„Dominus creavit ex Terra Medicamenta“

Heilpflanzenwissen in Johannes Gessners Phytographia sacra

Abstract

This paper examines the bodies of knowledge discussed by the Zurich naturalist Johannes Gessner (1709–1790) in his dissertation on medicinal plants published in 1762. It explores how Gessner linked the latest insights on plant classification and debates on the functioning of human bodies with existing knowledge on plant-based remedies. Published as a part of Gessner’s Phytographia Sacra (sacred description of plants), the dissertation combined
the praise of God with the imparting of knowledge on exotic and local plants. Through his teaching as a professor of physics and mathematics and with the publication of dissertations composed for the examinations at the local Collegium Carolinum, Gessner provided future clergymen, physicians and merchants with knowledge about the numerous useful qualities of plants. The paper argues that by adapting the dissertations’ topics to local interests and
habits, Gessner tried to win over supporters and allies for his own botanical studies. Thereby, this paper contributes to a history of knowledge that takes into account the interrelated and manifold ‘ways of knowing’ that exceed scholarly circles and combine different approaches.