The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
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eighteenth century cataloguer <strong>of</strong> the Lansdowne manuscripts judged Thynne a madman. 183<br />
However, through his astrological interpretation <strong>of</strong> <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s crest as ―the golden sheife,<br />
supported with the two honorable lyons <strong>of</strong> jupiter & luna, therein representinge unto mee<br />
ye majesty <strong>of</strong> ye golden phebus [sun]‖, Thynne referenced his earlier astrological and<br />
alchemical discourse, and thereby revealed the occult nature <strong>of</strong> his potential service. 184<br />
While we cannot definitively identify the nature <strong>of</strong> Thynne‘s proposed occult<br />
services, there are indications that Thynne was referring to the alchemical ‗Voarchadumia‘<br />
in which he had previously pr<strong>of</strong>essed his skill. Thynne promised that in return for his<br />
freedom, <strong>Cecil</strong> could ―bee partaker <strong>of</strong> that simple treatice which I have longe tyme since<br />
dedicated unto your honor‖, which he could no longer undertake, as ―my foortune may not<br />
beare it‖. 185 This is significant as Frederick Fernivall has postulated that Thynne‘s growing<br />
interest in alchemy in the 1570‘s contributed to his poverty. 186 Thynne claimed to be<br />
―famuliar in practice‖ with alchemy and the pursuit commonly impoverished those with<br />
chemical aspirations. 187<br />
Evidently Thynne‘s alchemical allusions intrigued <strong>Cecil</strong> enough to procure his<br />
release within three months. 188 Thynne, along with ―the Reliques <strong>of</strong> my spoyled Librarie‖,<br />
moved into his cousin‘s Longleat House. 189 Although Thynne‘s debt had forced him to sell<br />
<strong>of</strong>f a significant proportion <strong>of</strong> his books, he retained a sizeable library, some <strong>of</strong> which still<br />
remains at Longleat House. <strong>The</strong>se almost exclusively consist <strong>of</strong> alchemical and astrological<br />
works including Ripley‘s Compendium <strong>of</strong> Alchemy, Thomas Norton‘s Ordinal <strong>of</strong> Alchemy, and<br />
Joanne de Anglia‘s obscure Stella Alchymiae. 190<br />
183 H. Ellis and F. Douce (eds.), A Catalogue <strong>of</strong> the Lansdowne Manuscripts in the British Museum: With Indexes <strong>of</strong><br />
Persons, Places and Matters, London, 1819, p. 43.<br />
184 Thynne to <strong>Cecil</strong>, 19 March 1576, BL Lansdowne, Vol. 21, No. 58.<br />
185 Ibid.<br />
186 Furnival (ed.), Animaduersions, p. cxiv.<br />
187 Francis Thynne, ‗A Treatise on the Philosopher‘s Stone‘ (copy dated 9 September 1573), reproduced in<br />
Fernivall, Animadversions, p. cxiv .<br />
188 Francis Thynne wrote to his cousin <strong>Sir</strong> John Thynne ―From my cousin Becher‘s‖ 6 June 1576, quoted in<br />
Fernivall, pp. lvii-lviii.<br />
189 Francis Thynne to <strong>Lord</strong> Cobham, 8 January 1579, reproduced in Fernivall, Animadversions, p. lxi.<br />
190 Historical Manuscripts Commission, Third Report <strong>of</strong> the Royal Commission on Historical Manucripts, Appendix,<br />
London, 1872, p. 186.<br />
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