Leonhard Rauwolf: Sixteenth-century Physician, Botanist, and Traveler (Harvard Monographs in the History of Science) Book

Leonhard Rauwolf, a Bavarian physician after whom the genus of tropical plants Rauwolfia is named, was the first modern botanist to collect and describe the flora of the Near East. His own account of his travels in the Levant from 1573 to 1575, published in 1582, provides a fascinating illustration of the difficulties and dangers of early scientific field trips. Rauwolfâ??s three-year journey took him to Tripoli, Aleppo, Raqqa, Baghdad, and Jerusalem. In addition to his botanical investigations, he observed and recorded his impressions of the people, customs, and sights of these Levantine trading centers. For example, he was the first European to describe the preparation and drinking of coffee, and the first European of modern times to travel the newly opened route from Baghdad to Mosul. Written from the point of view of an early Protestant pilgrim, his depictions of Jerusalem and of religious life in the Near East, both Christian and Muslim, are of particular historical value. Dannenfeldt follows Rauwolf on his journey, presenting the observations and comments of this sixteenth-century pioneer. Wherever Rauwolf has little to say, or when contrast is needed, Dannenfeldt introduces the accounts of other Renaissance travelers, providing important background material and a more complete record of European impressions of the Muslim world during the period.Read More