Otto Brunfels

Otto Brunfels (or Otho Braunfels , Othon Brunfels ), born towards 1488 close to Mainz and dead the November 25th 1534 with Bern, is a German Botaniste . With Hieronymus Bock says Tragus, Leonhart Fuchs and Valerius Cordus, it is regarded as one of the German fathers of the Botanique.

Wire of a wet cooper, it enters very young person a convent of Chartreux where it studies the Théologie and the Philosophie. In August 1521, after having discovered the doctrines of Martin Luther, he becomes preacher Lutheran.

After having taught with Strasbourg during nine years when he studies in parallel medicine, he obtains his title of doctor to Basle in 1530, a few years only before his death.

Its works of botany constitute a true progress compared to former works. The illustrations become realistic and are not any more that the servile recopy of old works, the plants are illustrated according to model and with their defects like, for example, a sheet partly devoured by a Insecte. Its Herbarum vivae eicones , which appears in three parts (in 1530, 1532 and 1536) in Strasbourg, is illustrated by Hans Weiditz, probably raises Dürer. The plants are represented in a realistic way, even in their defects. The first milked edition of 135 species, this figure will be increased up to 260 in the later versions. The text is inspired by Dioscoride.

The interest and the accuracy of the illustrations are better than the text. Brunfels, which is based on the knowledge of the Italian authors, do not include/understand the question of the geographical distribution of the species: thus, it tries to find the Mediterranean plants described by Dioscoride in the area of Strasbourg.

He is also the author of many theological works.

External bonds

Work of Brunfels digitized by the SCD of [[University Louis Pasteur] of Strasbourg] the

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