Bijeneter (Merops apiaster)

Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt, a Flemish humanist, administrator, physician, alchemist, and scholar, was born into a wealthy and aristocratic Catholic family in Bruges around 1550. The son of Anselmus senior and Johanna Voet, he was left motherless at the age of eleven. His academic pursuits led him to study law in Leuven and medicine under Thomas Erestus in Heidelberg, culminating in a doctorate in medicine from Padua. During the Calvinist republic's brief reign in Bruges (1578-1584), de Boodt served as the city's pensionary from 1580 to 1583, a role that hinted at his sympathies with the new faith. He left Bruges before the Catholic administration regained control, eventually becoming the personal physician to Wilhelm Rosenberg, the governor of Prague, and later to Emperor Rudolf II, succeeding Rembert Dodoens. Despite an offer to become a canon of the Sint-Donaaskathedraal in Bruges, de Boodt chose to remain in Prague, where he engaged in alchemy and mineralogy at the emperor's science-enthused court. Returning to Bruges in 1612, de Boodt embraced the life of a Renaissance man, dedicating himself to studies, writing, poetry as a member of the Holy Ghost rhetoricians' chamber, composing music, and painting landscapes. His work reflects the 16th-century blurring of scientific disciplines and the coexistence of science with beliefs like astrology and alchemy. De Boodt's legacy is marked by his contributions to various fields, embodying the intellectual curiosity and versatility of his time.