autopsy on a nobleman. Unknown to Vesalius, the nobleman was not quite dead. Opening his chest, according to reports, Vesalius and his assistants witnessed a beating heart. His enemies accused him of impiety and murder, for which the Inquisition sentenced him to death. However, King Philip II reportedly intervened and commuted his sentence on the condition that he would take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This he did, but on his way back he became seriously ill, and when his ship anchored at the