New Light on Dr Thomas Moffet

20 Pages·2008·2.38 MB·English

MedicalHistory,2003,47: 3-22
New Light Dr Thomas Moffet:
on
The Triple Roles of Early Modern Physician,
an
Client, and Patronage Broker
FRANCES DAWBARN*
Introduction
Thomas Moffet (1553-1604) has been the subject ofmany studies. In particular,
Virgil Heltzel and Hoyt Hudson, C E Raven, HughTrevor-Roper, Margaret Pelling,
Charles Webster, Allen Debus, and Victor Houliston have contributed importantly
to our understanding ofthe life, career, and works ofone ofEngland's earliest, and
most significant, Paracelsians.' Through their work, we have come to know Moffet
as etymologist, Paracelsian physician, author, member of the London College of
Physicians, and physician and biographer ofSir Philip Sidney. This paper examines
certainimportantaspectsofhiscareerincloserdetail,andconsidersMoffet'sintricate
and interrelated "triple roles" as a member ofthe College ofPhysicians, a client of
Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, and as a patronage broker to those who
sought preferment within his circle; in so doing, it draws upon the indispensable
work already done.
Importantly, new light on Thomas Moffet may be said to radiate largely from the
multi-faceted nature of patronage, and patronage relationships, in a highly trans-
itional time in the history of English medicine. Through the agency of patronage,
theheterodoxcuresofsomephysicianswerelegitimized, boundariesbetweenGalenic
physician and surgeon/empiric began to be eroded, and the social advancement of
marginalized medical providers was fostered and encouraged. As a practising phys-
ician and an active and controversial natural philosopher, Thomas Moffet was not
*Frances Dawbarn, PhD, Honorary Research Cambridge University Press, 1947; HughTrevor-
Fellowin History, Lancaster University, Furness Roper, 'TheParacelsianmovement', in Hugh
College, Lancaster LAI 4YG. Trevor-Roper(ed.), Renaissanceessays, London,
SeckerandWarburg, 1985, pp. 149-99; Margaret
I shouldliketo thank Stephen Pumfrey, Deborah Pellingand CharlesWebster, 'Medical
Powell, andTomDixon fortheir helpandadvice practitioners', inCWebster (ed.), Health,
duringthewritingofthispaper. Someofthe medicineandmortalityin thesixteenth century,
materialusedinthispaperappearsinFDawbarn, Cambridge University Press, 1979, pp. 165-235;
'Patronageandpower: theCollegeofPhysicians CharlesWebster, 'Alchemicalpractitioners', ibid.,
andtheJacobeanCourt', Br. J. Hist. Sci., 1998, pp.301-34; Allen Debus, TheEnglish
31: 1-19. Paracelsians, NewYork, FranklinWatts, 1966;
V H Houliston, 'Acriticaledition, withan
'Thomas Moffet, Nobilis: or, a viewofthelife introduction andnotes, oftheEnglishworksof
anddeath ofaSidney, andLessuslugubris, 1592, Thomas Moffet, M.D. (1553-1604): The
transl. Virgil B Heltzel andHoyt H Hudson, Silkewormes andtheirflies (1599)andHealths
San Marino, CA, TheHuntingdon Library, 1940; improvement (c. 1600; ed. 1655)', DPhil. thesis,
CERaven, Englishnaturalistsfrom Neckam to Oxford University, 1986.
Ray: astudyin themakingofthemodern world,
3
Frances Dawbarn
only an important player within the intricate patronage networks ofhis day, he was
also intimately involved with theprocesses ofchange thatcharacterized the attempts
by the College of Physicians to establish itself as a "professional body" in early
modem London.2
Thepapertakes asits startingpointtheproblems associated withMoffet'selection
to the College of Physicians. Houliston observes that Moffet "had some initial
difficulty in being recognized by the Royal College of Physicians",3 and Charles
Webster notes that "his relations with the College of Physicians were never more
than cool".4 As we shall see, these assessments differ from other views; they also
invite a closer examination ofMoffet's relations with the College.
