The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

Spira[Speyer]‖ as they had no authority over her royal person. 224 Therefore as Peterson‘s
dealings with English merchants had proved himself an ―infamous person‖, Ferrers should
Pick owt som[eone] emulous of Peeterson at Loubecke to sett a worke
agayst him, wherby he myght be diverted from this business and so helpt to
the buryinge of that hyr majesties action. 225
Perhaps Ferrers succeeded in embroiling Peterson in a legal battle and thereby ‗burying‘ the
issue, as no more is heard on the matter.
While the controversy surrounding Peterson did not involve any actual attempt at
transmutation, the affair is significant in its confirmation of both the Elizabethan Court‘s
acceptance of alchemical transmutation, and their knowledge of the value of alchemical
equipment. Cecil and Sir Thomas Wilkes played the primary roles in arranging and
managing the agreements with Peterson and Smith. Despite Cecil‘s initial claims of
ignorance, the evidence points to him supervising Wilkes and Smith. It is important to
note the interest in the alchemical possibilities of Peterson‘s materials shown in Smith‘s
original instructions to collect ―all such writings, books and papers ... which in any way
treate of the arte of Alchemy‖. 226 Although Smith promised to be able to sell the materials
for the Crown, Cecil‘s first concern was to gather all of Oldfield‘s alchemical knowledge
and equipment, in order to ascertain the possibility of an alchemical breakthrough. Only
once the Crown‘s alchemical experts had analysed the materials, and considered them to be
of no value, was Smith given permission to bargain for their sale. The very fact that the
Court had access to sufficiently knowledgeable experts reveals their trust in alchemical
practitioners. Smith‘s attempts to sell the material further illustrate the value of alchemical
knowledge and equipment in the period. For Elizabeth and the Privy Council to risk
224 Christopher Parkins to Cecil, 2 December 1597, TNA, SP 12/265/37.
225 The Privy Council had earlier assigned Parkins the case of the English Merchant Peter Gerard who was
owed money by the city of Hamburg. Apparently Peterson had also involved himself in this dispute. See
Parkins to Cecil SP 12/265/37 and Privy Council to Dr. Christopher Parkins, 22/05/1597, APC Vol. 27, pp.
146-147.
226 Anon. to Smith, SP 12/247/72.
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