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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Cornelius de Lannoy<br />
On 12 January 1567 <strong>Cecil</strong> recorded in his diary that a Cornelius de Lannoy had<br />
been imprisoned for ―abusyng the Q. Majesty in Somerset Houss in promising to make the<br />
Elixar‖. 9 Less than a month later on 10 February, <strong>Cecil</strong> wrote a final note: ―Cornelius de la<br />
Noye, an alchymist, wrought in Somerset House, and abused many in promising to convert<br />
any metall into Gold‖. 10 His displeasure is palpable. Despite <strong>Cecil</strong> mentioning him twice<br />
in his diary, normally reserved for matters <strong>of</strong> state importance, Elizabeth and <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s<br />
patronage <strong>of</strong> the alchemist Cornelius de Lannoy has largely escaped historians‘ attention.<br />
When examined, the episode has been consistently misinterpreted. A number <strong>of</strong> historians<br />
have considered de Lannoy‘s importance only in relation to the English production <strong>of</strong><br />
glass, with J. S. Lewis even stating that de Lannoy ―came to England, at the invitation <strong>of</strong><br />
the Government, to teach the art <strong>of</strong> glass-making‖. 11 Those historians that have recognised<br />
de Lannoy‘s role as an alchemist, such as C. J. S. Thompson and Charles Webster, have<br />
provided insubstantial and <strong>of</strong>ten inaccurate descriptions <strong>of</strong> his activities. 12 Whilst Deborah<br />
Harkness‘ <strong>The</strong> Jewel House (2007) acknowledged <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s key role in the project, her account<br />
<strong>of</strong> the project is brief. Harkness‘ use <strong>of</strong> the Calendar <strong>of</strong> State Papers, Domestic Series, <strong>of</strong> the reigns<br />
<strong>of</strong> Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth, 1547-1580 (1856) has also led her to repeat some <strong>of</strong> its errors<br />
in dating and interpretation. 13<br />
9 <strong>William</strong> <strong>Cecil</strong>, ‗Notes <strong>of</strong> Queen Elizabeth‘s Reign by the <strong>Lord</strong> Treasurer Burleigh‘ in <strong>William</strong> Murdin (ed.),<br />
A Collection <strong>of</strong> State Papers Relating to Affairs in the Reign <strong>of</strong> Queen Elizabeth, From the Year 1571 to 1596, London,<br />
1759, p. 763; De Lannoy was alternatively referred to by his Latinised name, Cornelius Alneto. For the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> clarity I will use the name de Lannoy throughout.<br />
10 Ibid.<br />
11 J. S. Lewis, Old Glass, London, 1939, p. 35.<br />
12 C. J. S. Thompson, <strong>The</strong> Lure and Romance <strong>of</strong> Alchemy, London, 1932; Webster, Health, Medicine and Mortality, p.<br />
307.<br />
13 Harkness dates Armigal Waad‘s letter to <strong>Cecil</strong>, detailing plans to bring de Lannoy to Court to see the<br />
Queen, to 28 May 1567, as per the calendar. However, the manuscript itself does not give the year it was<br />
written, and its contents are much more consistent with a dating <strong>of</strong> 1566. See Armigal Waad to <strong>William</strong> <strong>Cecil</strong>,<br />
28 May 1566, TNA, SP 12/42/70.<br />
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