Petrus Kirstenius

Petrus Kirstenius.

Petrus Kirstenius , Latinized form of Peter Kirstein , German also Peter Kirsten (* December 25, 1577 in Breslau , † April 5, 1640 in Uppsala ), was a German doctor and philologist and personal physician to the Swedish Queen.

Life

Kirstenius received his medical training at various universities in Germany , Holland and France . Since he was very interested in the old writings of Arabic-speaking doctors , especially by Avicenna , he used his studies to develop his already remarkable language skills. At the age of 24 he received his doctorate in medicine in Basel . He also went on a study trip to Italy , Spain , France and other countries.

In 1609 he published an Arabic edition of the second book of the Canon of Medicine of Avicenna , which was published in Breslau and provided with a Latin commentary .

Back in Breslau in 1610 he was rector of the Elisabet Gymnasium and had to quit this job in 1616 due to illness. After that he was mainly a practicing doctor. A few years later he moved to Prussia , where he became acquainted with the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna . This hired him as his personal doctor, whereupon Kirstenius moved to Sweden in 1636 . There he was appointed extraordinary personal physician to Queen Christina and professor of practical medicine in Uppsala in the same year .

According to contemporary reports, Kirstenius spoke 26 languages and his reputation as a philologist outweighed his prestige as a doctor. According to his own confession, he belonged more to the school of Paracelsus and less to Galenus . Apart from a few medical writings, such as De vero usu et abusu medicinae (Breslau, 1610), Kirstenius published several linguistic works, mainly translations of Christian documents.

His son Johan Peter Kirstenius (1617–1682) became a respected fortress construction officer.

literature

Adolf Schimmelpfennig: Kirstenius, Petrus . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, p. 34 f.
Petrus Kirstenius . In: Theodor Westrin (Ed.): Nordisk familjebok konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi . 2nd Edition. tape 14 : Kikarskten – Kroman . Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1911, Sp. 148 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).

Individual evidence

↑ Here he enrolled in Padua on August 28, 1600 . See registration edition p. 117. No. 988.
^ Gotthard Strohmaier : Avicenna. Beck, Munich 1999. ISBN 3-406-41946-1 , p. 155 f.
↑ Jorit Wintjes : Introduction. In: Konrad Goehl : Avicenna and its presentation of the medicinal effects. With an introduction by Jorit Wintjes. Deutscher Wissenschafts-Verlag, Baden-Baden 2014, ISBN 978-3-86888-078-6 , pp. 5–27, here: pp. 26 f.

personal data
SURNAME	Kirstenius, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kirstein, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German-born doctor and philologist
DATE OF BIRTH	December 25, 1577
PLACE OF BIRTH	Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH	April 5, 1640
Place of death	Uppsala

[1] Here he enrolled in Padua on August 28, 1600 . See registration edition p. 117. No. 988.

[2] Gotthard Strohmaier : Avicenna. Beck, Munich 1999. ISBN 3-406-41946-1 , p. 155 f.

[3] Jorit Wintjes : Introduction. In: Konrad Goehl : Avicenna and its presentation of the medicinal effects. With an introduction by Jorit Wintjes. Deutscher Wissenschafts-Verlag, Baden-Baden 2014, ISBN 978-3-86888-078-6 , pp. 5–27, here: pp. 26 f.