Martin Blochwitz

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Martin Blochwitz (* 1602 presumably in Großenhain , Electorate of Saxony , † September 10, 1629 in Oschatz , Electorate of Saxony) was a German medic . He created the first work on elderberries and their use , which is still considered the standard today .

Life

School and study

Title page of the dissertation from 1626

After the primary school years in Großenhain, Blochwitz was admitted to the Fürstenschule Schulpforte near Naumburg (Saale) in 1616 , and in 1622 he graduated from university . Then and until 1626 he studied medicine at the University of Leipzig . He received his doctorate on July 4, 1626 at the Medical Faculty of the University of Basel .

Live and work

After completing his studies, Blochwitz worked briefly in Großenhain . It is possible that he also wrote his comprehensive work on the "anatomy of the elder" here. At least references to patients from Großenhain suggest this. In 1628 Blochwitz settled in Oschatz as a city ​​physician .

Early death

Martin Blochwitz died on September 10, 1629 at the age of 27 in Oschatz . The cause of death is not yet known. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), the plague was also rampant in Saxony . Blochwitz may also have fallen ill and therefore died so unusually early.

The anatomy of the elderberry

Title page of Anatomia sambuci from 1631

In this standard work, Martin Blochwitz describes the old cultivated plant on 298 pages and in three sections.

  1. Department: The botany of the elder with explanations of the origin of the name, with explanations of location, growth and properties
  2. Department: The preparation of elderberry vinegar, elderberry chalk, elderberry nut, elderberry oil, elderberry pills, elderberry ointments, elderberry juices, elderberry syrup, elderberry spirit, elderberry water, elderberry wine and elderberry sugar is described in detail in six chapters with information on recipes.
  3. Department: 33 chapters for the treatment of common diseases. Recipes with exact descriptions for the production of medicines from elder flowers, elderberries, elder pulp and elder bark as well as numerous references to the views of prominent doctors of antiquity and the Middle Ages gave practical doctors in his time instructions for "internal" and "external" treatment with the most varied elderberry preparations . So Blochwitz gives recommendations for therapy u. a. for breast and uterine diseases, frostbite, tumor diseases, infectious diseases, lung, stomach, intestinal, spleen and gallbladder diseases, mental illnesses, strokes and paralysis, stone ailments, consumption, unclear fever and pain, poisoning, injuries, worm infestation and toothache.

The spread of the work

Title page of the useful little medicine cabinet from 1665
  • The "Anatomia Sambuci" by Dr. Martin Blochwitz was published in Latin in 1631, two years after his death, probably by his brother Johannes Blochwitz in Leipzig.
  • First, Blochwitz's work was translated from Latin into German in 1642 by the Königsberg physician and university professor Daniel Beckher the Elder , and made known to the public in his book, "Useful Small House Pharmacy". The script saw further editions after 1642 in 1650, 1665, 1685 and is the only translation into the German language.
  • In 1650 the "Anatomia Sambuci" appeared in Latin in England, was translated there by Christopher Irvine in 1651 and published in English in 1655, 1670 and 1677, also on the recommendation of the Royal Society .
  • In 2010 a reprint of “Anatomia sambuci” was published.
  • Also in 2010 an English-language updated translation of the "Anatomia sambuci" was published.

Appreciation

On the occasion of the opening of the elderberry show garden in Feldbach (Styria) , the new elderberry variety with the previous name clone B2 was christened Blochwitz on May 23, 2013 .

Different spelling of the name

The route taken by the work to Königsberg in East Prussia in 1642 and to London in 1650 and the associated translations explain the different spellings of the name Blochwitz. His traces can be found under the names "Blockwich", "Blockwitz", "Blochwich" and "Blochwitz".

literature

  • Sepp Porta, Michael Hlatky, Johannes Christandl: Elderberry Wonder World . Doctors' publishing house; 1st edition (2012): ISBN 3990520148 .
  • Manfred Schollmeyer : The anatomy of the elder and its medical application . Oschatzer History and Local History Association e. V .; 1st edition (2014): ISBN 9783000467981 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ German National Library: DNB 12454973X
  2. ↑ a b Dissertation : Dissertatio de paralysi , Basel, 1626
  3. ↑ Gatekeeper Album: Directory of all teachers and students of the royal family. Prussia. Pforta State School from 1543 to 1843; A memorandum for the institution's third secular celebration on May 21, 1843 by CFH Bittcher , Leipzig (1843) Vogel, p. 126, student number 2385
  4. ^ A b De Anatomia sambuci , Leipzig, 1631
  5. ↑ a b Useful little house pharmacy: it contains the description partly of the elder, from the Martini Blochwitij Latin treatise translated into German, partly of the juniper . Leipzig: Fuhrmann / Giessen: Utzen, 1665 ( digitized edition )
  6. ^ Biography of the Doctors , Carl Brüggemann, Halberstadt, 1829, p. 470
  7. ↑ Royal Doctors, 1485-1714: Medical Personnel at the Tudor and Stuart courts ; Elizabeth Lane Furdell, Rochester, NY, USA: University of Rochester Press, 2001, ISBN 1-58046-051-8
  8. ^ Anatomia sambuci: or, The anatomie of the elder. Cutting out of it, plain, approved, and specifick remedies for most and chiefest maladies; confirmed and cleared by reason, experience, and history. / Gathered in Latine, by Dr Martin Blochwich, physitian-ordinary of Oshatin. Now translated for the advancement of our language and medicines . London,: Printed for Tho. Heath, at his shop in Russel-Street, near the Piazza's of Covent-Garden, 1655. ( Digitized edition )
  9. ↑ Anatomia Sambuci, Or, the Anatomy of the Elder Cutting Out of It Plain, Approved, and Specific Remedies for Most and Chiefest Maladies:, Confirmed ... in Latine by Dr. Martin Blochwich . Proquest, Eebo Editions (2010); 264 pages; Language: English; ISBN 1171254415
  10. ^ Anatomia Sambuci: The Anatomy of the Elder Dr. Martin Bochwich, London 1677 . Berry Pharma (2010); Language: English; ISBN 3952369306
  11. ^ The diversity of the elder , May 24, 2013; Small newspaper
  12. ↑ The Anatomy of the Elderberry , June 22, 2013; Kleine Zeitung ( Memento from June 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Blochwitz, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blochwich, Martin; Blochwitius, Martinus; Blochwitz, Martin; Blochwitz, Martinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German medic
DATE OF BIRTH 1602
PLACE OF BIRTH Grossenhain
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1629
Place of death Oschatz