Carolus Clusius | |
|---|---|
 Carolus Clusius 1585 | |
| Born | 19 February 1526 |
| Died | 4 April 1609(1609-04-04) (aged 83) |
| Alma mater | University of Montpellier |
| Known for | Treatises on plants, nationalflora |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany,horticulture |
| Institutions | University of Leiden,Hortus Botanicus Leiden |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Clus. |
Charles de l'Écluse,L'Escluse, orCarolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was anArtois doctor and pioneeringbotanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientifichorticulturists.
Clusius was born Charles de l' Écluse in 1526, inArras (DutchAtrecht), then in theCounty of Artois,Spanish Netherlands, now northern France (Hauts-de-France). At the urging of his father, who wanted him to enter the law, he commenced his studies in Latin and Greek atLouvain, followed bycivil law. His father then gave him some money to move toMarburg to further his legal studies, but after eight months when his mentor moved away from Marburg he switched totheology, initially at Marburg and then on the suggestion of one of his professors atWittenberg, where he also began a study of philosophy. Even at Marburg he had also developed an interest in plants that he continued in Wittenberg. Aware of the emerging study of botany, he decided to move to France to study medicine at theUniversity of Montpellier (1551–1554),[1] under professorGuillaume Rondelet, though he never practiced medicine, or styled himself as a physician.[2][3] He died inLeiden in the Netherlands in 1609, at the age of 83.
While little is known of his relationships, he formed many friendships, both male and female, and his extensive preserved correspondence throws considerable light on those friendships. His male friends were largely academic, with whom he corresponded in Latin, his female friends (at least 35 are known) predominantly collectors and horticulturalists with whom he corresponded in theirvernacular, but treated all with the same respect.[4] Unlike his male friends, who were from all over the world, his women friends were all in theHabsburg countries, especially the southern Netherlands and Austria.[2]
In the 1560s Clusius was employed by the Fugger banking family as tutor to one ofAnton Fugger's sons and as agent, including a plant collecting expedition to Spain, where he became familiar with plants introduced from theNew World.[5] In 1573, with the help ofOgier Ghiselin de Busbecq, he was appointedprefect (director) of the imperial medical garden inVienna by EmperorMaximilian II (1564–1576) and made Gentleman of the Imperial Chamber. Busbecq, who had been ambassador to theOttoman Empire (1554–1562) under the previous emperor,Ferdinand I (1558–1564), was a keen gardener and soon arranged for exotic bulbs to be sent from the court atConstantinople to the gardens in Vienna. Clausius was discharged from the imperial court shortly after the death of Maximilian and accession of his sonRudolf II (1576–1612) in 1576.
After leaving Vienna in the late 1580s he established himself inFrankfurt am Main, before his appointment as professor at theUniversity of Leiden in October 1593, where he also became the firstpraefectus (prefect) of the city's new botanical garden, theHortus Academicus, associated with the university.[6] There he helped to create one of the earliest formalbotanical gardens of Europe and his detailed planting lists have made it possible to recreate his garden near where it originally lay. He was invited to join theAccademia dei Lincei as a corresponding member in 1604, but declined.[7]
He traveled extensively throughout Europe, furthering his knowledge of plants.[8] Clusius was among the first to study the flora ofAustria, under the auspices of Maximilian II. He was the first botanist to climb theÖtscher and theSchneeberg inLower Austria, which was also the first documented ascent of the latter. His illustrated works form an important chapter in sixteenth century natural history,[9] producing a large body of drawing and watercolours. The latter, forming part of an important collection of late sixteenth century botanical illustration, theLibri picturati.[10][a] He was responsible for the cultivation of a number of plants, new to Europe, including thetulip,potato, andhorse chestnut. Clusius was widely influential in European science and culture and his circle of correspondents included princes and aristocrats such asWilhelm IV of Hessen-Kassel (1567–1592) andPrincesse Marie de Brimeu, who was one of his most frequent correspondents.[12][13][2]
In thehistory of gardening he is remembered not only for his scholarship but also for his work on tulips. At Leiden, his cultivation of tulips in the botanic gardens there, laid the foundations of the Dutch tulip bulb industry. In particular his observations on tulip's "breaking" — a phenomenon discovered in the late 19th century to be due to avirus — causing the many different flamed and feathered varieties, which led to the speculativetulip mania of the 1630s. Clusius laid the foundations ofDutch tulip breeding and the bulb industry today.
