Floral Mania: “The new botanic garden”, by S.T. Edwards, 19th Century

Sydenham T. Edwards (1768-1819) was a natural history illustrator. When he was only a child –with 11 y.o.- he copied plates from “Flora Londinensis” – that he discovered in a public library- for his own enjoyment (Flora Londinensis is a book that described the flora found in the London region of the mid 18th century, if anybody know where the digitized codex is hosted please advise).

A certain Mr. Denman saw some of Edwards drawings work during those years. Funny thing: that Mr. Denman was a friend of William Curtis, the publisher of botanical works, and founder of the Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Obviously Denman told Mr. Curtis about the young talent and Curtis did a big effort to convince the family to be trained in both botany and botanical illustration. He did it.

Edwards’s illustrations turned out to be enormously popular during a period when British expeditions were made to previously unknown corners of the earth. These expeditions gripped the public imagination and the desire for new plants and illustrations.

Edwards produced plates at a prodigious rate: between 1787 and 1815 he produced over 1,700 watercolours for the Botanical Magazine, the New Botanic Garden 1807, the New Flora Britannica 1812, and the Botanical Register 1815-19.

Edwards was a Fellow of the Linnean Society.

For a high resolution, pdf version of this codex, contact me (facsimilium AT gmail DOT com).

“Dance of death”, 15th Century

All humans are equal to the eyes of Death, even the Pope or the Emperor have to dance with her.

The oldest traces of these kind of books are found in Germany, but there is also a Spanish text for a similar dramatic performance dating back to the year 1360, "La Danza General de la Muerte". In Italy was known as "Trionfo della Morte" (treated by Dante and Petrarch).
This post has relation with the “Art of dying” or “Ars moriendi” post I published last December, 2011 (link here). In this case, the purpose is similar and explained in two different components: Teach the truth that all men must die and prepare for judgement.

The iconography of “Dance of death” is different to the “Art of dying”, and introduces the concept that all humans are equal to the eyes of Death in a different way, more related to life moments like a party with dancers (in the “Art of dying”, the person who’s going to die is always represented at bed). To emphasize the idea that all humans are equal to the eyes of Death, the first figure or character in the dance is a Bishop or even the Pope, Emperor or the King. The Death –represented as a group of skeletons or rotten corpses- hold his hands during the dancing, playing musical instruments and creating a “happy” procession, leaded by a preacher who explains its meaning.

There’s a good Wikipedia article about the “Dance of death” and its influences on painting, architecture, etc. (link here). I would like only to remark one of my favorites: “The triumph of Death” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder -this painting is located in the Museo del Prado, Madrid-.

Pilgrims or Pleasants will also dance with Death. The codex starts with Pope and Emperor and finishes with lowest class according to social medieval classification

14th Century had a very high infant mortality rate. In this representation Death also invites a child to dance...

Treatise of the drugs and medicines of the East Indies (16th Century)

Cover from 1578 spanish edition of "Tractado de las drogas y medicinas de las Indias Orientales", by Cristóbal Acosta.

Cristobal Acosta (Portuguese origin but settled down in Burgos at the end of his life) was a Doctor and Physician considered a pioneer in the study of plants and its use in pharmacology. In 1568 he travelled to remote East Indies to serve as personal physician for the Viceroy and started to collect botanical specimens from various parts of India. In 1578 he returned to Spain (Burgos) and commissioned a treatise with all material collected in India during 10 years, named "Treatise of the drugs and medicines of the East Indies". In the treatise he says he was brought to India by his desire to see "the diversity of plants God has created for human health and provide to Occidental Medicine new remedies from distant lands, observed directly on site". Cristobal Acosta provides a very accurate description of each Plant, name and different use provided by local population, most favorable regions to find it, characteristics, and even the value (translated to local goods).

The codex is written in ancient spanish and online hosted by google books. I tried to find references -page by page- to drug plants but most of the references I could find were oriented to plants like cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, peppermint, saffron... I imagine this was the "commercial" side of the Book. During 16th Century, these Plants (spices) were considered as "foreign exchange" and even more valuables that gold...

Cristobal Acosta bio from wikipedia here. 

Cinnamon Plant.

