An early modern illustrated herbal translated into Portuguese

João Vigier’s Historia das plantas

Abstract

In this article, the centuries-long trajectory of some of the knowledge about plants from Dioscorides’ Pharmacopoeia was followed as it took the form of various translations, expansions, modifications and compilations made by different men of science. In 1718, it reached the Portuguese language, in the form of the book entitled Historia das Plantas, published by Jean Vigier, a French apothecary based in Lisbon. Some aspects of Vigier’s work as a translator and author are discussed unde