Not seven centuries ahead, but who comes to my mind is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_Kircher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_Kircher (1602

Not seven centuries ahead, but who comes to my mind is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_Kircher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_Kircher (1602–1680) > One of the first people to observe microbes through a microscope, Kircher was ahead of his time in proposing that the plague was caused by an infectious microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease.