Dietrich, Jacob or Bergzabein 1520-1590

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Dietrich was an herbalist also known as Tabernaemontanus. He was familiar with the work of Brunfels and Bock. He was a physician and a Protestant and became interested in botany. His herbal entitled Neuw Kreuterbuch was first printed in 1588. He described more than 3000 plants with many illustrations. The illustrations were eventually printed separately as there were an increasing number of botanists and gardeners who were primarily interested in the illustrations.

Many of his woodblocks were eventually purchased by an English printer, John Norton, who used them to illustrate the Herball or General Historie of Plants of John Gerarde (London, 1597).

Grete Herball printed by Peter Treveris in 1526 was a translation of a well-known French herbal known as La Grand Herbier. This later volume was based on a German herbal (1485). In this book Greek mythology finds a place side by side with Christianity. Some medicines enumerated have remained to the present day. This book throws an interesting light on the early names of British plants. It exposed methods of "faking" drugs indicating his interest in aiding the common people.