The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

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