In 1634, thirty years after the death ofthe author, Theodore Mayerne published
his edition ofThomas Moffet's Insectorum sive minimorum animalium theatrum. In
dedicating the work to DrWilliam Paddy, fellow member ofthe London College of
Physicians, friend ofMoffet, and royal physician, Mayerne described Moffet as "an
eminent ornament ofthe Society ofPhysicians ... and renowned in most branches
ofscience".5 Anthony Wood's entry in Athenae Oxonienses (1691/2) informs us that
Moffet "fell into very great practice within the city ofhis nativity [London] ... and
esteemed the famous ornament ofthe body ofphysicians".6 In 1878 William Munk
repeated this information in the Roll ofthe Royal College ofPhysicians ofLondon.7
In 1966 Allen Debus observed that Moffet was "a candidate of the Royal College
ofPhysicians in December 1585, and was elected a fellow and censor ofthat body
in 1588".8 And in 1985 Hugh Trevor-Roper described how Moffet "moved easily
among the great ... He had a highly satisfactory career ... becoming ... a ...
FellowoftheRoyalCollegeofPhysiciansandaverysuccessfulgeneralpractitioner".9
These assessments, made after Moffet's death and spanning some 300 years,
indicate that he not only established himselfas a highly successful and sought-after
practitioner ofmedicine in early modern London, but also enjoyed a distinguished
career as a respected and eminent Fellow of the London College of Physicians.
However, Charles Webster, Victor Houliston, and Thomas Moffet himself, suggest
that his relationship with the College was, in fact, a troubled one.
2 afullerdiscussion ofthecomplex 5'Thomas Moffet, Insectorum siveminimorum
relationship between patronage andmedical animalium theatrum, ed. TheodoreTurquetde
authority, see FDawbarn, 'Conflict inearly Mayerne, London, 1634.
modern London: the CollegeofPhysicians and 6AnthonyWood, Athenae Oxonienses, 2vols,
courtly patronage, 1580-1620', unpublished PhD London, 1691/2,vol. 1, pp. 574-5. Woodalso
dissertation, Lancaster University, 2000. statesthat Moffet "... spent sometime atthis
3Houliston, op. cit., note 1 above. Houliston's university ...". However, theDictionaryof
assessment ofMoffet's difficulties withtheCollege NationalBiography(DNB), Oxford University
centresonhiscontroversial Paracelsianism. This Press, 1921-22, vol. 13, p. 548, suggests thatthis
paperdoesnotchallenge thisentirely sustainable informationis "erroneous".
view, but seekstoaugment ourunderstandingof 'William Munk, TherolloftheRoyalCollege
thecomplexities ofMoffet'scareerbyexamining ofPhysiciansofLondon, 1518-1700, London,
hispatronage relationships. TheCollege, 1878, vol. 1, pp.91-3.
4Webster, 'Alchemical practitioners', op. cit., 'Debus, op. cit., note 1 above, p.71.
note 1 above, p.329. 9Trevor-Roper, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 163.
4
New Light on Dr Thomas Moffet
In July 1584 Moffet wrote a letter to the President of the London College of
Physicians regarding his admission as a candidate for membership.
You can not be ignoraunt, what you and the rest of the College promised me at our last
meeting, swearingbynolesseotherthanfayth,truthandcreditthatyouwerefullydetermynid
to preferre me to that place as soone as any vpon any occasion were voide. What cause
therefore may therebe, that I ... should ... so contemptuously be vsed ...'
It is clear that this letter stands in contrast with other assessments. It suggests
that the situation was far from satisfactory and that, even before his admission,
significant tensions existed between Moffet and the College officers. In order better
to understand these tensions wemustconsider his career as amember ofthe College
in conjunction with his other important roles as client and patronage broker.
Neglecting to do so gives the impression ofan unproblematic relationship with his
noble patrons, and marginalizes his considerable difficulties with both College and
court. Close analysis of The Annals of the London College ofPhysicians serves to
restore the balance by introducing us not only to Moffet's dealings with the College
but also, importantly, to his patronage obligations.
Thomas Moffet
The second son ofa London haberdasher, Thomas Moffet" was not gently born.
However, as a physician and natural philospher, his intellectual accomplishments
attracted him to the highest courtly circles, and he spent most of his adult life in
the company ofkings, nobles, diplomats, and scholars.'2
Moffet was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied under the
eminent Galenist and future President of the College of Physicians, John Caius.
