The term was coined in 1688 by Johannes Hofer (1669–1752) in his Basel dissertation. Hofer introduced "nostalgia" or "mal du pays" "homesickness" for the condition also known as "mal du Suisse" "Swiss illness" or "Schweizerheimweh" "Swiss homesickness", because of its frequent occurrence in Swiss mercenaries who in the plains of lowlands France or Italy were pining for their native mountain landscapes. Symptoms were also thought to include fainting, high fever, indigestion, stomach pain, and death. Military physicians hypothesized that the malady was due to damage to the victims' brain cells and ear drums by the constant clanging of cowbells in the pastures of Switzerland.