Johannes Ralla

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Johannes Ralla (also Johannes Dünnewald ; * 1509 in Frankenberg (Eder) , † April 24, 1560 in Leipzig ) was a German pharmacist and pharmacologist . Every now and then the pharmacist and mayor of Frankenberg, Hans Dünnewald, is mentioned as his father. However, the nickname "Dünnwald" was only formed for him during his time in Leipzig (see "Martin Kessler: ... Johannes Ralla. - Genealogie Heft2 / 1984 pages 33-36") by his friend Philipp Melanchthon, as in the Funerary speech by Ralla's daughter Catharina Steinmetz geb. Ralla 1605. According to the speech, the name alludes to the fact that Ralla was afraid that his name would become extinct with him because he only had daughters, no sons ("rara silva" for a "thin forest" as a family tree). His origin as well as the origin of his name is sometimes persistently incorrectly stated in the literature. Catharina Steinmetz's funeral speech is available under "LP Stollberg 18378" in the Stollberg collection.

In 1533 he became a citizen of Leipzig and in the same year took over the Zum König Salomon pharmacy . He was very keen to develop pharmacy and is considered to be the inventor of violet juice . Until then, he had little common medicines in his pharmacy . Encouraged by his brother-in-law Euricius Cordus , he conducted a lively correspondence with Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon . He gave his nephew, the doctor and botanist Valerius Cordus, the suggestion to write a book of rules for the preparation of medicines , the Dispensatorium , printed in Nuremberg in 1546 .

In 1532 Johannes Ralla married Judith Lotter, with whom he had a daughter. In his second marriage he was married to Magdalena Schilters, the daughter of the merchant, master furrier and administrator of the barefoot monastery in Leipzig Johannes Schilters. With her he had three other daughters, of whom Magdalena married the Leipzig mayor Lorenz Finckelthaus .