The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

Smith‘s plan, they must have been relatively confident it would attract the interest of one of
the German princes.
*
Cecil attempted to find ambitious alchemical solutions to resolve the English
Crown‘s two most pronounced periods of financial strife. Whilst he recognised the
inherent risks of such ventures, he never doubted the possibility of alchemical
transmutation. During these periods the risk of being deceived by an alchemical pretender
were outweighed by the urgent needs of the Treasury.
From 1564 until 1567 Cecil played the key role in instigating and overseeing
Cornelius de Lannoy‘s transmutational scheme. Despite the later involvement of Leicester,
it was clearly Cecil‘s project. While de Lannoy‘s failure was a bitter disappointment—one
that Cecil did not readily forgive the alchemist for—unlike his Queen, Cecil was not
dissuaded from the potential of transmutation.
Cecil‘s many attempts to orchestrate Edward Kelley‘s return to England are
perhaps the most remarkable evidence that he believed alchemy could be a legitimate
solution to England‘s desperate financial situation. Cecil‘s letters to both Kelley and his
European informants, whilst cautious in their offers, demonstrate the great hopes he had
for the alchemist‘s abilities. He sincerely believed that alchemical transmutation could help
England withstand its perilous war with Spain. Cecil‘s involvement in the intrigues
surrounding Roloff Peterson‘s alchemical vessels—only a few months after the collapse of
English hopes in Kelley—demonstrate that Kelley‘s demise did not dissuade him from this
belief. The Court‘s first instinct was to utilise the materials in order to perform alchemy
themselves. Only after the vessels were tested by alchemical experts and declared
fraudulent, did Cecil orchestrate the attempts to sell them in Europe. These examples
demonstrate Cecil‘s belief that alchemy had the potential to be a panacea to England‘s
financial problems. However, Cecil‘s patronage of alchemy was not limited to periods of
115