Brunschwig was born c. 1450 in thefree imperial city ofStrasbourg, which in his time was part of theHoly Roman Empire. Some notes in hisBuch der cirurgia may suggest, that he studied inBologna,Padua andParis and that he participated in theBurgundian Wars, but all this is utterly unfounded.[1][2] He settled at Strasbourg at the end of the fifteenth century. He died in Strasbourg, c. 1512.
Translations: 1) In English by Peter Treveris inLondon. 1525. 2) In Dutch by Jan Berents inUtrecht. 1535.
1500 (08.05.):Liber de arte distillandi de simplicibus. (= Kleines Destillierbuch)
Reprints of theLiber de arte distillandi de simplicibus were contained in the reprints ofMedicinarius (see below) starting from 1505. Moreover theLiber de arte distillandi de simplicibus was merged with theGart der Gesundheit (Mainz 1485) into theKräuterbuch von allem Erdgewächs of Eucharius Rösslin the Younger. (Frankfurt 1533, 1535, 1536, 1538, 1540, 1542 and 1546).
Translations : 1) In Dutch by Thomas van der Noot inBrussels. 1517. 2) In English by Lawrence Andrew inLondon 1527. 3) In Czech by Jan Günther[3] inOlmütz. 1559.
1500 (19.08.):Liber pestilentialis de venenis epidemie.
1505:Medicinarius.
Containing :
theLiber de arte distillandi de simplicibus. (Kleines Destillierbuch),
the treatiseDe vita libri tres ofMarsilio Ficino (translated into German by Johann Adelphi of Strasbourg),
1512:Liber de arte distillandi de compositis. (= Großes Destillierbuch)
Containing :
a book about « Quinta essentia » and otheralchemical drugs – with long passages taken out of the bookDe consideratione quintae essentiae ofJean de Roquetaillade,[4]
an enumeration of simplicia (medicines, composed by one single drug) and composita (medicines, composed by several drugs) – according to the character of diseases,
an enumeration of simplicia and composita – according to the location of diseases (from head to feet),
an enumeration of simplicia and composita – for use in surgical practice and
a treatise intitled « Thesaurus pauperum » - dispensatory in 45 chapters, containing cheap medicines for the poor.
The « Thesaurus pauperum » was separately reprinted
1) under the titlesHausapotheke orHausarzneibüchlein. (39 reprints. 1537 -1658).
2) under the titleApotheke für den gemeinen Mann together with theBüchlein von den ausgebrannten Wässern, which was ascribed to Michael Puff. (30 reprints. 1529-1619).
Reprints of the wholeLiber de arte distillandi de compositis:Strasbourg 1519, 1532;Frankfurt 1538, 1551, 1552, 1597;Leipzig 1972.[5]
Liber de arte distillandi de simplicibus. 1500. "Distillation" by filtration.Liber de arte dist. de simpl. 1500. "Distillation" by circulation.
TheLiber de arte distillandi de simplicibus (1500) was the earliest printed book dealing with the techniques ofdistillation from herbal and animal substances. It consisted of three parts:
A detailed description of the methods and apparati, showing influences fromJean de Roquetaillades‘ bookDe consideratione quintae essentiae.[6][7][8] The name of distillation was given by the alchemists not only to the procedure that is nowadays calleddistillation, but as well to methods like „filtration“ and „circulation“ that were interpreted as methods of „de-stillatio (dropping down)“.[9]
An enumeration of herbal and animal substances in alphabetical order withbotanical remarks on indigenous plants, based on Brunschwigs‘ own observations. This was followed by the enumeration of indications of the „distilled” medicines. These indications were based as well on the writings in the textbooks of old tradition (Dioscorides …) as on prescriptions of folk medicine. The „Büchlein von den ausgebrannten Wässern“, ascribed to Michael Puff ofVienna and recipes in manuscripts of the 15th century were Brunschwigs‘ main sources.[10][11][12][13][14]
A list of maladies „from head to feet“, with reference to the prescriptions given in the second part.
As the last of the fifteenth-centuryherbals, theLiber de arte distillandi de simplicibus is widely regarded to be an important link between theMiddle Ages andmodern times. Due to its in-depth description and many illustrations of distillation apparati and techniques, the book was considered to be an authoritative text well into the 16th century.[15]
Otto Brunfels andHieronymus Bock, both called „fathers of botany“ („Väter der Botanik“) in honour of their truthful description of indigenous plants, respected Brunschwig as their predecessor.[16][17]Leonhard Fuchs, the third of the „fathers of botany“, did not mention Brunschwig at all.
^Henry E. Sigerist. "Hieronymus Brunschwig and his work". In:The book of Cirurgia by Hieronymus Brunschwig. R. Lier, Milano 1923, p. V.
^Jan Frederiksen.Hieronymus Brunschwig. In: Die Deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1978, Vol I, sp. 1073.
^Udo Benzenhöfer.Johannes’ de Rupescissa « Liber de consideratione quintae essentiae omnium rerum » deutsch. F. Steiner, Stuttgart 1989, p. 58-63.
^Josef Benzing.Bibliographie der Schriften Hieronymus Brunschwygs. In: Philobiblon. Eine Vierteljahreschrift für Buch- und Graphiksammler. 12 (1968), pp. 115-123.
^Udo Benzenhöfer.Johannes‘ de Rupescissa. Liber de consideratione quintae essentiae omnium rerum deutsch. Studien zur Alchemia medica des 15. bis 17. Jahrhunderts mit kritischer Edition des Textes. Steiner, Stuttgart 1989, S. 58-63.
^Lawrence M. Principe.Arbeitsmethoden. In: C. Priesner and K. Figala (editors). Alchemie. Lexikon einer hermetischen Wissenschaft. Beck, Munich 1998, p. 53.
