the three Greek and Roman writers on medicine andmateria medica,Dioscorides,Hippocrates,andGalen.[17]He wanted to fight the Arab hegemony in medicine, as it had been transmitted by theMedical School of Salerno,and to "return" to the Greek authors.[1][18]Fuchs argued in favour of a return to using herbes medicinales ( "simples" ), in contrast to the arcane and often noxious "compounds" of medieval prescribing.[19][20]But he also saw the importance of practical experience as well and offered botanical field days for the students, where he demonstrated the medicinal plantsin situ.[citation needed]He founded one of the first Germanbotanical gardens.[9]

Fuchs, together with Brunfels and Bock, published herbals, and their joint efforts marked a mid-sixteenth century German botanical renaissance, each acknowledging the contributions of the others. Their connection to medicine ensured a wide and enduring audience, both professional and vernacular. The authority of these authors was based on the principles ofmedical humanism.[5]

Selected publications

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Fuchs, aged 41

Leonhart Fuchs wrote more than 50 books and polemics. Fuchs's books on the anatomy of the eye and its diseases were among the standard references on this subject during this period.

  • Fuchs, Leonhart (1530).Errata recentiorum medicorum, 60. numero, adiectis eorundem confutationibus, in studiosorum gratiam, iam primum aedita. Leonardo Fuchsio medico, authore[Errors of modern doctors] (in Latin). Hagenau: in aedibus Iohannis Secerii.
  • Compendiaria in artem medendi introductio […].Hagenau 1531
  • Hippocratis medicorum omnium longe principis Epidemiorum liber sextus1532
  • Paradoxorum medicinae III(1535)
  • Alle Kranckheyt der Augen(All diseases of the eye) (1539)
  • De Historia Stirpium commentarii insignes,Isingrin, Basel 1542
  • Codex Fuchs,Tübingen 1536–1566[16]

Together withJoachim CamerariusandHieronymus Gemusaeus,he published a complete edited edition of the works ofGalen,which was printed byAndreas Cratanderin 1538.[21]

De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes

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Main article:De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes

De historia is Fuchs' major work, a large book about plants and their uses as medicines (aherbal) first appearing inLatinin 1542, and being rapidly translated into other languages. Although the text is largely borrowed from earlier authors, and is not based on any system of classification, with its 512 plates it set a new standard inbotanical illustration.The accurate and detailed drawings, printed fromwoodcutswere the most notable advance on its predecessors. Although drawings had been used in other herbal books, Fuchs' book proved and emphasized high-quality drawings as the most telling way to specify what a plant name stands for.[22]However, it was too erudite and too expensive to replace existing herbals.[23]

Legacy

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Fuchs' name is commemorated in many ways in his home town of Wemding which has adopted the nickname ofFuchsienstadt(Fuchsia City), used the colourFuchsiaas its theme and decorated public places with plantings ofFuchsia.The house where he was born (Geburtshaus Leonhart Fuchs) bears a plaque. Because it is so small, it is known as theZwergenhäuschen(dwarf house). The plaque reads:[24]

1501 – 1566. Hier ist geboren Leonhart Fuchs, berühmter Arzt und Botaniker. Nach ihm wurde die Fuchsie benannt
(1501 – 1566. Leonhart Fuchs, a famous doctor and botanist, was born here. The fuchsia was named after him)

For the 500th anniversary of his birth, a glass and steel pavilion for the fuchsia collection, theFuchsienpavillon(Fuchsia house), was opened in 2001 in theBotanischer Garten der Universität Tübingen.[25]

There is acultivarofFuchsianamed 'Wemding' (1993), there is aFuchsienrundgang(fuchsia tour) each year in Wemding, together with the creation of a fuchsia pyramid. There is aFuchsien- und Kräutermarkt(fuchsia and herb market), some local businesses are named after Fuchs,[24]and there is a Leonhart-Fuchs School.[26]

Fuchs, together with his two older German colleagues,Otto Brunfels(1488–1534) andHieronymus Bock(1498–1554),[e]has been described as a father of botany (or a German father of botany)[28]establishing it as a scientific discipline independent from medicine in the sixteenth century,[9][5]and a principal representative ofNew Galenism.[26][29]His portrait forms thefrontispieceofAgnes Arber's book on herbals.[30]After his death, the manuscript and plates of hisHistoriaas placed in theÖsterreichische Nationalbibliothek,Vienna, where it has remained.[26]

Eponymy (proper name)

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Fuchs' name is preserved by the plantFuchsia,[31]discovered in theDominican Republicin the Caribbean in 1696/97 by the French scientist andMinimfriarCharles Plumier.He published the first description of "Fuchsia triphylla, flore coccineo "in 1703. The dyefuchsine(fuchsin, rosaniline hydrochloride or magenta) is named after the flower, and thus, the colorfuchsiais indirectly named after Fuchs. The dye, developed in 1859, was given the name of fuchsine in France by its original manufacturer Renard frères et Franc because its color was similar to color of flowers of certainFuchsiaspecies, as well as the fact thatRenardin French andFuchsin German both mean fox.[32][33]

Fuchs is also recognised in thespecific epithetof the a plant widespread over Europe and northern Asia: the common spotted orchid,Dactylorhiza fuchsii.

The standardauthor abbreviationL.Fuchsis used to indicate this person as the author whencitingabotanical name.[34]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^For the alternative spellingLeonhard,see for exampleSachs (1890,p. 13) andVines (1913)
  2. ^Fuchs' mother's name is variously spelled as Denten, Denetorius or Denteni. Some sources state it as Zahn or Zähner, Denteni being a Latinised version of the GermanZahn– tooth.[3]
  3. ^The Heilbronn Lateinschule later became theTheodor-Heuss-Gymnasium Heilbronn
  4. ^Anna Friedberger was described as "a most virtuous maiden, of respectable station, well brought up[12]
  5. ^Arber addsValerius Cordus(1515–1544) to this list of fathers of botany[27]

References

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  1. ^abcdefRath 1961.
  2. ^abHeilbronn 2022.
  3. ^abSmeets 2022.
  4. ^abcdRoth 1897.
  5. ^abcJohnson 2008,pp. 145–146.
  6. ^abcdefDobat 2022.
  7. ^abcdeMelanchthon 2005.
  8. ^Röcker 2000.
  9. ^abcDickman 2013.
  10. ^Fichtner 1968.
  11. ^Kusukawa 1997,p. 416.
  12. ^Pavord 2005,p. 298.
  13. ^Fuchs 1530.
  14. ^Kusukawa 1997,p. 418.
  15. ^Zathammer2021.
  16. ^abLack 2021,pp. 36–45.
  17. ^Kusukawa 1997,pp. 419–420.
  18. ^Kusukawa 1997,p. 421.
  19. ^Asher 2022.
  20. ^Tobyn et al 2011.
  21. ^Kelsey 2017.
  22. ^Fuchs 1999,p. i 11.
  23. ^Johnson 2008,p. 146.
  24. ^abWemding 2022.
  25. ^Schmolke 2007.
  26. ^abcMittelschule 2022.
  27. ^Arber 1986,p. 74.
  28. ^Arber 1986,p. 64.
  29. ^Bacalexi 2014.
  30. ^Arber 1986.
  31. ^Open Book 2013.
  32. ^Chevreul 1861.
  33. ^Kalba 2017,pp. 109, 148.
  34. ^International Plant Names Index.L.Fuchs.

Bibliography

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Books, dictionaries and encyclopaedias

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Articles

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Websites

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