Yuriy Drohobych (Kotermak)

Yuriy Mykhailovych Kotermak (Yuriy Drohobych, Georgiy Drohobych)

(ca 1450 – February 4, 1494). 44 years

Achievements: The first Ukrainian doctor of medicine, who was ahead of his time and revealed to Europe the intellectual power of Rus-Ukraine. Professor (and later rector) of the University of Bologna.

We are not starting from scratch. When Yuri Drohobych taught medicine in Bologna in the 15th century, he already carried within him the centuries-old experience of Ukrainian herbalism, combined with European logic. We have been part of the great European scientific community from its very beginning.

Drohobych lived in the pre-Paracelsian era, when medicine was just beginning to rely on the scientific method. He was a proponent of iatrochemistry – the precursor to modern pharmacognosy. Although he is better known as an astronomer, in addition to astronomy, he practiced iatrochemistry – a field later developed by Paracelsus, using chemical compounds and plant extracts for treatment. In his lectures, he combined medicine with alchemy and iatrochemistry, arguing that the composition of medicinal plants and their effects on the body are governed by the laws of nature, not mysticism. He established the understanding that medicine is not merely the magic of nature, but also a precise chemical calculation. His works were known throughout Europe.

Work: Author of the first printed book by a Ukrainian author, “Prognostic Judgment of the Current Year 1483” (“Iudicium pronosticon Anni 1483 currentis”), in which medicine was treated as an exact discipline.

Significance for pharmacognosy: The introduction of European standards for drug preparation into contemporary medical practice.

He was born in Drohobych into a salt merchant’s family. His journey is an example of an incredible rise: from a humble young man to the rector of the University of Bologna (the most prestigious in Europe at the time).

In late 1468 or early 1469, he enrolled at Jagiellonian University (Krakow), where he earned a bachelor’s degree (1470) and a master’s degree (1473). He studied medicine and the liberal arts at the University of Bologna, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy (c. 1478) and a Doctor of Medicine (c. 1482).

In Bologna, he lectured on astronomy from 1478 to 1479 and from 1480 to 1482. The high regard in which his qualifications were held is evidenced by the fact that he was awarded double pay – two hundred lire instead of the usual one hundred.

From 1481 to 1482, he served as rector of the University of Bologna – the oldest in Europe – where he went down in history under the name de Giorgio da Leopoli – “Giorgio da Leopoli” – Yuri of Lviv.

He later became a royal physician and teacher to Nicolaus Copernicus in Kraków.

Although he worked in Europe, he always signed his name as “Yuriy of Lviv, Rusyn.” He brought the spirit of the Renaissance and European medical education to Ukraine even before Paracelsus carried out his revolution.

Aphorism by Yuri Drohobych: “Although the distance from us to the stars is infinite, the human mind is capable of paving a path to them”.

On December 3, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a Resolution “On the Commemoration of Memorable Dates and Anniversaries in 2020,” which states that to solemnly commemorate at the state level in 2020 “the 570th anniversary of the birth of Yuri Drohobych (real name and surname – Yuri Kotermak) (1450–1494), philosopher, astronomer, the first Ukrainian doctor of medicine, and a figure of the Eastern European Renaissance.”