Text-fig. 16. “Ambra” = Amber [Ortus Sanitatis, Mainz, 1491].
Later Latin editions of the Ortus Sanitatis were printed in Germany and Italy, and translations were also popular. The part of the book dealing with animals and stones was produced in German under the name of ‘Gart der Gesuntheit; zu Latin Ortus Sanitatis,’ so as to form a supplement to the German Herbarius, which dealt, as we have seen, almost exclusively with herbs. No really complete translation of the Hortus was ever published, except that printed by Antoine Vérard in Paris about the year 1500, under the title, ‘Ortus sanitatis translate de latin en francois.’ Henry VII was one of Vérard’s patrons, and in the account books of John Heron, Treasurer of the Chamber, which are preserved at the Record Office, there is an entry (1501-2) which runs, “Item to Anthony Vérard for two bokes called the gardyn of helth ... £6.” This refers to a copy, in two parts, of Vérard’s translation of the Ortus Sanitatis, which is still preserved in the British Museum.
Text-fig. 17. “Unicornus” [Ortus Sanitatis, Mainz, 1491].
The complete Ortus Sanitatis made its appearance for the last time as ‘Le Jardin de Santé,’ printed by Philippe le Noir about 1539, and sold in Paris, “a lenseigne de la Rose blanche couronnee.” Text-fig. [18], taken from this book, shows how the artist of the period represented a “Garden of Health.”
Text-fig. 18. A Herbalist’s Garden [Le Jardin de Santé, ? 1539].