The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

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without the Erls consent‖. 153 On the other hand, Sir Robert Sidney, governor of Flushing, wrote to Cecil, that hearing of the recent execution of an alchemist in Munich ―it is thought there [Kelley] w[i]l run the same race that the other did‖. 154 The two stories became conflated. Matthew Greensmith reported to Cecil on 5 June 1591, that on 29 th Aprill last ther hanged att Prage an Inglyshman somtyme of grett reputatyon by the emporer and a macker of gold, accused & comdemnd for dyvers matters of trechory so that I cane nott judge itt no body butt Kelley 155 Whilst such reports proved entirely unfounded, the safety of both Kelley and Dyer remained a prime concern of Cecil‘s intelligence network. After hearing of Kelley‘s imprisonment, Cecil dispatched Thomas Webbe, a reliable minor courtier, on 11 June 1591 to obtain more accurate information about the situation. 156 Cecil instructed Webbe to discover whether Dyer had been arrested, and if so use letters from the Queen to Emperor Rudolf, the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse, to secure his release. Webbe was then to ―inquire dilligently, wher Sir Edwd Kelly is arrested, and for what cause‖. 157 Cecil emphasised English concern over exactly why Kelley had been arrested. It would be one thing if Kelley had been detained for his own debts or deceptions; there would be entirely different implications if his intention was to have secretly come into England, and her[e] to have served hir majesty, with his science, and that [he had been arrested] by malliscye of the popes nuncio or ye Sp[anish] ambassador or otherwise by ye Emperor, as unwillyng to have hir Majesty benefited by hym with his science 158 On 26 June 1591, Webbe wrote to Cecil before reaching Prague, ―being bound to certefye unto your L[ord] as mutch as I could perticularlye learne‖. 159 Kelley remained imprisoned, and all of his lands and goods had been seized by the Emperor, although the Earl of Rosenburg had ensured Kelley‘s better treatment, the alchemist being now ―only 153 Ibid. 154 Robert Sidney to Cecil, 22 May 1591, TNA, SP 84/42 f.68r. 155 Matthew Greensmith to Cecil, 5 June 1591, TNA, SP 81/7 f.28r. 156 Cecil to Thomas Webbe, 11 June 1591, BL, Lansdowne Vol. 103, No. 67. 157 Ibid. 158 Ibid. 159 Thomas Webbe to Cecil, 26 June 1591, BL, Lansdowne Vol. 68, No. 93. 102
depryved of his libertye and frends‖. 160 Webbe also reported that whilst Dyer had initially been put under house arrest, his treatment had supposedly improved. It is likely that Webbe had obtained more politically sensitive information, as he sent the letter via one of Kelley‘s servants, who could, Webbe assured Cecil, provide more details on events. 161 An unsigned note, catalogued in Cecil‘s records as ―some necessary queries relating to the state of Sir Edward Kelley‖, clearly written shortly after Kelley‘s arrest, gives further evidence as to the nature of Cecil‘s concerns. 162 Although the author recognised that the ―cheife point upon which all those matters do depend is whether the transmutation so famouslye spoken of be trewe or no‖, it was also important to ascertain the alchemist‘s intentions if his escape had succeeded: ―whether his journey were intended for England or otherwise for his owne private purpose‖. 163 The author assumed that if Kelley had been attempting to flee to England, then Cecil would still be interested in his services, and either he or Edward Dyer would have to arrange the alchemist‘s release. Unable to procure Kelley‘s return to England, Cecil‘s informants went looking for others who may have obtained the alchemist‘s secret. It was noticed that an Englishman, Thomas Page, had recently returned from Prague, and had brought alchemical equipment back with him. Cecil demanded to know if Kelley had divulged his secret to Page. Page assured the Lord Treasurer that he had not brought back philosophical mercury, a preparative to the philosopher‘s stone, but merely ―mercury the lyke wherof every shop doth afford‖. 164 As proof he sent a small sample to Cecil for examination. Page knew of Cecil‘s hopes of alchemical success, and assured him that if ―I had any lyttle quantetye of it wherewith to present her majesty y[our] Lordship should most wyllingly have had the 160 Ibid. 161 Ibid. 162 Anon. to Cecil, undated, BL, Lansdowne Vol. 68, no. 110. 163 Ibid. 164 Thomas Page to Cecil, 3 July 1591, TNA, SP 12/239/76. 103
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The Alchemical Patronage of Sir Wil
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Abstract This thesis examines the a
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Acknowledgements Thanks must first
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List of Abbreviations APC Acts of t
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Introduction William Cecil, through
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late seventeenth and early eighteen
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economic policy, only cursory exami
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otherwise. The dull, elderly, burea
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y such prolific authors as A. E. Wa
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marginalised the importance of alch
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Many of the distortions in the hist
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difficult to access with microfilm
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Chapter 1: Cecil and Alchemical Phi
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other aspects of medieval knowledge
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explain why alchemy made sense in t
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accuracy of the Aristotelian texts.