According to Anthony Wood, he also spent some time at Oxford.'3 Moving from
Galenist Cambridge, Moffet travelled abroad completing his medical studies at the
UniversityofBasle,whereheobtainedhisMD,latertobeincorporatedatCambridge.
At Basle, known for its association with Paracelsus and its promotion ofchemical
cures, Moffet studied with the humanist iatrochemists Felix Platter and Theodor
Zwinger.'4 In 1578 he published his doctoral thesis De anodinis medicamentis theses
in medicor. In it he "expressed his loyalty [to Paracelsus] so provocatively that the
thesis was referred back to him and he was awarded the doctorate only after he had
retracted his intemperate attacks on Galen and his Protestant champion Erastus".'5
'0Letter from Thomas Moffet to the throughout thispapertothespellingusedin his
President of the London College of Physicians, Nobilis, transl. Heltzel and Hudson, op. cit., note
The Annals ofthe Royal College ofPhysicians 1 above.
ofLondon, 23 July 1584, vol. 2, p. 27. 2Houliston, and Helzeland Hudsonprovide
Typescript translation of the early modem themostcomprehensive biographical details of
Annals, vol. 2, 1581-1608, held inthe Royal Moffet.
College ofPhysicians' Library. 13 Wood, op. cit., note6above.
"ThespellingofMoffet's name appears '4Debus, op. cit., note 1 above, p.71.
variouslyas Muffett, Moufett, Moffett. I adhere '5Trevor-Roper, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 163.
5
Frances Dawbarn
Fromtheseheterodox beginnings wemaytrace Moffet's attraction to theintellectual
circles in which he would move for the remainder ofhis relatively short life.
In England, Moffet's greatest patrons were Sir Philip Sidney, Robert Devereux,
Earl of Essex, Sir Francis Walsingham, Lord Willoughby of Eresby, and Mary
Herbert, CountessofPembroke, sisterofPhilipSidney. Amonghisassociatesabroad
werethegreatastronomerandParacelsian, TychoBrahe,andPederSorensen(known
as Petrus Severinus), also a Paracelsian and physician to Frederick II ofDenmark,
into whose circle Moffet was drawn whilst on a diplomatic mission to Denmark
in 1582.16 From 1588 he was a Fellow of the London College of Physicians, and
towards the end of his life he became Member of Parliament for Wilton in
Wiltshire, "a borough controlled by Philip Sidney's brother-in-law, the Earl of
Pembroke".17
To the Pembrokes' son, Sidney's nephew William Herbert, Moffet dedicated
Nobilis, whichwas probablywritten in 1592, some sixyearsafterthedeathofSidney
after the battle ofZutphen.'8 Moffet's elegiac and moving biography ofhis patron
ranks with those ofFulke Greville, Angel Day, and Thomas Churchyard'9 as being
among the most important contemporary accounts ofthe life ofone ofthe greatest
Elizabethan literary figures. Moffet recalls Sidney's precocious appetite for learning,
and tells us that "he pressed into the innermost penetralia ofcauses; and ... with
[Dr John] Dee as teacher ... he learned chemistry, that starry science, rival to
nature".20 This was an interest that was shared with equal enthusiasm by Philip's
sister Mary, later Countess ofPembroke, who "gave an honourable yearly Pension
to Dr. Mouffet", who had become her physician.2'
FromNobiliswe also learn that Moffetmayhavetreated Sidney'swife, theformer
Frances Walsingham, for infertility. Indeed, Hugh Trevor-Roper notes that he was
"physician to the avant-garde statesmen and courtiers of Queen Elizabeth-the
supporters of the Earl of Leicester and a forward policy in Europe-Sir Francis
Walsingham, Sir Philip Sidney, the Earl ofEssex, Sir Francis Drake". Interestingly,
Trevor-Roper adds that "the Queen herself clung to established ways and Muffet
died in 1604, too soon to profit by the more liberal attitude ofthe next King".22
6See Jole Shackelford, 'Paracelsianism and discussion ofthemanycontemporary
patronage in earlymodem Denmark', in BruceT biographicaleulogies ofPhilip Sidney.