Black pepper tree

Nutmeg tree

Peppermint

Saffron

"Buccaneers of America" by Alexandre Exquemelin, 17th Century

François l'Olonnais (French) was probably the most cruel pirate in the Caribbean during the 1660s. He caused several losses to Spanish imperium (was known as "El filibustero francés"). He and his crew raped, pillaged, killed and burned complete towns. His operation base was Tortuga Island and payed all his crimes at the end. He had a terrible dead in Darien, Panama, eaten by Kuna tribe. As said in this codex, "tore him in pieces alive, throwing his body limb by limb into the fire and his ashes into the air; to the intent no trace nor memory might remain of such an infamous, inhuman creature."

Original title for this codex is “The Buccaneers of America. A true account of the most remarkable assaults committed of late years upon the coasts of West Indies by the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga”. This Codex is available on facsimilium DVD collection.

Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin, born about 1645 in France, was the author of this amazing codex, one of the most important sourcebooks of 17th century caribbean piracy. In 1666, while he was trying to escape from European religious persecutions –he was Huguenot-, was engaged by the French West India Company, and travelled to America. During this travel, his merchant ship was intercepted by Caribbean pirates that conducted him to Tortuga Island, where he stayed for at least three years learning and practicing as barber-surgeon. After this time, he finally enlisted with the buccaneers, in particular with the band of Henry Morgan, and remained with them until 1674.

Shortly afterwards he returned to Europe and settled in Amsterdam where he qualified professionally as a surgeon, his name appearing on the 1679 register of the Dutch Surgeons' Guild. However, he was later once again in the Caribbean as his name appears on the muster-roll as a surgeon in the attack on Cartagena de Indias in 1697. At the end, Mr Exquemelin, although a good chronist, was just simply... a caribbean pirate.

The damage inflicted upon Gibraltar (southern shore of Lake Maracaibo) by pirates was so great that the city, formerly a major centre for the exportation of cacao, nearly ceased to exist by 1680.

Bartholomew the Portuguese, another terrible cruelty caribbean pirate, well known by the Spaniards.

Pirate attack on Cartagena de Indias in 1697, by Pirate Baron Pointis.

Pirate attack to Panama Town

“History of Mexico” by Juan de Tovar, 17th Century

God Quetzalcoatl

Juan de Tovar, also known as the “Mexican Ciceron”, was the son of a Spaniard conqueror, arrived to Americas with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narvaez to explore and conquer the territories of gulf of Mexico, taking lands between actual Tampa (Florida) to Mississippi river for Carlos V of Spain.

Juan de Tovar entered the Jesuit order in 1573 and spent his life doing missionary work in Mexico, learning local languages like náhuatl, otomí and mazahua. After collecting all pre-Columbian Aztec codexes he could, he started their transcription, helped by natives.

This spectacular codex, “History of Mexico”, contains detailed information about the rites and ceremonies of the Aztecs; painted illustrations of mexican scenes, indian dances, and history. As main characteristic, this codex includes an elaborate comparison of the Aztec year with the Christian calendar. There's another codex from Juan de Tovar, known as "Codex Ramirez" or "Tovar manuscript", very similar to his "History of Mexico", hosted at John Carter Library, Brown University (Rhode Island, US).

Image below represents the xocotl huetzi (xocotlhuetzi) ceremony, related to the collection of the fruits of the earth and the ritual death of plants. It involved cutting a tree and placing an image of the god on the top. Copal and food were then offered to the tree. Young men were encouraged to climb the tree to get the image and gain a reward. Four captives were sacrificed by being thrown into a fire and by having their hearts extracted.

xocotl huetzi (xocotlhuetzi) ceremony, that included human sacrifice

Aztec calendar (month of June)

Maxcala Idol

Aztec Calendar representation

German Treatise on munitions and explosives (16th Century)

This manuscript is similar to the "Bombs and Explosives handbook" I published last October, link here. There're some big differences, as this codex has intensification on "rockets". Officially, the rocket artillery started in India, when Tipu Sultan introduced the first iron cased metal cylinder rocket. But this kind of artifacts were used also in China, without metal casing, as fire arrows.

This treatise has also an amazing proposal for the "new" war concept during 16th Century: the incredible use of trained dogs and even birds as moving bombs, see first image above. In our days, dolphins and orcas are still trained for military purposes (known as "dolphins of war") but governments only recognize these programs in relation to defense techniques like mine detection and equipment recovery. Anyway, returning to the manuscript, I couldn't find references about author. Has around 30 detailed illustrations, 240 leaves, and was written in 20-22 cursive lines format, with the frame ruled in red ink. Investigations revealed that was written in Germany in 1580.

