what is now Switzerland and spent several
years wandering to the far corners of the
known world to learn from philosophers,
scientists, and doctors from Europe to Ara-
bia and India. He studied in several uni-
versities, poring over the medical texts of
the ancient writers and exploring the al-
chemical tracts of medieval writers. His
studies and experiments led him to the
conclusion that all matter derived from
three basic substances—salt, sulfur, and
mercury—that originated in a matter
known asmysterium arcanum.
Paracelsus rejected the traditional
practices of physicians, who in his day
worked to rid the body of impurities
through bleeding and purging. In his book
Archidoxis, he explained his theory that
certain essential qualities all derive from
substances found in nature. He believed
that philosophy, astronomy, alchemy, and
virtue were all necessary to the work of a
doctor, and that disease represented a mal-
function of the body and not, as was tra-
ditional, the imbalance of the bodily hu-
mors. He elaborated his ideas in another
major work,Opus Paramirum,orWork
Beyond Wonder, which also explained the
organs of the body as containing a guiding
spirit that separated good qualities from
bad. To cure disease, the physician needed
to apply a substance manufactured from
minerals, metals, or other compounds that
was proper to the functioning of the dis-
eased organ and could mimic the body’s
natural balancing action.
Paracelsus saw man as a microcosm of
the universe, a being in which all the quali-
ties found in nature had their counter-
parts on the human scale. The physical
body, the soul, and an astral body were
present, in which the latter spirit—which
originated in the heavens—served as a
blueprint for the form and function of all
things and as an important link between
the mind, the body, and the spiritual
world. For this reason, the study of both
human philosophy and scientific as-
tronomy were needed for a physician to
truly understand the workings and dis-
eases of the body.
In 1524 Paracelsus became a lecturer
and physician in the city of Basel, where
his strange new ideas and his teaching in
German instead of traditional Latin
sparked bitter conflict with his physician
rivals and quickly drove him from the city.
In 1536 he published a handbook of sur-
gery,Der Grossen Wundartzney. He died
five years later under mysterious circum-
stances, with many historians believing
that he was poisoned by rivals.
SEEALSO: medicine
Parr, Catherine ................................
(1512–1548)
The sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII
of England. She was born in Kendal, the
daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, a court offi-
cial. She married twice, the first time to
Lord Edward of Borough. After his death,
she married Baron John Neville, who died
in 1543. Although she was drawing close
to Thomas Seymour, the brother of the
king’s late wife Jane Seymour, Henry him-
self proposed marriage to her. His previ-
ous wife, Catherine Howard, had been ex-
ecuted on a charge of adultery, after which
the enraged king’s ministers and inner
circle felt a great reluctance to propose any
woman as his next consort. Parr was an
acceptable candidate by the fact that she
had been twice married already, and thus
her chastity was not an issue as it would
have been for an unmarried woman. She
accepted the proposal despite her love for
Thomas Seymour, and the sixth royal wed-
ding of Henry’s reign took place on July
12, 1543, at the palace of Hampton Court.
Parr, Catherine