The Autobiography of Thomas Platter, a schoolmaster of the sixteenth century.

A vivid portrait of a Renaissance life unfolds through the eyes of a boy born on Shrove Tuesday in 1499, thrust early into the hardships of Alpine village existence. Orphaned as a child, he drifts among relatives, surviving on cow’s milk from a horn and braving icy nights in the snow, while the world around him is marked by plague, wool‑trading, and the relentless demands of family duty.

As he grows, the narrative follows his surprising turns—from tending goats to wandering as a scholar, then mastering rope‑making and Hebrew before finally securing a position as a schoolmaster. The memoir captures the texture of everyday work, the turbulence of war, and the yearning for learning that drives a modest youth toward the libraries of Basel.

Through candid anecdotes and candid reflections, the work offers modern listeners a window onto the ordinary and the extraordinary in a time when survival and scholarship were often intertwined, inviting an intimate appreciation of perseverance and curiosity.