In the Modern Age and Renaissance, European herbals diversified and innovated, and came to rely more on direct observation than being mere adaptations of traditional models. herbal clean Typical examples from the period are the fully illustrated De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes by Leonhart Fuchs, the astrologically-themed Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper, and the Curious Herbal by Elizabeth Blackwell. Anglo-Saxon plant knowledge and gardening skills (the garden was called a wyrtzerd, literally, herb-yard) appears to have exceeded that on the continent. herbalist Our limited knowledge of Anglo-Saxon plant vernacular comes primarily from manuscripts that include: the Leech Book of Bald, and the Lacnunga. The Leech Book of Bald (Bald was probably a friend of King Alfred of England) was painstakingly produced by the scribe Cild in about 900–950 CE. This was written in the vernacular (native) tongue and not derived from Greek texts. herbal colon cleanse The oldest illustrated herbal from Saxon times is a translation of the Latin Herbarius Apulei Platonici, one of the most popular medical works of medieval times, the original dating from the fifth century; this Saxon translation was produced about 1000–1050 CE and is housed in the British Library. Another vernacular herbal was the Buch der natur or "Book of Nature" by Konrad von Megenberg which contains the first two botanical woodcuts ever made; it is also the first work of its kind in the vernacular.