The Naming Of Names: the Search For Order In The World Of Plants

Description

Intro; TITLE PAGE; DEDICATION; CONTENTS; INTRODUCTION; I IN THE BEGINNING; II ALL MEN BY NATURE DESIRE TO KNOW; III THE ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY; IV PLINY THE PLAGIARIST; V THE MEDICINE MEN; VI JULIANAâ#x80;#x99;S BOOK; VII THE ARAB INFLUENCE; VIII OUT OF THE BLACK HOLE; IX THE IMAGE MAKERS; X THEOPHRASTUS REBORN; XI BRUNFELSâ#x80;#x98;S BOOK; XII THE IRASCIBLE FUCHS; XIII IN ITALY; XIV THE FIRST BOTANIC GARDEN; XV THE LONG-NOSED NIT-PICKER; XVI WEAVING THE WEB; XVII PROTESTANTS PREVAIL; XVIII GESNERS MASTERPIECE; XIX NEW PASTURES; XX PLANTING TEAM; XXI THE LAST OF THE HERBALS; XXII ENGLISH ACHIEVEMENTS;The Naming of Names traces the search for order in the natural world, a search that for hundreds of years occupied some of the most brilliant minds in Europe, reaching its apex during the renaissance. Anna Pavord takes us on a thrilling adventure into botanical history, travelling from Athens in the third century BC, through Constantinople, Venice, the medical school at Salerno to the universities of Pisa and Padua. The journey, traced here for the first time, involves the culture of Islam, the first expeditions to the Indies and the first settlers in the New World. Gradually, over a long period in Europe, plants assumed identities and acquired names. Artists painted the first pictures of them. Plants acquired the two-part names that show how they are related to other plants. But who began all this work, and how was it done' Sumptuously illustrated in full colour, The Naming of Names gives a compelling insight into a world full of intrigue and intensely competitive egos.