Sophia or Sophie Brahe (m. name Sophie Thott Lange) (1556 or 59-1643), was a Danish horticulturalist with knowledge of chemistry, & medicine. She was born in Knudstrup, as the youngest of 10 children, to Otte Brahe rigsråd, advisor to the King of Denmark; & Beate Bille Brahe, leader of the royal household for Queen Sophie.
Sophia's oldest brother was astronomer Tycho Brahe. Though he was both more than a decade her senior & raised in a separate household, the pair became quite close by the time Sophia was a teenager. The brother & sister were united by their interest in science, & by their family's opposition to science as an appropriate activity for members of the aristocracy. Tycho wrote that he had trained Sophia in horticulture & chemistry. He expressed with pride that she learned astronomy on her own, studying books in German, & having Latin books translated with her own money; so that she could also study them. She frequently visited his observatory Uranienborg, on the then-Danish island of Hveen. There, she assisted him with astronomical observations which led to discovery of a supernova & the 8 December 1573 lunar eclipse.
She married 33 year old Otto Thott in 1576. She had 1 child with him, before he died on 23 March 1588. Their son was Tage Thott , was born in 1580. Upon her husband's death, Sophie Thott managed his property in Eriksholm (today Trolleholm Castle), running the estate to keep it profitable, until her son came of age. During this time, she also became a horticulturalist, in addition to her studies in chemistry & medicine. The botanical gardens she created in Ericksholm were said to be exceptional. Sophie was particularly interested in studying botany for plant medicines & used her skills to treat the local poor.
A botanist is a scientist who specializes in plant science, & the term botany comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη meaning pasture, grass, or fodder, βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν, to feed or to graze. Medieval physic gardens, often attached to monasteries, contained plants of medical importance & they were forerunners of the 1st botanical gardens attached to universities, founded from the 1540s onwards.
She married 33 year old Otto Thott in 1576. She had 1 child with him, before he died on 23 March 1588. Their son was Tage Thott , was born in 1580. Upon her husband's death, Sophie Thott managed his property in Eriksholm (today Trolleholm Castle), running the estate to keep it profitable, until her son came of age. During this time, she also became a horticulturalist, in addition to her studies in chemistry & medicine. The botanical gardens she created in Ericksholm were said to be exceptional. Sophie was particularly interested in studying botany for plant medicines & used her skills to treat the local poor.
A botanist is a scientist who specializes in plant science, & the term botany comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη meaning pasture, grass, or fodder, βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν, to feed or to graze. Medieval physic gardens, often attached to monasteries, contained plants of medical importance & they were forerunners of the 1st botanical gardens attached to universities, founded from the 1540s onwards.
Botany originated as Herbalism, the study & use of plants for their medicinal properties. Many records date early botanical knowledge as far back as 10,000 years. Examples of early works have been found in ancient texts from India dating back to before 1100 BC, in Avestan writings. His major works, Enquiry into Plants & On the Causes of Plants, constitute the most important contributions to science until the Middle Ages. De Materia Medica was widely read for more than 1,500 years, important contributions from the medieval Muslim world include Ibn Wahshiyyas Nabatean Agriculture, Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarīs the Book of Plants.
In the early 13C, Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, & Ibn al-Baitar wrote on botany in a systematic & scientific manner, & these gardens continued the practical aspects of earlier physic gardens, often associated with monasteries, in which plants were cultivated for medical use. They encouraged the growth of botany as an academic subject, lectures were given about the plants grown in the gardens & their medical uses demonstrated.
Botanical gardens came later to northern Europe. The 1st in England was the University of Oxford Botanic Garden in 1621, & throughout this period, botany remained firmly entwined with medicine. German physician Leonhart Fuchs was one of the 3 German fathers of botany, along with theologian
Otto Brunfels & physician Hieronymus Bock, Fuchs & Brunfels broke away from the tradition of copying earlier herbal works to make original observations of their own. Bock created his own system of plant classification. Physician Valerius Cordus authored a botanically & pharmacologically important herbal Historia Plantarum in 1544 & a pharmacopoeia of lasting importance, the Dispensatorium in 1546. Naturalist Conrad von Gesner & herbalist John Gerard published herbals covering the medicinal uses of plants.
On 21 July 1587, King Frederick II of Denmark signed a document transferring to Sophia Brahe title of Årup farm in what is now Sweden. Sophia continued to be a frequent visitor at Uranienborg where she met Erik Lange, a nobleman who studied alchemy & was a friend of Tycho's. In 1590, Sophie took 13 visits to Uranienborg & became engaged to Lange. Lange used up most of his fortune with alchemy experiments, so their marriage was delayed some years, while he avoided his debtors & traveled to Germany to try to find patrons for his work.
On 21 July 1587, King Frederick II of Denmark signed a document transferring to Sophia Brahe title of Årup farm in what is now Sweden. Sophia continued to be a frequent visitor at Uranienborg where she met Erik Lange, a nobleman who studied alchemy & was a friend of Tycho's. In 1590, Sophie took 13 visits to Uranienborg & became engaged to Lange. Lange used up most of his fortune with alchemy experiments, so their marriage was delayed some years, while he avoided his debtors & traveled to Germany to try to find patrons for his work.
In 1599, she visited Lange in Hamburg, but they did not marry until 1602 in Eckernförde. They lived in this town for a while in extreme poverty. Sophie wrote a letter to her sister Margrethe, describing having to wear stockings with holes in them for her wedding. Lange's wedding clothes had to be returned to the pawn shop after the wedding, because the couple could not afford to keep them. She expressed anger with her family for not accepting her science studies, & for depriving her of money owed to her. By 1608, Erik Lange was living in Prague, & he died there in 1613.
1640s Sophia or Sophie Brahe (m. name Sophie Thott Lange) (1556 or 59-1643)
The widow Sophie Brahe personally financed the restoration of the local church, Ivetofta kyrka. She planned to be buried there, & the lid for her unused sarcophagus remains in the church's armory. But, by 1616, she had moved permanently to Zealand & settled in Helsingør. She spent her last years writing genealogies of Danish noble families, publishing the 1st major edition in 1626. Her work is still considered a major source for early history of Danish nobility. She died in Helsingør in the year 1643, & was buried in the Torrlösa old church in what was then Denmark but now is southern Sweden.
The widow Sophie Brahe personally financed the restoration of the local church, Ivetofta kyrka. She planned to be buried there, & the lid for her unused sarcophagus remains in the church's armory. But, by 1616, she had moved permanently to Zealand & settled in Helsingør. She spent her last years writing genealogies of Danish noble families, publishing the 1st major edition in 1626. Her work is still considered a major source for early history of Danish nobility. She died in Helsingør in the year 1643, & was buried in the Torrlösa old church in what was then Denmark but now is southern Sweden.