A family legacy: The “Codex Manesse” (14th Century)

Heinrich Frauenlob (1250-1318), sometimes known as Henry of Meissen (Heinrich von Meißen), was a Middle High German poet and minnesinger. The nickname Frauenlob means "praise of women" or "praise of Our Lady".

The house of Manesse was in origin a family of merchants who prospered and became the most wealthy family of the medieval city of Zürich, seat on a castle near Leimbach –I couldn’t find photos or any reference about this castle on the internet, probably there are no visible remains on the surface nowadays-. The fortune of the family finally declined and the castle was sold around year 1393, passing into the possession of Selnau Abbey. The founder of the family was Rudigër Manesse. His son Rudigër II patronized this Codex which has been defined as the quintessence of European medieval poetry. It’s basically a compilation or, even betteran anthology of the works of 135 german troubadours (a.k.a. Minnesangers in german) from mid 12th to 14th century. The codex was commissioned between 1304 and 1340  and is richly illustrated: a total of 135 miniatures, representing each poet, ordered by social status, from emperors down trough kings, dukes… In medieval European tradition, a Knight wasn’t only a warrior, but also a poet -basic conditions to be “noble"-. So, at the end, miniatures depicts each “poet” or “troubadour” taking part in a joust, and in much cases participating in real battles.

Yellow Knight is Albrecht Von Rapperswil, wearing the rose of the counts of Rapperswill and of course winning the joust, breaking his lance due to the terrible impact with his opposite... Troubadour or warrior?

Reinmar von Zweter (born around 1200 in Zeutern, died after 1248) was a Middle High German poet. The iconography in the Manesse Codex suggests that he may have been blind, since he is the only person represented in the manuscript with closed eyes.

 

Walther von der Vogelweide (1170 –1230) is the most celebrated of the Middle High German lyric poets. I recommend visiting his BIO on wikipedia here.

Henry VI (1165-1197), emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1194 until his death he was also King of Sicily.

King Conrad the Younger (a.k.a. Conradin) duke of swabia. Having assumed the title of King of Jerusalem and Sicily, Conradin took possession of the Duchy of Swabia in 1262

Mayan drawings from Palenque (18th Century)

Stucco relief at Palenque, appears on the exterior face of Pier E in House A, part of the central complex of buildings known as the Maya Palace. See below photo to see this same relief nowadays.

The reason why this drawings remain scientifically useful. Photo taken in 2008. Reliefs are lost due to ambient exposure.

Antonio del Río (1745-1789) was a Spanish Captain assigned to the american administrative division in Spanish Imperium which covered much of Central America (including what are now the nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas). Del Rio led the first “archaeological exploration” in the Americas. Undertaken in only two months (May-June, 1787), this expedition was performed under direct command of King Carlos III of Spain and originally oriented to investigate the Mayan complex of buildings located in Santo Domingo de Palenque (Ciudad Real de Chiapas, formerly Reyno de Guatemala), known as “the Mayan Palace”.

Antonio del Rio and his expedition spent around 2-3 weeks digging on site and then 4-5 weeks studying and documenting all findings. They made a complete report with around thirty drawings, remarkably accurate, that shows detail of all buildings and bas reliefs that have been lost due to ambient exposure since then. Del Río's manuscript has been preserved in the Museum of Americas in Madrid, Spain, but the drawings were only recently found in a private European collection.

De re militari (15th Century)

Armored ship

Roberto Valturio (Rimini, Italy, 1405-1475), author, dedicated this military treatise to his Patron and Condottiero, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta - popularly known as the “Wolf of Rimini”- and considered by his contemporaries as one of the most daring military leaders in Italy. Malatesta commanded Venetia military forces against the Ottonian Imperium. When the treatise was finished by Valturio, around 1465, Malatesta distributed copies to European and relevant rulers like Louis XI, Francesco Sforza, Lorenzo de Medici, etc. The codex served as compilation for war recommendable strategies, some of them really new and ingenious, like a draft for a four propellers submarine boat (first submarine designs were engineered more than 200 years later) or an inflatable device to avoid a soldier get sink when crossing defensive inundated pits. Valturio’s submarine proposal, on 15th Century, was probably the most striking drawing of this fascinating codex for me.

Only twenty-two handwritten copies survive to our days. Leonardo da Vinci was the owner of one manuscript, and based some of his drawings about military technology on this codex.

Over wheels attack "dragon-tower" equiped with canyons, based on trojan horse design

Combat wagon

four propeller submarine boat designed by Roberto Valturio

inflatable device to avoid a soldier get sink when crossing defensive inundated pits