Sapere Aude Grant for Project on Flora Danica
Christoffer Basse Eriksen has been awarded a prestigious Sapere Aude grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark for the project Sovereign Flowers.
The project is the first large-scale study of the extensive work Flora Danica, a series of books whose purpose was to present a single image of every plant species in the Danish realms. The first volume was published in 1761 under King Frederik V, and over the next 120 years, countless collectors, illustrators, engravers, and printers contributed to the publication of more than 3000 hand-coloured plates. The project is based on the hypothesis that these many botanical images played a crucial role in the consolidation of the European nation-states. Through extensive research in Danish archives, the project analyses how Flora Danica helped create a unified and systematised image of Danish nature. At the same time, the project maps existing copies of selected volumes of Flora Danica to explore how the publication was received across Northern Europe.
The grant runs over four years and enables Christoffer to establish his first research group. In addition to Christoffer himself, the group will consist of a PhD student and a postdoctoral researcher, both of whom will be involved in the project for two years, each responsible for a separate work package focusing on different phases of Flora Danica’s publication history. In addition, the research group will conduct archival research across Northern Europe, investigating how Flora Danica was received in various political and scientific contexts.
Reflecting on the grant and the project, Christoffer says:
“It is a great honour for me to receive a Sapere Aude grant and thereby contribute to shaping the direction of my research field in the years to come. I am especially pleased to be able to establish my first research group. Throughout my academic career, I have grown as a researcher by being part of strong international research environments. I am very much looking forward to taking the first steps towards creating such an environment in Aarhus. At the same time, I am excited that the project will, for the first time, bring the unique Flora Danica material into international research on the history of science. I am very much looking forward to getting started.”
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