Sebastian Petrycy—Famous Polish Physician

Abstract

Sebastian Petrycy, physician, philosopher, historian, poet, and translator, was born in 1550 in Rzeszów province in southeastern Poland. He studied in Kraków and received a degree in liberal arts in 1574. From 1575 to 1581, he taught school in Olkusz in northern Kraków province. In 1583, after completion of his university education in Kraków, Petrycy joined the staff of the university as an associate professor, lecturing in poetry and rhetoric. He received a 2-year leave of absence from the university to study medicine at the University of Padua in Italy, from which he received the M.D. degree in 1590. After receiving his degree, Petrycy returned to Poland, where he lectured at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. After a short time in Kraków, he left for Lvov (Lwów, then in southeastern Poland but now in the western Ukraine, USSR). While at Lvov, he married, but in 1601 he returned to Kraków after the tragic death of his wife and daughter. In Kraków, Petrycy became physician to Bishop Bernard Maciejowski. In addition, he practiced medicine among the influential people of Kraków. An interest in philosophy led Petrycy to translate some of the works of Aristotle, including his Politics, into the Polish language. In 1603, Petrycy traveled to France, where he became very ill. After his recovery, he returned to Kraków to participate in a military expedition to Moscow. The expedition was defeated, and Petrycy was imprisoned in Moscow. While there, he wrote a book of poems and a diary that later was published as Historia Moschovitica. He returned to Poland in 1607 and was a lecturer in medicine in Kraków from 1608 to 1615. He died in Kraków on Aug. 22, 1626. Petrycy was honored on a stamp issued by Poland in 1957. The stamp was part of a set honoring famous Polish physicians.