Herbal History 

The word herbal is derived from the mediaeval Latin liber herbalis - it is sometimes used in contrast to the word florilegium, which is a treatise on flowers with emphasis on their beauty & enjoyment rather than the herbal emphasis on their utility. Much of the information found in printed herbals arose out of traditional medicine & herbal knowledge that predated the invention of writing.

Before the advent of printing, herbals were produced as manuscripts, which could be kept as scrolls or loose sheets, or bound into codices. Early handwritten herbals were often illustrated with paintings & drawings. Like other manuscript books, herbals were 'published' through repeated copying by hand, either by professional scribes or by the readers themselves. In the process of making a copy, the copyist would often translate, expand, adapt, or reorder the content. Most of the original herbals have been lost many have survived only as later copies , & others are known only through references from other texts.

As printing became available, it was promptly used to publish herbals, the first printed matter being known as incunabula. In Europe, the first printed herbal with woodcut illustrations, the Puch der Natur of Konrad of Megenberg, appeared in 1475. Metal-engraved plates were first used in about 1580. As woodcuts & metal engravings could be reproduced indefinitely they were traded among printers - there was therefore a large increase in the number of illustrations together with an enhancement in quality & detail but a tendency for repetition.

As examples of some of the world's most important records & first printed matter, researchers will find herbals scattered through the world's most famous libraries including the Vatican Library in Rome, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Royal Library in Windsor, the British Library in London & the major continental libraries.