On Easter Eggs - Georg Franck von Franckenau

Georg Franck von Franckenau was a German physician and botanist who was born in 1643 in the city of Naumburg.

He taught anatomy, chemistry and botany in Jena and became a professor of medicine at the University of Heidelberg.

Among his published works is an essay entitled “De Ovis Paschalibus” in which he writes about Easter eggs. In this work he considers ancient pagan symbols of life and fertility and how they were connected to religious customs. About the Easter bunny, he says this (in English translation):

In Alsace, and neighboring regions, these eggs are called rabbit eggs because of the myth told to fool simple people and children that the Easter Bunny is going around laying eggs and hiding them in the herb gardens. So the children look for them, even more enthusiastically, to the delight of smiling adults.

Von Franckenau moved to Denmark, at some point in his life, to serve as personal physician of Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway. He died, in Copenhagen, during 1704.

This image depicts the cover of the work which includes von Franckenau's essay, “De Ovis Paschalibus.”