Etymology of Names and a Short Guide to Botany Presented in Wedding Songs Good Wishes for the Wedding of David Spillenberger, a Doctor from Levoča with Susanna Regina Reuther in 1659

Abstract

The essay presents a series of wedding poems originally printed in the collection of Régi Magyarországi Nyomtatványok nr. 2854, dedicated to the wedding of the above-mentioned couple by their otherwise unknown friend, a certain Combergius Blumboth. The author based his poems on the etymology of the German family name of the groom and on that of the two (one Hebrew, one Latin) Christian names of the bride. Blumboth also inserted footnotes in his compositions in order to give a key to his aenigmas. Blumboth borrowed his ideas about the importance and function of gardens from Justus Lipsius. While writing about a species of lily, Corona imperialis, the author also quoted to the letter a famous handbook of botany written by Johannes Bauhinus, which was printed only eight years before the wedding.