Jan Jesenius

Jan Jesenius (also written as Jessenius or known as "Ján Jesenský"; 1566, Wrocław – 1621, Prague) was a physician, politician and philosopher of Slovak origin. He is renowned rather for his tragic fate than for his work in the field of anatomy and surgery.

Jan Jesenius, son of Balthasar Jesenský (1536 – 1600) and Marha Schueller, studied at the Elisabeth gymnasium in Wrocław and since 1583 at the University of Wittenberg, 1585 at University of Leipzig, and 1588 University of Padua.

Since 1593 physician of Prince of Saxony; 1594 professor of anatomy at the University of Wittenberg; after 1600 settled down in Prague as professor and anatomical consultant for Rudolf II, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor; in 1617 elected rector of the Charles University of Prague. In 1600, he demonstrated the first public autopsy in the Czech Lands, which caused extraordinary interest at that time. (His notes on the autopsy were published in 2005 by Karolinum, a publishing house of the Charles University of Prague.)

He was an excellent diplomat and orator, and after the dethroning of Habsburgs in Bohemia, he took several diplomatic missions for Bohemian estates or Directorium (cabinet) and for the newly-elected king Frederick of the Palatinate. After the defeat of King Frederick of Bohemia by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1620 (Battle of White Mountain), Jesenius was arrested in Bratislava after being sent as a deputy by the Bohemian estates, and was held in a prison of Vienna. In December, he was released in exchange for two Habsburg captives. Legend has it that before his release, he wrote an inscription IMMMM on the wall of his prison cell.

Ferdinand explained this as "Imperator Mathias Mense Martio Morietur", Latin for "Emperor Mathias will die in the month of March", and he wrote another prophecy next to it: "Iesseni, Mentiris, Mala Morte Morieris", Latin for "Jesenius, you lie, you will die a horrible death".

Both predictions came true: Emperor Mathias died on March of 1619, and Jesenius was executed, along with 26 other Bohemian estates leaders, on the Old Town Square in 1621.

For other members of his family, see the Jesensky article.

Literature

* (in Hungarian) Ruttkay László: Jeszenszky (Jessenius) János és kora 1566-1621, Semmelweis Orvostörténeti Múzeum és Könyvtár, Budapest, 1971.
* (in Hungarian) L'udo Zúbek: Doktor Jesenius, Móra Ferenc Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1966.
* (in Hungarian) L'udo Zúbek: Doktor Jesenius, Szlovákiai Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó-Móra Ferenc Könyvkiadó, Bratislava(Pozsony)-Budapest, 1958.

External links

* http://semmelweis.tripod.com/jeszen.html (in Hungarian)