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short-sighted match. 44 There is ev
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University in the period. 56 A high
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some tentative conclusions about Ce
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Cecil tended to favour more practic
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Actes and Monuments (1563), ―fata
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Dee and Cecil‘s relationship over
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symbolism, seems tenuous. It ignore
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great pleasure in the workes of Nat
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demonstrated the divine spirit of l
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alchemical knowledge than his geogr
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eports to Cecil are almost exclusiv
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Thynne also affirmed the importance
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From Longleat Thynne wrote for Ceci
Page 59 and 60: his desperate financial situation.
Page 61 and 62: no significant records of their pra
Page 63 and 64: such as John Dee and country gentle
Page 65 and 66: The late 1560s saw the first signif
Page 67 and 68: eminently qualified to deal with th
Page 69 and 70: the patronage of James Blount, Lord
Page 71 and 72: medicines. Amongst the collection o
Page 73 and 74: gold into France to fund Catholic e
Page 75 and 76: in distayne‖. 98 However, it is n
Page 77 and 78: of a dedicatory epistle to Cecil, f
Page 79 and 80: home I have not seen‖. 120 Where
Page 81 and 82: of yeeres before Paracelsus time‖
Page 83 and 84: Henry Bossevyle suggested practical
Page 85 and 86: metal and European currencies, furt
Page 87 and 88: De Lannoy first came to the attenti
Page 89 and 90: god send it her majesty as trouly a
Page 91 and 92: perform alchemy. Rather, Waad belie
Page 93 and 94: and Leicester. 56 De Lannoy promise
Page 95 and 96: Cecil could not convince the Queen,
Page 97 and 98: the accounts of Elias Ashmole and S
Page 99 and 100: context of Dee‘s failed English C
Page 101 and 102: By March 1589 Dee had left Bohemia
Page 103 and 104: entirely self centred‖. 117 Cecil
Page 105 and 106: Cecil and the Queen‘s demands tha
Page 107 and 108: love and honor vertue and knolledge
Page 109: Kelley‘s demise. 148 Wotton repor
Page 113 and 114: According to Page, Kelley had not i
Page 115 and 116: a number of attempts to convince Ke
Page 117 and 118: For the Queen and Cecil, Smith‘s
Page 119 and 120: £500 from the company, they were t
Page 121 and 122: payment. Peterson refused them; he
Page 123 and 124: Smith‘s plan, they must have been
Page 125 and 126: Chapter Four: Alchemy and Economic
Page 127 and 128: essays Meta Incognita: A Discourse
Page 129 and 130: y chance she threw and burned in th
Page 131 and 132: y others without trewthe‖. 25 Wal
Page 133 and 134: work did not make this link, and ne
Page 135 and 136: linked. It is, however, significant
Page 137 and 138: laming betrayal, setbacks and decep
Page 139 and 140: to involve cementation rather than
Page 141 and 142: Clearly aware of Cecil‘s rising i
Page 143 and 144: certainly the practical expert, who
Page 145 and 146: new process which ―my Lord Burghl
Page 147 and 148: Image 3: An Elizabethan Map of the
Page 149 and 150: was the potential benefit for the C
Page 151 and 152: Medley ―by commaundement mencyone
Page 153 and 154: thanked Wotton for his letter detai
Page 155 and 156: intention to have medled with any c
Page 157 and 158: and to have received through his fa
Page 159 and 160: again imprisoned, this time almost
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was a key investor, attempted to ut
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understanding of nature. John Dee,
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promised ―an ounce or so of powde
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conviction regarding the reality of
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———, Calendar of Patent Rolls
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Bennet, Henry, A Famous and Godly H
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Szulakowska, Urszula, ‗The Pseudo
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Fiddler, Paul A., and Thomas J. May
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Matthews, John, (ed.), The Rosicruc
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———, The Life of the Learned
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The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

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