Hieronymus Bock

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Hieronymus Bock as depicted in his Herbal

Hieronymus Bock , also seen as "Boch", (1498 - February 21, 1554) also known under his latinised name Hieronymus Tragus, was a German botanist, physician, and Lutheran minister who began the transition from medieval botany to the modern scientific worldview by arranging plants by their relation or resemblance. His 1546 Kreuterbuch or "herbal" was illustrated by the artist David Kandel. In the wine world, Bock is noted for having the first documented use of the modern word Riesling in 1552 when it was mentioned in his Latin herbal. ^[1]

The details of his life are sketchy, in particular his educational background is unknown. In 1519 he inscribed at the university of Heidelberg. He married an Eva Victor in 1523, and was caretaker of the grounds of the count palatinate in Zweibrücken for nine years, which is possibly the origin of his botanical interest. In 1532 he became the prince's physician and received a life-time position as a lutheran minister in a nearby village where he stayed up to his death in 1554.

The first edition of his Kreuterbuch (literally "plant book") appeared in 1539 unillustrated; his stated objectives were to describe German plants, including their names, characteristics, and medical uses. Instead of following Dioscorides as was traditional, he developed his own system to classify 700 plants. Bock apparently traveled widely through the German region observing the plants for himself, since he includes ecological and distributional observations.

The grass genus Tragus and spurge genus Tragia are both named after him.

The standard author abbreviation H.Bock is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical name.^[2]

[edit] Footnotes

^ Oz Clarke The Encyclopedia of Grapes Websters International Publishers 2001, pg 192 ISBN 0-15-100714-4
^ Brummitt, R. K.; C. E. Powell (1992). Authors of Plant Names. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-085-4.