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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Alongside these <strong>of</strong>ficial groupings, there existed a large number <strong>of</strong> unlicensed<br />
medical practitioners. Charles Webster and Margaret Pelling estimate that towards the end<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sixteenth century there were approximately 250 irregular practitioners in London,<br />
similar to the total number <strong>of</strong> physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries in the city. 24 Once<br />
written <strong>of</strong>f by historians as quacks or empirics, more recent studies have revealed the<br />
importance and diversity <strong>of</strong> these medical outsiders. 25 Despite the best efforts <strong>of</strong> both the<br />
College <strong>of</strong> Physicians and the Company <strong>of</strong> Barber-Surgeons, these practitioners probably<br />
remained the source <strong>of</strong> most medical treatment in London. 26 While many were<br />
uneducated, a few had qualifications matching those <strong>of</strong> members <strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong><br />
Physicians. 27 Often these men and women were immigrants, helping to disperse the new<br />
medical ideas that were spreading throughout Europe. <strong>The</strong>se unlicensed practitioners were<br />
therefore the first to utilise Paracelsian treatments. 28<br />
*<br />
<strong>Cecil</strong>, like most courtiers, took an active interest in the medical developments <strong>of</strong><br />
the period. Never in vigorous health, from his early thirties <strong>Cecil</strong> suffered terribly from<br />
gout. 29 As his wealth and prominence increased, <strong>Cecil</strong> was bombarded with <strong>of</strong>fers <strong>of</strong> cures<br />
and treatments for his gout from a variety <strong>of</strong> medical practitioners. A high proportion <strong>of</strong><br />
these remedies involved the use <strong>of</strong> alchemical and Paracelsian medicines. While many<br />
<strong>of</strong>fers were unsolicited, they do suggest that <strong>Cecil</strong> had gained a reputation for being<br />
sympathetic to alchemical ideas. On other occasions not only did <strong>Cecil</strong> accept <strong>of</strong>fers <strong>of</strong><br />
chemical medical assistance, he even appears to have actively sought out and defended<br />
alchemical medical practitioners.<br />
24 Pelling and Webster, ‗Medical Practitioners‘, p. 183.<br />
25 Pelling, Medical Conflicts<br />
26 Pelling and Webster, ‗Medical Practitioners‘, p. 183-85.<br />
27 Ibid.<br />
28 Ibid., p. 9.<br />
29 W. S.C. Copeman, ‗<strong>The</strong> Gout <strong>of</strong> <strong>William</strong> <strong>Cecil</strong>–First <strong>Lord</strong> <strong>Burghley</strong> (1520–98)‘, Medical History, Vol. 1,<br />
1957, p. 262.<br />
56