Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)

Historical survey 9 SYLVESTER, GÁSPÁR FRAXINUS and PÉTER MELIUS of the 'Sárvár School' of medical botany, and members of the Transylvanian School'

—PÉTER MELIUS, the HELTAIS of Kolozsvár and GYÖRGY VÁRADI LENCSÉS— are thought to have been in personal touch. Indeed the Sárvár circle of scholars helped to bring the Transylvanian school of medical botany into being.

4 The works of these groups of intellectuals led to the first polyglot herbals appearing in the 16th century. These demonstrate that scientific and traditional knowledge of plants in Hungary was up to general European standards of the time. It can safely be said that botanical exploration of Hungary began in Western Hungary with CHARLES DE L'ÉCLUSE, better known as CAROLUS CLUSIUS (1526-1609) (Figure 2.1).

5 He and the Protestant preacher and natural philosopher ISTVÁN BEYTHE

6 made five plant-collection tours, under the patronage of Count BOLDIZSÁR BATTHYÁNY (Figure 2.2). The first great Pannonian flora, containing a botanical description of Pannónia, Austria and 4 SZABÓ, Т.Д. 1995. Történeti, etnobotanikai és génforráskutatások a termesztett növények és a vadon élő rokonfajok evolúciós folyamatainak feltárására a Kárpát-medence térségében (Historical, ethno-botanical and gene-source researches to discover the evolutionary processes of cultivated plants and related wild species in the region of the Carpathian Basin). Ms, doctoral dissertation. Budapest/Szombathely. 5 There is an extensive and ramified Hungarian and international literature on CLUSIUS, of which not even a modest selection can be given here. However, one or two works to have appeared in Hungary need mentioning: ISTVÁNFFY, GY. 1900. A Clusius Codex mykológiai méltatása, adatokkal Clusius életrajzához—

Études et commentaires sur le Code de l'Ecluse augmentés de quelques notices biographiques. Budapest: privately published; GOMBOCZ, E. 1936. A magyar botanika története. A magyar flóra kutatói (History of Hungarian Botany. Researchers into Hungarian Flora). Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia (Hungarian Academy of Sciences); AUMÜLLER, S.A., and J. JEANPLONG eds. 1983. Carolus Clusius Fungorum in Pannoniis observatorum Bervis História et Codex Clusii. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó/Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt; SZABÓ, T.A. ed. 1992. The beginnings of Pannonian ethnobotany: Stirpium Nomenciator Pannonicus edited by S[tephanus] B[eythe] (1583), Carolus Clusius (1584), David Czvittinger (1711). Collecta Clusiana 2:1-144. One of the most comprehensive works on CLUSIUS as a whole is a volume of studies: Festschrift anläßlich der 400jähringen Wiederkehr der wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeit von Carolus Clusius (Charles de l'Ecluse) im pannonischen Raum. Burgenländische Forschungen series No. 5, 309 pp. Eisenstadt: 1973. 6 FABÓ, A. 1866. Beythe István életrajza (Biography of IB). Magyar Akadémiai Értesítő 4:210-68; ALLODIATORIS, I. 1962. Beythe István (1532-1612). Botanikai Közlemények 49:180-1. 7 CLUSIUS, С. 1583. Rariorum aliquot Stirpium, per Pannoniam, Austriam, & vicinas quasdam Prouincias obseruatarum História,... Antverpiae [Antwerp]: Ex officina Christophori Plantini. Figure 2.2. BOLDIZSÁR BATTHYÁNY (1543-1590), humanist nobleman and military commander against the Turks. He became the first patron of natural history in Hungary, giving financial support to the botanical researches of CAROLUS CLUSIUS (1526-1609) neighbouring provinces, appeared in Antwerp in 1583 (Figure 2.3)7 The first printed register of Transdanubian plant