Vitus Auslasser's herbal (1479)

[-JKP-]

Very interesting herbal, Marco.

I haven't read any commentary on this manuscript but I noticed right away the illustrator took a different approach to some of the plants.

For example, many manuscripts emphasize the roots of Asphodel and this illustrator emphasized the influorescences and downplayed the roots.

I noticed hart's tongue does something similar. Emphasizes the stems more than most (I think I've only seen a couple in which the stems are so prominent) and differs from many in having blunt leaves (that's somewhat unusual) but DID include the fibrous stem base which is a detail that is often overlooked.

Also, he appears to have drawn a different species of St. John's wort than is in many of the herbals. It looks like it might be H. triquetrifolium or something very like it, rather than the more commonly illustrated species.


The reason I mention these is because I think the VMS might have some similar patterns (e.g., 1) greater emphasis on a different part of a plant than many of the traditional interpretations, 2) different approach to certain parts of the plants, 3) including parts that are often overlooked).