A New Herball (1511, 1989 facsimile)

William Turner's Herbal, illustrated with woodcuts and with modernized transcript

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition thus. Hardback in dustwrapper, in slipcase. 31 × 19cm, 326pp.

In 1551, William Turner, the Northumbrian-born, Cambridge-educated, and ardently Protestant Dean of Wells, wrote Part I of his New Herball.

This book was a landmark in both the history of botany and herbalism: for the first time physicians were able to read in their own language, English, an original study of the plants so vital to their profession. Turner’s work broke new ground in its accuracy of observation and in its scientific thoroughness. Indeed, in his lifetime he was responsible for the first observation and identification of some 300 native species. It is little wonder then, that he later earned the title of ‘Father of English Botany’.

Turner’s painstaking identification of herbs and their virtues is fascinating not only for the wealth of botanical and medical information, but also for the fastidious accuracy of his description. His lively and vivid style is not that of the dry pedant, but of a vigorous and energetic scholar, as much at home in the pastures as in the pulpit.

This edition contains a facsimile of the beautiful 1551 herbal with its black-letter text and woodcut illustrations. To enable easier reading of the text, the editors have included a modernized transcript, together with keyed-in notes, and a glossary of unfamiliar or obsolete Tudor words. A short biography of Turner has also been included in order to give an idea of the contribution made by this physician, naturalist and cleric to sixteenth-century English history.

Today, with the ever-increasing interest in the healing power of herbs, it seems only natural that the pioneering work of one of the greatest physicians of Tudor England should be celebrated in this reprint.

Condition

Both book and slipcase are in very good condition, with just a few faint spots of foxing to the pages' top edge.

ISBN

0904790444