Boodt, Anselmus Boetius de

1. Dates

Born: Bruges, c. 1550

Died: Bruges, 21 June 1632

Dateinfo: Birth Uncertain

Lifespan: 82

2. Father

Occupation: Aristocrat

Anselme (conceivably Willem) Boodts was from a noble Roman Catholic family.

Every detail of Boodt's life indicates family wealth.

3. Nationality

Birth: Belgium

Career: Belgium, Czechoslovakia

Death: Belgium

4. Education

Schooling: Louvain; Heidelberg; Padua, M.D.

He probably took his first university degree in civil and canon law at Louvain. I treat this as equivalent to a B.A. After this he studied medicine under Thomas Erastus at Heidelberg and obtained his M.D. in Padua.

5. Religion

Affiliation: Catholic

6. Scientific Disciplines

Primary: Mineralogy, Alchemy

In his chief work, Gemmarum et lapidum historia, Boodt made the first attempt at a systematic description of minerals.He enumerated about 600 minerals that he knew from personal observation, and described their properties, imitations, and medical applications.

7. Means of Support

Primary: Personal Means, Patronage, City Magistrate

Secondary: Church Life

Until he was about thirty-five, Boodt travelled through Europe without working; personal wealth (from his family) had to have supported him.

About as soon as he set foot in Bruges after his student days (c. 1580), he was named Raad pensionaris of the city. Heller says that he was active in the financial administration of Bruges.

From 1583 Boodt lived Bohemia as physician to Wilhelm Rosenberg, the burgrave of Prague.

In 1584 he was appointed canon of St. Donat's Church in Bruges, he held the position until 1595 without leaving Prague. Rudolf's patronage helped him to remain in Prague engaged in learned activity. I assume that Rudolf was involved in this appointment to a plum.

In 1584 he was nominated physician in ordinary to Rudolf II (with a considerable salary) and retained this position until 1612.

In 1612 Boodt returned to Bruges, where He spent the rest of his life as a town councillor.

I find no evidence that he ever seriously practiced as a physician. Rudolf clearly saw him as one of his alchemists; Rudolf's patronage, not any medical practice, was the significant element in his support. Heller says that Boodt was in charge of Rudolf's collection of gems; however he too, along with the other sources, discusses Boodt as an alchemist.

8. Patronage

Types: Aristocracy, Court

Primarily Rudolf II but also Rosenburg. See above.

9. Technological Involvement

Types: None

10. Scientific Societies

Memberships: None

Friendship with Thadeus Hayek, a well-known Bohemian naturalist and historian.

Sources

1. Nieuw nederlandsch biografisch woodenboek, 6, 151-2.
2. G. Dewalque, Biographie nationale de Belgique, IV, 814-816.
3. F.M. Jaeger, "Anselmus Btius de Boodt," in Historische Studien.
4. Bijdragen tot de kennis van de geschiedenis der wetenschappen in Nederlanden (in 16th and 17th centuries), (Groningen, 1919), 99-149. O.Delepierre, Biographie des hommes remarquables de la Flandre occidentale, 1, (Bruges, 1843-4), pp.31-35.
5. J.E. Heller, "Anselmus Boetius de Boodt als Wissenschafter und Naturphilosoph," Archeion, 15 (1933), 348-68.

Not Available and Not Consulted

1. "Testament olographe d'Anselmus Boetius de Boodt, conseiller- pensioonaire de Bruges, 1630" in Annales de la societe d'emulation, 2nd ser., 11 (1861), pp.370-383 A.J.J. Van de Velde, "Rede af Boodt," Koninklijke Vlamische Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schoone Kunsten van Belgi. Klasse der Wetenschappen. Verslagen en Mededeelingen, (Brussels, Nov. 1932), 1505-7.
2. J.E. Heller, an article on Boodt, Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Medizin, 8 (1942), 1-125.

Compiled by:

Richard S. Westfall

Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Indiana University

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