Moran (ed.), Patronage andinstitutions: science, 2 Ibid., p.75.
technologyandmedicineat theEuropean court, 21 Aubrey, Brieflives,ed. OliverLawson
1500-1700, Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 1991, Dick, London, Seckerand Warburg, 1949,p. 139.
pp.85-109. See alsoDNB, vol. 13,p. 549; translators'
7HughTrevor-Roper, 'Thecourt physician Introduction, Nobilis, op. cit., note 1 above,
and Paracelsianism', inVNutton (ed.), Medicine p.xv; MargaretP Hannay, "'How I these
at thecourtsofEurope, 1500-1837, London, studiesprize": theCountessofPembrokeand
Routledge, 1990, pp. 79-94, onp. 91. Elizabethan science', in LHunterandSHutton
18Moffet,Nobilis, transl. Heltzel and Hudson, (eds), Women, scienceandmedicine 1500-1700:
op. cit., note 1 above. mothersandsistersoftheRoyalSociety, Stroud,
'9See Introduction to Moffet, Nobilis, transl. SuttonPublishing, 1997, pp. 108-21.
Heltzel and Hudson, op. cit., note 1 above, for a 'Trevor-Roper, op. cit., note 17 above, p.91.
6
New Light on Dr Thomas Moffet
The "established ways" of the ageing Elizabeth left an intellectual as well as
political vacuum at court, one that was increasingly filled away from the stifling
atmosphere ofWhitehall. Malcolm Smuts has suggested that the encouragement of
diversity and change within Jacobean courtly circles did not radiate solely from a
monarchicalnucleus,butalsofromcourtswhichexistedindependentlyofWhitehall.23
That such circles also existed in Elizabeth's reign is indicated by Walter Ralegh's
interest in chemistry, which he shared with Henry Percy, the "wizard" ninth Earl of
Northumberland. Through his friendship with Peter Turner and Timothy Bright,24
Moffet's name was also to be linked with this circle.
The existence of forward-looking alternatives to Whitehall, and indeed to the
English universities which remained firm bastions of Galenism, was of particular
significance for Moffet, who had already tasted intellectual excitement through his
association with the University ofBasle and the Danish court. Seeking not only to
securehispersonalstatusandfortune,butalsotoengageintheprocessofchallenging
the prevailing intellectual order, Moffet found a congenial home among members
ofthe Sidney circle. His controversial (although subsequently moderated) doctoral
thesis had already attracted attention, and in due course it was to be augmented by
other works, including De venis mesaraicis obstructis ipsarumque ita affectarum
curatione .. ., which he dedicated to his friend Dr Thomas Penny and published in
the same year as his doctoral thesis; Dejure etpraestantia chymicorum ... (1584), a
work which takes the form of a debate, was dedicated to Severinus; Nosomantica
Hippocratea ... in 1588, dedicated to his travelling companion in Denmark, the
diplomat Lord Willoughby of Eresby, and in 1599 the Silkwormes and theirflies,
dedicated to Mary Herbert, Countess ofPembroke.
AsMarioBiagiolihasshowninthecaseofGalileo,intellectualpatronagepresented
the client with an opportunity not only to engage in the important process of self-
fashioning, but also to transform the status ofa philosophical world-view. Indeed,
at a time when "hierarchies among disciplines ... did not represent simply ... a
philosopher's view of a specific phenomenon and that person's ranking within a
professional community, but the entire social status and identity of the person",25
Moffet grasped patronage opportunities thatencouraged his broadperspective upon
the physic he provided, which was integrated into a multi-dimensional world view.
Like Galileo, thewhole ofMoffet's "statusandbeing"'wascapableofbeing shaped
by the intellectual milieu within certain receptive courtly settings. And, like the
European courts of Frederick II of Denmark, Henri IV of France, Rudolf II of
23Malcolm Smuts, 'Culturaldiversityand 25Mario Biagioli, Galileo, courtier: thepractice
culturalchange atthecourtofJamesI', Linda ofscience in theculture ofabsolutism, Cambridge
LevyPeck(ed.), ThementalworldoftheJacobean University Press, 1993, pp.218-19.
court, Cambridge University Press, 1991, 26Galileo Galilei, Opera, cited in Biagioli, op.
pp.99-112. cit., note25 above, p. 11.
24Translators' Introduction, Moffet, Nobilis,
transl. Heltzel andHudson, op. cit., note 1
above, p.xv.
