Rembert Dodoens

Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens
Born	29 June 1517(1517-06-29) Mechelen
Died	10 March 1585(1585-03-10) (aged 67) Leyden
Occupation	physician and botanist
Spouse	Kathelijne de Bruyn(e)

Rembert Dodoens (29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus.

Biography

Dodoens was born in Mechelen. In 1530 he began his studies in medicine, cosmography and geography at the University of Leuven, where he graduated in 1535. He established himself as a physician in Mechelen in 1538. He married Kathelijne De Bruyn(e) in 1539. He had a short stay in Basel (1542–1546). He turned down a chair at the University of Leuven in 1557. He equally turned down an offer to become court physician of emperor Philip II of Spain. He became the court physician of the Austrian emperor Rudolph II in Vienna (1575–1578). He then became professor in medicine at the University of Leiden in 1582, and remained there until his death.

Dodoens' herbal Cruydeboeck with 715 images (1554) was influenced by that of Leonhart Fuchs. He divided the plant kingdom in six groups. It treated in detail especially the medicinal herbs, which made this work, in the eyes of many, a pharmacopoeia.

It was translated first into French in 1557 by Charles de L'Ecluse (Histoire des Plantes), into English (via L'Ecluse) in 1578 by Henry Lyte (A new herbal, or historie of plants), and later into Latin in 1583. In his times, it was the most translated book after the Bible. It became a work of worldwide renown, used as a reference book for two centuries.^[1]

Dodoens's last book, Stirpium historiae pemptades sex (1583) was the Latin translation of his Cruydeboeck. It was used as a source by John Gerard for his Herball.

Dodoens is commemorated in the plant genus Dodonaea, which was named after him by Carolus Linnaeus. Dodoens indicates Rembert Dodoens when citing a botanical name.

Title page of his Cruydt-Boeck

Selected works

• Herbarium (1533)
• Den Nieuwen Herbarius (1543)
• Cosmographica in astronomiam et geographiam isagoge (1548)
• De frugum historia (1552)
• Trium priorum de stirpium historia commentariorum imagines (1553)
• Posteriorum trium de stirpium historia commentariorum imagines (1554)
• Cruydeboeck (1554)
• Physiologices medicinae tabulae (1580)
• Medicinalium observationum exempla rara (1581)
• Stirpium historiae pemptades sex (1583)
• Praxis medica (1616) (posthumous)
• Ars medica, ofte ghenees-kunst (1624) (posthumous)

References

Footnotes

1. ^ "Rembert Dodoens: iets over zijn leven en werk – Dodoens' werken" (in Dutch). Plantaardigheden – Project Rembert Dodoens (Rembertus Dodonaeus). Stichting Kruidenhoeve/Plantaardigheden, Balkbrug, the Netherlands. Revised 20 December 2005. http://plantaardigheden.nl/dodoens/over_dodoens/leven_en_werk.htm#dodoens. Retrieved 17 May 2007. "... het Cruijdeboeck, dat in 1554 verscheen. Dit meesterwerk was na de bijbel in die tijd het meest vertaalde boek. Het werd gedurende meer dan een eeuw steeds weer heruitgegeven en gedurende meer dan twee eeuwen was het het meest gebruikte handboek over kruiden in West-Europa. Het is een werk van wereldfaam en grote wetenschappelijke waarde. De nieuwe gedachten die Dodoens erin neerlegde, werden de bouwstenen voor de botanici en medici van latere generaties. (... the Cruijdeboeck, published in 1554. This masterpiece was, after the bible, the most translated book in that time. It continued to be republished for more than a century and for more than two centuries it was the mostly used referential about herbs. It is a work with world fame and great scientific value. The new thoughts written down by Dodoens, became the building bricks for botanists and physicians of later generations.)" 

External links

• Project Dodoens: concise biography, complete bibliography (linking to scans) - in English
• Project Dodoens: linking to comprehensive biography, complete bibliography (linking to scans), etc. - commentary in Dutch

• Cruijdeboeck, ed. 1554 (1st edition), illustrated, hand-colored - Complete 877 pages' scans online
• Cruydt-Boeck , ed. 1644 (last and most comprehensive edition, illustrated)
  (Cruijdeboeck, 13th ed.; 5th and last Flemish ed., 3rd ed. of the 1608 Cruydt-Boeck) - Complete 1588 pages' scans online
• A new herbal, or historie of plants, ed. 1619 (5th, revised edition, no illustrations of plants):
  the Cruijdeboeck in English translation by Henry Lyte,
  based on the French Histoire des plantes ed. 1557, and the 2nd Flemish edition 1563 - Complete 627 pages' scans online

• About the English translation (earlier edition than the above)

• Dodonæus in Japan - (pdf) - in English
• Image of Dodoens
• Extensive link collection of old herbals on the internet - commentary in Dutch.

Persondata
Name	Dodoens, Rembert
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 June 1517
Place of birth	Mechelen
Date of death	10 March 1585
Place of death	Leyden