Herbals, Their Origin and Evolution: A Chapter in the History of Botany


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(3.8 stars; 3 reviews)

Eminent British botanist Agnes Arber provides an authoritative history of printed Herbals -- books widely used in early modern Europe to catalogue the uses of different kinds of plants. While Herbals often reflected pre-scientific and magical beliefs about the properties of plants, Arber's work reveals that they were also critical to the early development of botany and medicine as empirical sciences. A classic in the history of science. - Summary by Josh Leach (5 hr 25 min)

Chapters

Preface 9:36 Read by Josh Leach
I: The Early History of Botany 24:12 Read by Josh Leach
II: The Earliest Printed Herbals (Fifteenth Century) 27:58 Read by mokka
III: The Early History of the Herbal in England 23:53 Read by KevinS
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 1. The Herbal in Germany 23:49 Read by mokka
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 2. The Herbal in the Low Countries 15:59 Read by Shashank Jakhmola
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 3. The Herbal in Italy 10:36 Read by Shashank Jakhmola
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 4. The Herbal in Switzerland 13:11 Read by Shashank Jakhmola
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 5. The Herbal in France 3:28 Read by Lynette Caulkins
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 6. The Herbal in England 31:36 Read by mokka
IV: The Botanical Renaissance of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, part 7. The Revival of Aristotelian Botany 4:24 Read by mokka
V: The Evolution of the Art of Plant Description 22:40 Read by Josh Leach
VI: The Evolution of Plant Classification 27:56 Read by KHand
VII: The Evolution of the Art of Botanical Illustration 50:11 Read by KHand
VIII: The Doctrine of Signatures and Astrological Botany 28:31 Read by KHand
IX: Conclusions 7:51 Read by KHand