7
Frances Dawbarn
Prague, and Maurice, Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel, the "avant-garde" courts of
England, with which Moffet was increasingly associated, provided not only social
promotion to the innovating individual, but also intellectual succour to new philo-
sophiesofnature. Asweshallseebelow,certainallusionstohisstaunchProtestantism
suggestthatMoffet'sconfessionalallegiancewascloselyalliedtoanaturalphilosophy
which found sympathetic adherents at many of the Protestant princely courts of
Europe. In 1582, having mixed with the elevated clients ofjust such courts, Thomas
Moffet presented himself to the London College of Physicians as a candidate for
the next vacant Fellowship.
Thomas Moffet and the College ofPhysicians: Esteemed Colleague or
Uncomfortable Bedfellow?
Despite its statutory authority to monitor medical practice in London and seven
miles around, the College ofPhysicians was forced to confront significant challenges
from a multitude ofinformal and untrained medical providers. Its statutory powers
to protect the king's subjects from the dangers of quacks and empirics was central
to the promotion of learned Galenic physic, and to the position of the College as
its guardian. Furthermore, in the years following its foundation in 1518, the College
had attempted to define the unique and particular qualities that characterized the
good physician by enlarging its letters patent to include the following words:
And forasmuch as the making ofthe said corporation is meritorious, and very good for the
commonwealth ofthis our realm, it is therefore expedient and necessary to provide, That no
person ofthe saidbody ... be suffered to exercise andpracticephysic, butonlythosepersons
who be profound, sad, and discreet, groundly learned, and deeply studied in physic.27
Thus the founders and their successors added considerable moral to statutory
authority, and manners, bearing, and demeanour became as significant a mark of
the physician as learning.28
The relationship ofThomas Moffetwithhis patrons andwiththe London College
of Physicians provides an excellent vehicle by which to examine one particular
problem in depth; namely the role of its members and Fellows as clients of noble
patrons and as patronage brokers. It also stands as an example of the College's
difficult position regarding an individual who not only "moved in the highest court
circles",29 but also held heterodoxviews on physic. Howwere the Fellows to balance
the undoubted honour Moffet's courtly connections reflected upon the College with
2714& 15 HenryVIII, c. 5. Theprivileges of early Stuart monarchy', Soc. soc. Hist. Med.,
and authority ofPhysicians in London 1522-3. 1989, 2: 1-33; idem, 'Good advice and little
28See Harold J Cook, The decline ofthe old medicine: the professional authority of early
medical regime in Stuart London, New York, modem physicians', J. Br. Stud., 1994, 33:
Cornell Press, 1986; idem, 'Policing the health 1-31.
of London: the College of Physicians and the 29Debus, op. cit., note 1 above, p.71.
8
New Light on Dr Thomas Moffet
his other more heterodox-not to say disreputable-associates and the dangerous
ideas they shared?30 Like many patronage relationships, those in which Moffet
was involved were elaborate and complex, their successful management requiring
considerable skill and diplomacy. But, as we shall see, Moffet's loyalties were
compromised by his triple role as client, broker, and Fellow ofthe College.
In A history ofthe Royal College ofPhysicians ofLondon, Sir George Clark notes
that in 1584, when Moffet was seeking admission, the "status of candidate [had]
created a reservoir ofdoctors ready for admission when vacancies occurred or when
they had completed the four years ofpractice required before admission".3' He also
astutely observed that problems arose from the existence of this "reservoir"; the
College was not only obliged to make "invidious" choices between candidates, but
it was also confronted by "pressure from the influential friends ofthe candidate".32
Given that he came fully equipped with impressive academic credentials and
courtly connections, the prima facie case for Moffet's immediate admission as a
candidate would seem to have been unassailable. Yet the College hesitated, and
admitted Dr Edward Dodding and Dr Thomas Randall to the candidacy ahead of
him, although he had been assured ofthe next vacancy.33 The decision precipitated
thefollowingresponse, addressedtothePresidentoftheCollege, DrRogerGiffard.34
Although it is undated, it is recorded as having been read out in the Comitia which
met on 23 July 1584.
