Der kundige Laie und das naturkundliche illustrierte Flugblatt der frühen Neuzeit

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how German and Latin illustrated broadsheets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries can serve as documents of the history of sciences and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. It shows how broadsheets were used as a means of conveying scientific observations and conclusions not only among scholars versed in Latin but, through the medium of the vernacular, between scholars and laymen, too. In the fields of medicine, astronomy, zoology and botany in particular, the illustrated broadsheet facilitated the rapid circulation of case histories and accounts of various scientific phenomena. Furthermore, it played an important role in breaking down the barriers that separated the scholar from the layman, who was otherwise far removed from the world of books.