The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

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Note on Dates and Transcription As most documents cited in this thesis are either of English origin, or predate the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Catholic Europe in 1582, dating is given in the Julian style. Where documents have been dated in the Gregorian style this has been adjusted. For the sake of clarity 1 January is taken as the New Year throughout, and the date-year has been adjusted accordingly. All primary material has been presented using original spelling and grammar, with some minor exceptions. For the sake of clarity, common sixteenth century transpositions, such as ‗v‘ for ‗u‘ and ‗i‘ for ‗j‘ have been adjusted to modern spelling. Common contractions, such as ‗Mj tie ‘ for ‗Majesty‘, ‗w th ‘ for ‗with‘, and ‗w ch ‘ for ‗which‘, have been expanded. Primary documents reproduced in secondary collections have been quoted verbatim, retaining the modernising conventions of their editors. viii
Introduction William Cecil, through the careful acquisition of royal favour, became Queen Elizabeth I‘s most trusted counsellor. As the Queen‘s Principal Secretary, Cecil was the gatekeeper to royal patronage, and exercised enormous influence over England‘s domestic and foreign policy. Even before he became Lord Burghley in 1571 and Lord Treasurer the following year, Cecil‘s affluence and influence allowed him to become an important patron in his own right. 1 Historians, therefore, have considered Cecil to be one of the most important figures of the Elizabethan regime. As such he has been the subject of an immense amount of historical research analysing his impact on England‘s economic, religious, and foreign policy. This thesis examines a hitherto overlooked aspect of Cecil‘s career: his patronage of alchemy. The research for this thesis has uncovered neglected evidence of Cecil‘s relationship with a number of alchemists and alchemical projects, revealing their involvement in his intricate network of patronage. As a result of his Aristotelian education, Cecil shared with the alchemists a unified view of nature. This natural philosophy encouraged the Elizabethan elite to believe in humanity‘s ability to perfect the world both spiritually and physically. The alchemist‘s quest to achieve perfection—gold in the case of base metals and spiritual redemption in the case of humanity—correspondingly appealed to many renaissance intellectuals. While, like many Elizabethans, Cecil could be sceptical about some alchemical promises, the concept of transmutation was consistent with his understanding of the world. Where Cecil differed from his contemporaries was in his determination to utilize alchemical knowledge for the benefit of both himself and the Elizabethan state. Throughout his career he patronised, invested in, and supported a remarkable range of alchemical activities. A detailed 1 From his ennoblement as Lord Burghley on 25 February 1571, Cecil became known by his title. As this thesis is not entirely chronological, for the purposes of clarity he will be referred to as Cecil throughout. 1
Page 1 and 2: The Alchemical Patronage of Sir Wil
Page 3 and 4: Abstract This thesis examines the a
Page 5 and 6: Acknowledgements Thanks must first
Page 7: List of Abbreviations APC Acts of t
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 and 58: From Longleat Thynne wrote for Ceci
Page 59 and 60:
his desperate financial situation.
Page 61 and 62:
no significant records of their pra
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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‖
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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
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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
Page 111 and 112:
depryved of his libertye and frends
Page 113 and 114:
According to Page, Kelley had not i
Page 115 and 116:
a number of attempts to convince Ke
Page 117 and 118:
For the Queen and Cecil, Smith‘s
Page 119 and 120:
£500 from the company, they were t
Page 121 and 122:
payment. Peterson refused them; he
Page 123 and 124:
Smith‘s plan, they must have been
Page 125 and 126:
Chapter Four: Alchemy and Economic
Page 127 and 128:
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
Page 133 and 134:
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
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to involve cementation rather than
Page 141 and 142:
Clearly aware of Cecil‘s rising i
Page 143 and 144:
certainly the practical expert, who
Page 145 and 146:
new process which ―my Lord Burghl
Page 147 and 148:
Image 3: An Elizabethan Map of the
Page 149 and 150:
was the potential benefit for the C
Page 151 and 152:
Medley ―by commaundement mencyone
Page 153 and 154:
thanked Wotton for his letter detai
Page 155 and 156:
intention to have medled with any c
Page 157 and 158:
and to have received through his fa
Page 159 and 160:
again imprisoned, this time almost
Page 161 and 162:
was a key investor, attempted to ut
Page 163 and 164:
understanding of nature. John Dee,
Page 165 and 166:
promised ―an ounce or so of powde
Page 167 and 168:
conviction regarding the reality of
Page 169 and 170:
———, Calendar of Patent Rolls
Page 171 and 172:
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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