He was a pioneer in several aspects of the " medical revolution " of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom. He is credited as the "father of toxicology ". Paracelsianism is the early modern medical movement inspired by the study of his works.
He was born in a house next to a bridge across the Sihl river. His father Wilhelm d. Paracelsus' mother was probably a native of the Einsiedeln region and a bondswoman of Einsiedeln Abbey , who before her marriage worked as superintendent in the abbey's hospital. Paracelsus' mother probably died in , [ 22 ] after which Paracelsus's father moved to Villach , Carinthia , where he worked as a physician, attending to the medical needs of the pilgrims and inhabitants of the cloister. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal.
He gained his medical doctorate from the University of Ferrara in or Thus, between and , he embarked on a series of extensive travels around Europe. Then Paracelsus returned home from his travels in In , "[a]fter visiting his father at Villach and finding no local opportunity to practice, he settled in Salzburg " as a physician, [ 30 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] and remained there until In , he bought the rights of citizenship in Strasbourg to establish his own practice.
But soon after, he was called to Basel to the sickbed of printer Johann Frobenius and reportedly cured him. In , Paracelsus was a city physician Stadtarzt in Basel with the privilege of lecturing at the University of Basel. When Erasmus fell ill while staying in Basel, he wrote to Paracelsus: "I cannot offer thee a reward equal to thy art and knowledgeβI surely offer thee a grateful soul.
Thou hast recalled from the shades Frobenius who is my other half: if thou restorest me also thou restorest each through the other. Paracelsus' lectures at Basel university unusually were given in German, not Latin.
