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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<strong>Cecil</strong> could not convince the Queen, as she would ―in no wise hear <strong>of</strong> any such <strong>of</strong>fers,<br />
which she thinketh are but chargeable without fruit‖. 69<br />
<strong>The</strong> de Lannoy project from 1565-1567 demonstrates the close connection<br />
between Crown finances and alchemical projects. When <strong>Cecil</strong> learnt <strong>of</strong> de Lannoy‘s escape<br />
attempts, Waad assured him that the alchemist had already created the alchemical elixir and<br />
intended to keep the benefit for himself. 70 Thus, when <strong>Cecil</strong> put de Lannoy in the Tower it<br />
was not to punish failure, but to ensure that the Queen, rather than others, would pr<strong>of</strong>it<br />
from a successful transmutation that <strong>Cecil</strong> continued to support and subsidise. To <strong>Cecil</strong>,<br />
the collapse <strong>of</strong> the project was the fault <strong>of</strong> de Lannoy‘s dishonesty, arrogance and greed.<br />
<strong>The</strong>refore, <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s disgusted diary entries should not be taken as disillusionment with<br />
alchemy, rather as anger against an alchemist who would dare deceive the Queen.<br />
Edward Kelley<br />
<strong>The</strong> two decades following the failure <strong>of</strong> de Lannoy‘s attempts at transmutation<br />
were relatively prosperous for the Elizabethan treasury. In his opening speech to the 1576<br />
parliament, Chancellor <strong>of</strong> the Exchequer <strong>Sir</strong> Walter Mildmay declared that the kingdom<br />
had cleared the ―great and weighty debt‖ accumulated in the reigns <strong>of</strong> Henry, Edward and<br />
Mary. 71 Whilst this was an exaggeration, the stabilisation <strong>of</strong> the English currency and the<br />
absence <strong>of</strong> expensive Continental wars had eased the government‘s financial concerns.<br />
Moreover, Elizabeth received unprecedented peacetime subsidies, and kept a tight rein on<br />
expenditure, bringing stability to the Crown‘s finances. 72 <strong>The</strong> outbreak <strong>of</strong> war with Spain<br />
in 1585 transformed the situation. Spain was a global empire, with wealth and resources far<br />
beyond those <strong>of</strong> England, and the demands <strong>of</strong> war stretched government finances to their<br />
69 <strong>William</strong> <strong>Cecil</strong> to <strong>Sir</strong> Henry Norris, 1568, in Anon., Cabala, Sive Scrinia Sacra: Mysteries <strong>of</strong> State and Government<br />
in Letters, London, 1691, p. 139.<br />
70 Waad to <strong>Cecil</strong>, SP 12/39/39.<br />
71 <strong>Sir</strong> Walter Mildmay to the House <strong>of</strong> Commons, 1576, quoted in Nares, Memoirs <strong>of</strong> the Life and Administration,<br />
Vol. 3, p. 64.<br />
72 T. A. Morris, Tudor Government, London, 1999, pp. 131-32.<br />
87