Mr. Dr. Giffard, Hearing but yet hardly beleeving that you are purposed to preferre certaine
others before me in the Candidateshipps which are now oflate fallen void: I thought it not
amisse to send these few lines vnto you as expostulators ofmy right, ifhappely you were so
vnrightly mynded against me. Youcan not be ignorant, what you and the rest ofthe College
promisedme at ourlast meeting, swearingbyno lesse other than fayth, truth and credit that
you were fully determynid to preferre me to that place as soone as any vpon any occasion
werevoide. Whatcausetherefore maytherebe, that I, whichoncewasin suche favour shuold
now so contemptuously be vsed: ...3
Continuing in angry vein at some length, Moffet reminded the President that
he had visited the College "three yeares since" adding, perhaps unwisely, that he
had also "visited 2 or 3 ofthem, [the candidates proposed in his place] being suche
3 Houliston, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 32. inclusion (orexclusion) ofthe royal physicians
Houliston suggests that Moffet's relations with amongtheirnumber. Clark remains the best
the College "evidently improved" as hiscourtly source ofinformation regarding suchmatters.
connections became morefirmly established. 32Ibid.
However, asthispapershows, thecomplexities of 33Clark, op. cit., note 31 above, vol. 1, p. 133,
Moffet's patronage obligations madethe situation fn. 3. DoddingandRandallappearin Munk's
difficult. Roll, butthey seemto havebeen relatively
3'SirGeorgeClark, A history oftheRoyal undistinguished membersofthe College.
CollegeofPhysicians ofLondon, 3 vols, Oxford, 'Two Giffards served in the College: Roger,
Clarendon Press, 1964-72, vol. 1, p. 133. College whowas Presidentfrom 1581-4, diedin 1596/7,
procedureswere extremely complex and subject andJohn, whowas admitted in 1589 andbecame
tochangeandrevision over time. Thenumberof Presidentin 1628.
Fellowswasaltered from time to time, aswas the 35Annals, op. cit., note 10 above, p.27.
9
Frances Dawbarn
manner ofmen, as Iwill notvouchsaffeto speakvnto: nortobidthem, godspeede".
So uncompromising a demonstration of his belief in his superiority to those the
College had chosen instead ofhim, and the fact that Moffet had clearly taken the
trouble to "vet" the candidates himself, cannot have furthered his cause. With an
unmistakable allusion to the staunch Protestantism that characterized not only his
personal beliefs but also his courtly connections, Moffet asks:
Doth any one feare least I stepping into your Society, will marre their musick and Jollity? If
hebe apapist ... I hatehimwith anvnfainid hatred because heisenemy to the truth ofgod
andsoconsequentlytoourprince. ButifhebeaProtestant, godforbid Ishoolddootherwise
vnto him, then vnto the Ball ofmyne owne ey.3
Appealing to the College's sense ofhonour and its knowledge ofthe importance
ofpreferment and prerogative, he asks that
Godforhismercy sake, graunt that asindignityyouhave thecheefestplace so togetheryou
may excell in equity, whereby princes stand and all Colleges prosper ... But if for moony
you allow a man and disalowe him againe, when you list: if you draw on your fellowe
bretheren, with faire wordes as with baites and then having them on your hooke, pull the
gutts and the liefout oftheir bellies surely well may you strengthen your selues with newe
lawes new taxes and newe freends:
He continues with the striking, but enigmatic, observation, "But yet god in his
Justicewilconfoundyou andmake theCollege ofPhisitionsmore odiousin London
than it ever was in Rome." And finishes with:
You can not be ignorant ofthat saing in Plautus.
Est qui nos regit, atque gubernat, Deus:
Bene merenti, bene est, male merenti par erit,
Cogita.37
Your assured frende for ever ifit please you. Tho. Muffet.
Moffet's mention of "moony", in extremely unflattering terms, is undoubtedly a
reference to the fees candidates were obliged to pay during the years they spent
waiting for a vacant Fellowship, and the "newe laws taxes and ... freends" a
suggestion that certain benefits might be reaped from a steady income which had
been created by the "reservoir" ofdoctors waiting in the wings. Indeed the entry in
theAnnalsfor3November 1581 recordsthat "[w]ithregardto Muffettitwasdecided
that within seven days he should give his pledge to the College that he would pay
"Ibid. Anote in thetranslators' Introduction transl E F Watling, pp. 313-16. "There is
to Moffet, Nobilis, transl. Heltzel andHudson, surely a God above, who sees and hears all we
op. cit., note 1 above, statesthatatCambridge, do; / he will reward kindness with kindness, I
Moffet, whowasa"veryproper scholar, andvery am sure; and unkindness with its like." The
forward inreligion", wasdrivenfromCaius story of The captives suggests that Moffet is
CollegebyDrThomas Legge, itischarged, on reminding the College that he will one day
account ofhisanti-Catholic opinions. become their "son". See http://www.san.beck.
