The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

such as John Dee and country gentlemen such as Sir Thomas Kyvett, have argued for an
earlier and more pervasive dissemination of Paracelsian ideas. 15 Alan Debus argued that
from 1558 returning Marian exiles introduced Paracelsian concepts into England, while
Charles Webster contended that by 1600 Paracelsus‘ ideas had been widely disseminated
throughout English medical practice. 16
Due to the paucity of provincial sources, studies of the sixteenth century medical
profession have focused on London. Since 1518 the London College of Physicians had
monopolised the licensing of medical practitioners, and punished what it considered
unqualified and unlicensed practitioners. 17 The College assessed medical knowledge
according to a strict Galenic model, and officially rejected the use of chemical treatments. 18
However, due to the limited availability of licensed physicians (there were less than fifty
throughout the Elizabethan period), a number of other groups competed for the right to
practice medicine. 19 Members of the Company of Barber-Surgeons, while theoretically
limited to performing surgical procedures, often also engaged in general medical practice. 20
Although the Barber-Surgeons adopted Galenic principles in order to appease the College
of Physicians, they accepted Paracelsian ideas much earlier. 21 Apothecaries, a major force in
the larger Company of Grocers, sold medicines ranging from herbal remedies, including
tobacco, to Paracelsian chemical treatments. 22 The College of Physicians prosecuted
members of both the Barber-Surgeons and the Apothecaries for the illegal practice of
medicine throughout the Elizabethan period. 23
15 Webster, ‗Alchemical and Paracelsian Medicine‘, p. 321. Clulee, John Dee’s Natural Philosophy, p. 13.
16 Alan G. Debus, The Chemical Promise: Experiment and Mysticism in the Chemical Philosophy, 1550-1800, Sagamore
Beach, 2006, p. 77; Webster, ‗Alchemical and Paracelsian Medicine‘, p. 323.
17 Margaret Pelling, Medical Conflicts in Early Modern London: Patronage, Physicians, and Irregular Pracitioners, 1550–
1600, Oxford, 2003, p. 1.
18 Ibid., p. 17.
19 Pelling and Webster, ‗Medical Practitioners‘, p. 169.
20 Ibid., pp. 173-75.
21 Webster, ‗Alchemical and Paracelsian Medicine‘, p. 327.
22 Pelling and Webster, ‗Medical Practitioners‘, pp. 177-78.
23 See Margaret Pelling and Francis White (eds.), Physicians and Irregular Medical Practitioners in London 1550-1640:
Database, 2004, [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=17251].
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