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Both of Galen and Paracelsus. – Alls Well That Ends Well (II.3) PORTRAIT PRESUME DU MEDECIN PARACELSE (1493-1541) | After Quinten Metsys (1456/1466–1530) | Source | Public Domain Whether Paracelsus was formally educated in medicine is a matter of debate among scholars. There's some evidence to suggest he was educated in Ferraro, but those records did not survive so it cannot be proven. Regardless of his background, however, he was appointed City Physician in Basil, Switzerland, and was appointed as a lecturer as well. Exploring Paracelsus' dubious past and seeing that he was allowed to not only practice medicine, but prominently so, lead me to wonder how important it was in Shakespeare's lifetime for a doctor to have a medical degree. Vivian explains, ... it was common in Shakespeare’s lifetime for someone to practice medicine even at a high level, without a medical degree, or to get one later. Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim [Paracelsus]. Reproduction, 1927, of etching by A. Hirschvogel, 1538.| Source | This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Paracelsus himself did not become famous during his lifetime, but instead a large medical movement developed after his death that was so prolific that en entire school of thought called Paracelsianism rose out of his following and became large enough to challenge the more traditional Galenic approach to medicine. Paracelsus was known for producing almanacs that would predict the future, and during his lifetime he was well thought of in society, but he didn't have the large following while he was a live. After he died in 1541, there's not much evidence to explain the explosion around his reputation. He had set about in his lifetime trying to establish his own reputation as an independent thinker, so suddenly for reasons that are unclear, he becomes famous about 15 years after his death. Portrait of Paracelsus, c. 1540 | Public Domain | Source As ever in the 16-17th century England, there was a clash over Protestant vs Catholic when it came to medicine. You see, many of the followers of Paracelsus were Protestant, Evangelical Christians. This position recommended them to Protestants looking for care, and gave moral legitimacy to their activities in Protestant England. However, in Paris, many of the physicians there not only followed Galen, but were Catholic. I asked Vivian why this situation of Galen Catholics and Paracelsian Protestants didn't create a divide, causing Protestant England to want to follow Paracelsian medicine exclusively. (Especially under Elizabeth when she was insistent on squashing out anything remotely Catholic.) Vivian explains that Paracelsus' reputation trumped his association with Protestantism. The "Rosicrucian" portrait of Paracelsus (1567), a modification of the 1540 Hirschvogel portrait. | The image was published in the "Paracelsianist" work Philosophiae magnae Paracelsi (Heirs of Arnold Birckmann , Cologne 1567). The artist is possibly Frans Hogenberg, acting under the directions of Theodor Birckmann (1531/33–1586). This is the first image in which Paracelsus' sword has the word Azoth inscribed on the pommel, and the first to show his attributed coat of arms....
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