During Clusius' lifetime, botanical knowledge was undergoing enormous expansion, partly fueled by the expansion of the known plant world by New World exploration, and is thought of as a botanical Renaissance. Europe became engrossed with natural history from the 1530s, and gardening and cultivation of plants became a passion and prestigious pursuit from monarchs to universities. The first botanical gardens appeared as well as the first illustrated botanical encyclopaedias, together with thousands of watercolours and woodcuts. The experience of farmers, gardeners, foresters, apothecaries and physicians was being supplemented by the rise of the plant expert. Collecting became a discipline, specifically theKunst- und Wunderkammern (cabinets of curiosities) outside of Italy and the study ofnaturalia became widespread through many social strata. The great botanists of the sixteenth century were all, like Clusius, originally trained as physicians, who pursued a knowledge of plants not just for medicinal properties, but in their own right. Chairs in botany, within medical faculties were being established in European universities throughout the sixteenth century in reaction to this trend, and the scientific approach of observation, documentation and experimentation was being applied to the study of plants.
Clusius' influence was a key factor in all these developments with his pioneering and influential publications, and introduction of hitherto unknown exotic plants to theLow Countries. As adviser to princes and aristocrats and central figure of a vast European network of exchange, he successfully transmitted his knowledge widely.[13][2] He is considered one of the most eminent botanists of the EuropeanRenaissance, and his influence on tulip breeding continues to the present day.[12][14]
His first publication was aFrench translation ofRembert Dodoens'sherbal,"Histoire des Plantes", published inAntwerp in 1557 by van der Loë.[15] HisAntidotarium sive de exacta componendorum miscendorumque medicamentorum ratione ll. III ... nunc ex Ital. sermone Latini facti (1561) initiated his fruitful collaboration with the renownedPlantin printing press at Antwerp, which permitted him to issue late-breaking discoveries in natural history and to ornament his texts with elaborateengravings. Clusius, as he was known to his contemporaries, published two major original works: hisRariorum aliquot stirpium per Hispanias observatarum historia[16] (1576)— is one of the earliest books onSpanishflora— and hisRariorum stirpium per Pannonias observatorum Historiae (1583) is the first book on Austrian and Hungarianalpine flora.[17][b]
Clusius' collected works were published in two parts:Rariorum plantarum historia (1601)[18] contains his Spanish and Austrian flora and adds more information about new plants as well as a pioneering mycological study on mushrooms from Central Europe (as appendix:Fungorum in Pannoniis observatorum, covering toxic fungi in the section: "Fungi noxii et perniciosi"); andExoticorum libri decem (1605) is an important survey of exotic flora and fauna, both still often consulted. HisRariorum plantarum, published in four books, is illustrated with manywoodcuts of botanical specimens, and is indicative of the new interest in botany and botanical gardens which arose during theRenaissance.[8] He contributed as well toAbraham Ortelius'smap of Spain. Clusius translated several contemporary works in natural science.[8]
Clusius' vast correspondence with his European contemporaries has been preserved atLeiden University Libraries and made available digitally[19][20] by the Scaliger Institute[21] there (The Clusius Project). The collection contains about 1,500 letters from 320 correspondents in six languages during the period 1560–1609.[13]
Justus Lipsius called Clusius "the father of all the beautiful gardens in this country".
His contribution to the study of alpine plants has led to many of them being named in his honour, such asGentiana clusii,Potentilla clusiana andPrimula clusiana. The genusClusia (whence the familyClusiaceae) also honours Clusius. His work formed an important step in the development of modern botany.
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