Leonhard Rauwolf
Leonhard Rauwolf | |
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botanist | |
Known for | Travel in the Levant |
Leonhard Rauwolf (also spelled Leonhart Rauwolff) (21 June 1535 – 15 September 1596) was a German physician, botanist, and traveller. His main notability arises from a trip he made through the Levant and Mesopotamia in 1573–75. The motive of the trip was to search for herbal medicine supplies. Shortly after he returned, he published a set of new botanical descriptions with an herbarium. Later he published a general travel narrative about his visit.
Early years
The young Rauwolff studied initially at
Travel through Levant and Mesopotamia
Rauwolff's travel in the Near East was made possible by his brother-in-law Melchior Manlich, who hoped Rauwolff would come back with new plants and drugs that could be traded profitably by his firm. The Manlich firm already had trading relations with exporters in
In addition to botanical investigations, Rauwolff observed and recorded his impressions of the people, customs, and sights of the Levantine region. In 1582 he published these as a book in German, "Aigentliche Beschreibung der Raiß inn die Morgenländerin". The English translation, "Dr. Leonhart Rauwolf's Travels into the Eastern Countries" (340 pages) was published in 1693 in a collection of travel narratives compiled by John Ray. Another translation was published in Dutch. Rauwolff was among the first Europeans to describe the drinking of coffee (which was unknown in Europe at the time): "A very good drink they call Chaube that is almost as black as ink and very good in illness, especially of the stomach. This they drink in the morning early in the open places before everybody, without any fear or regard, out of China cups, as hot as they can, sipping it a little at a time." Here is an extract from Rauwolff's description of Tripoli in Lebanon:
- The town of Tripoli is pretty large, full of people, and of good account, because of the great deposition of merchandises that are brought thither daily both by sea and land. It is situated in a pleasant country, near the promontory of the high mountain Libanus, in a great plain toward the sea-shore, where you may see abundance of vineyards, and very fine gardens, enclosed with hedges for the most part, the hedges consisting chiefly of Melongena, Sesamum (by the natives called samsaim, the seeds whereof are very much used to strew upon their bread) and many more; but especially the Colocasia, which is very common there, and sold all the year long.... In great plenty there are citrons, lemons and oranges.... At Tripoli they have no want of water, for several rivers flow down from the mountains, and run partly through the town, and partly through the gardens, so that they want no water neither in the gardens nor in their houses.[2]
- The town of Tripoli is pretty large, full of people, and of good account, because of the great deposition of merchandises that are brought thither daily both by sea and land. It is situated in a pleasant country, near the promontory of the high mountain Libanus, in a great plain toward the sea-shore, where you may see abundance of vineyards, and very fine gardens, enclosed with hedges for the most part, the hedges consisting chiefly of
Later years
In 1588, the leaders of Augsburg reverted to Catholicism, and Rauwolf, a leader of the Protestant opposition, left. He next served as city physician in
The plant genus Rauvolfia Plum. ex L. was named in his honor in the 18th century. The plant genus Alhagi, including its Arabic name, has it origin in Rauwolff's botany writings.
References
- ^ The biographical information about the young Rauwolff is taken from MaviBoncuk.blogspot.com which says its source is "Compiled by: Richard S. Westfall".
- ^ Dr. Leonhart Rauwolf's Itinerary into the Eastern Countries, pages 15-16 of year 1738 edition.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. Rauwolff.
External links
- MaviBoncuk.blogspot.com has a short but detailed profile of Leonhard Rauwoff.
- Rauwolff's 1582 travel narrative in 1693 English translation is downloadable at A Collection of Curious Travels & Voyages in two tomes, the first containing Dr. Leonhart Rauwolf's Itinerary into the eastern countries...., collection compiled by John Ray in 1693.
- The 1583 German edition of Rauwolff's travel book is online at Ref.
- Ludovic Legré, La botanique en Provence au XVIe siècle: Léonard Rauwolff, Jacques Raynaudet. Marseille 1900.
- Karl H. Dannenfeldt, Leonard Rauwolf, sixteenth-century physician, botanist, and traveller. Biography book published in 1968.
- Franz Babinger, "Leonhard Rauwolf, ein Augsburger Botaniker und Ostenreisender des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts," Archiv für die Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, 4 (1913), 148–61.
- Walter, Tilmann (2009). "A journey into the (un)known. Borderlands of knowledge for Leonhard Rauwolf (1535?-1596)". NTM (in German). 17 (4). Switzerland: 359–85. S2CID 189771250.