The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

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and the patronage of Cecil. His appointment as Lancaster Herald in 1602, nearly four years after Cecil‘s death, reflected the prevalence of Thynne‘s broad range of interests in Elizabethan society. 197 * Cecil‘s interest in alchemical philosophy demonstrates that not only did he believe in the feasibility of alchemical transmutation, but that this belief was an essential consequence of his understanding of the world. Alchemical theory, as it existed in the sixteenth century, was a conglomeration of various spiritual, magical, and metallurgical ideas. Whilst these concepts were often paradoxical, they had at their core a unified understanding of nature, based on the elemental theory of Aristotle. The unity of nature, as implied by the unity of creation, allowed for both the occult effects of the heavens and the alchemical transmutation of metals. Cecil‘s education, steeped in Aristotelian philosophy, therefore encouraged a worldview complementary alchemy. Further, the interests of Cecil‘s tutors John Cheke and Thomas Smith suggest that explicitly alchemical and occult works were amongst those read unofficially, through private study. Whilst John Dee‘s actions during Queen Mary‘s reign tainted his relationship with Cecil, their common education informed Dee‘s decision to appeal to Cecil using occult knowledge. Dee did not copy Steganographia for Cecil for its cryptographic secrets: these were not known at the time. Rather, Dee copied it because he thought Cecil would be interested in a rare and authoritative source of occult and alchemical knowledge. Richard Eden—after attending Cambridge with Cecil and acting as his secretary—appealed Cecil‘s intellectual curiosity and ―pleasure in the wonderfull woorke of arte and nature‖. 198 He knew that Cecil was fascinated by not only the practical applications of alchemy, but also in its philosophical implications. Francis Thynne‘s demonstrations of his knowledge of occult knowledge successfully played upon this fascination, gaining Cecil‘s patronage and relieving 197 Knafla, ‗Thynne, Francis‘. 198 Eden to Cecil, Lansdowne, Vol. 101, No. 5. 50
his desperate financial situation. These men, like Cecil, held a worldview that complemented alchemical theory. This chemical understanding of nature also had implications for sixteenth century medical practice. Chapter two therefore examines Cecil‘s patronage of various forms of alchemical medicine. 51
Page 1 and 2:
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir Wil
Page 3 and 4:
Abstract This thesis examines the a
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Acknowledgements Thanks must first
Page 7 and 8: List of Abbreviations APC Acts of t
Page 9 and 10: Introduction William Cecil, through
Page 11 and 12: late seventeenth and early eighteen
Page 13 and 14: economic policy, only cursory exami
Page 15 and 16: otherwise. The dull, elderly, burea
Page 17 and 18: y such prolific authors as A. E. Wa
Page 19 and 20: marginalised the importance of alch
Page 21 and 22: Many of the distortions in the hist
Page 23 and 24: difficult to access with microfilm
Page 25 and 26: Chapter 1: Cecil and Alchemical Phi
Page 27 and 28: other aspects of medieval knowledge
Page 29 and 30: explain why alchemy made sense in t
Page 31 and 32: accuracy of the Aristotelian texts.
Page 33 and 34: short-sighted match. 44 There is ev
Page 35 and 36: University in the period. 56 A high
Page 37 and 38: some tentative conclusions about Ce
Page 39 and 40: Cecil tended to favour more practic
Page 41 and 42: Actes and Monuments (1563), ―fata
Page 43 and 44: Dee and Cecil‘s relationship over
Page 45 and 46: symbolism, seems tenuous. It ignore
Page 47 and 48: great pleasure in the workes of Nat
Page 49 and 50: demonstrated the divine spirit of l
Page 51 and 52: alchemical knowledge than his geogr
Page 53 and 54: eports to Cecil are almost exclusiv
Page 55 and 56: Thynne also affirmed the importance
Page 57: From Longleat Thynne wrote for Ceci
Page 61 and 62: no significant records of their pra
Page 63 and 64: such as John Dee and country gentle
Page 65 and 66: The late 1560s saw the first signif
Page 67 and 68: eminently qualified to deal with th
Page 69 and 70: the patronage of James Blount, Lord
Page 71 and 72: medicines. Amongst the collection o
Page 73 and 74: gold into France to fund Catholic e
Page 75 and 76: in distayne‖. 98 However, it is n
Page 77 and 78: of a dedicatory epistle to Cecil, f
Page 79 and 80: home I have not seen‖. 120 Where
Page 81 and 82: of yeeres before Paracelsus time‖
Page 83 and 84: Henry Bossevyle suggested practical
Page 85 and 86: metal and European currencies, furt
Page 87 and 88: De Lannoy first came to the attenti
Page 89 and 90: god send it her majesty as trouly a
Page 91 and 92: perform alchemy. Rather, Waad belie
Page 93 and 94: and Leicester. 56 De Lannoy promise
Page 95 and 96: Cecil could not convince the Queen,
Page 97 and 98: the accounts of Elias Ashmole and S
Page 99 and 100: context of Dee‘s failed English C
Page 101 and 102: By March 1589 Dee had left Bohemia
Page 103 and 104: entirely self centred‖. 117 Cecil
Page 105 and 106: Cecil and the Queen‘s demands tha
Page 107 and 108: love and honor vertue and knolledge
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Kelley‘s demise. 148 Wotton repor
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depryved of his libertye and frends
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According to Page, Kelley had not i
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a number of attempts to convince Ke
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For the Queen and Cecil, Smith‘s
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£500 from the company, they were t
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payment. Peterson refused them; he
Page 123 and 124:
Smith‘s plan, they must have been
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Chapter Four: Alchemy and Economic
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essays Meta Incognita: A Discourse
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y chance she threw and burned in th
Page 131 and 132:
y others without trewthe‖. 25 Wal
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work did not make this link, and ne
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linked. It is, however, significant
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laming betrayal, setbacks and decep
Page 139 and 140:
to involve cementation rather than
Page 141 and 142:
Clearly aware of Cecil‘s rising i
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certainly the practical expert, who
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new process which ―my Lord Burghl
Page 147 and 148:
Image 3: An Elizabethan Map of the
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was the potential benefit for the C
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Medley ―by commaundement mencyone
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thanked Wotton for his letter detai
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intention to have medled with any c
Page 157 and 158:
and to have received through his fa
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again imprisoned, this time almost
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was a key investor, attempted to ut
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understanding of nature. John Dee,
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promised ―an ounce or so of powde
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conviction regarding the reality of
Page 169 and 170:
———, Calendar of Patent Rolls
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Bennet, Henry, A Famous and Godly H
Page 173 and 174:
Szulakowska, Urszula, ‗The Pseudo
Page 175 and 176:
Fiddler, Paul A., and Thomas J. May
Page 177 and 178:
Matthews, John, (ed.), The Rosicruc
Page 179 and 180:
———, The Life of the Learned
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The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

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