Origin and Compilation of Hortus Malabaricus

Hortus Malabaricus chronicles seventeenth-century collaboration, manuscript transport, and translation shaping Malabar flora study.

This book is an attempt to evaluate and trace the background of publication of the 12 volumes Hortus Malabaricus by Henric Adrian van Rheede in the seventeenth century. An inquiry is made into how van Rheede addressed his limited knowledge of plants, drawing on the expertise and contributions of Fr. Mathew, the Italian Carmelite, as well as the local physicians Ranga Bhatt, Vinayaka Pandit, Appu Bhatt and Itti Achuthan. The precautions van Rheede took to transport the manuscripts to Amsterdam, along with his selection of technicians for preparing copper plates and typefaces, are described, and the necessary documents to analyse and corroborate these aspects, found in the volumes of Hortus Malabaricus and from other sources are analyzed here. A separate chapter provides as authentic overview of the contents of the 12 volumes of Hortus Malabaricus, including both the original Latin and its English translation. The key role played by Dr. K.S. Manilal in undertaking the monumental task of preparing the translation of Hortus Malabaricus into English and later into Malayalam, as well as the contributions of those who assisted in the translation, is also examined. A separate chapter highlights the uniqueness of Hortus Malabaricus and discusses the concerns of Indian scientists regarding the potential use and misuse of the plants documented. Overall, readers will gain a clear picture of the process behind the prep­aration of this significant seventeenth-century multi volume documentation of the flora of Malabar, as well as its subsequent English translation.