Leonhard Rauwolf

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Leonhard Rauwolf was the first modern botanist to collect and describe the flora of the Near East. His own account of his travels in the Levant from 1573 to 1575 provides a fascinating illustration of early scientific field trips. Karl Dannenfeldt follows Rauwolf on his journey, presenting the observations and comments of this sixteenth-century pioneer. Wherever Rauwolf has little to say, or when contrast is needed, the author introduces the narrative of other Renaissance travelers, supplying important background material and a more complete record of European impressions of the Moslem world during the period.