Paracelsus (1493-1541, born Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) was a physician, chemist, alchemist, astrologer, mystic, lay theologian, and philosopher. He received his initial education from his father, a physician and chemist who was the son of a nobleman from Hohenheim. He then studied under Abbot Tritheim in Sponheim (focusing on chemistry and alchemy) and with the surgeon Sigismund Fugger (medicine). Through his own studies during extensive travels and as a field doctor, he gained extensive knowledge in the healing arts. Paracelsus was respected and admired by his students during his lifetime, as he was the first to deliver his lectures in German, making them accessible to many. However, he was also scorned and derided by his opponents for this very reason. His medical successes were sometimes so remarkable that they earned him fierce opposition from established medical practitioners.