37Annals, op. cit., note 10 above, pp. 26-7. org/. I am grateful to Stephen Pumfrey for the
Moffet is quoting from Plautus, The captives, reference to this website.
10
New Light on Dr Thomas Moffet
the sum ofeight pounds for the use ofthe College, in four equal amounts until he
should be admitted a candidate."38 In July 1583 Moffet's fees were still under
discussion,39 and in November he was listed as owing the College £6.4 Much to his
chagrin, matters dragged on unresolved and when Drs Dodding and Randall were
admitted in preference to him he penned his letter.
Inviewofthe College's insistence thatitsmoralauthoritywaspredicated not only
upon its members' demonstration of learning, but also upon their gentlemanly
behaviour, it is scarcely surprising that Moffet's abrasive defence ofhis religion, his
suggestion that the Fellows were influenced by the size ofa candidate's purse, and
the fact that he was in financial debt to the College, drew from the Registrar the
following observation:
TheletterwhichDr. Muffethadwritten toDr. Giffard,thePresident, wasread. Sinceitstone
was not ascourteous asit should be the Fellows were offended. Wherefore the Registrarwas
enjoined to have it written in the Annals for a permanent record.4'
Healso recorded thatpresentintheComitiathatdaywerethenewlyelected Fellows
Drs Dodding and Randall, whom Moffet had weighed in the professional balances
and found wanting. Clearly he did not yet "esteeme the famous ornament of the
body ofphysicians",42 nor it him, and, while some have noted Moffet's entry into
the College in terms ofhigh achievement, we have seen that it was with extremely
controversial connections and credentials that Moffet first presented himselffor the
candidacy in 1581. He was not admitted a Fellow until "the last day of February
1586/7".43
However, the intervening years had not been uneventful, and in 1585, the year
following his letter to the College, it was necessary for Moffet to respond to the
serious accusation that he had caused the death ofa certain "Mr. Beaumont"." He
related the events, which had taken place "a yeare since", in a letter dated 20 July
1585, to Michael Hickes, private secretary to Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury,
and long-standing friend ofBeaumont.4s It is the letter ofan indignant and worried
man. The extracts that follow are published here for the first time.
Mr. Hickes, notwithstanding [that] yow and Mr. Beaumont his sonnes, daughter, servants,
and other friends, aremostcertainly p[er]suaded, (as ye ought to be) that the two spoonfulls
ofjulepwchhetookeinhissicknessfrommyneapothecaries,wereofadrinkmostcomfortable
and restorative and (though I saye it) as comfortable [in] temper and cordiall in all respects
as hath binne by anyman devised: Nevertheless such is themalice ofmyne owne adversaries
who bywritinghave chalenged ayeare since to defend their absurdities andignourance, that
38Annals, 3Nov. 1581, p.4. AlanGRSmith, Servantofthe Cecils: thelifeof
39Ibid, p.20. SirMichaelHickes, 1543-1612, London, Cape,
Ibid, p.22. 1977, p.106. Itispossiblethatthislate-sixteenth-
l'Ibid, p.26. centuryaccountis oneoftheearliestextant
42Wood, op. cit., note6above, vol. 1, records ofapost-mortem. Seealso, David
pp.574-5. Harley, 'Politicalpost-mortems andmorbid
43Annals, op. cit., note 10 above, pp.49-50. anatomy in seventeenthcentury England', Soc.
"British Library Lansdowne MS. 107, ff. 22. Hist. Med, 1994, 7: 4-28, foradiscussion of
ThiswasNicholas Beaumont ofColeorton in earlypost-mortems.
Leicestershire. Thepost-mortem ismentioned by 45Smith, ibid., p. 106.
11
Frances Dawbarn
they cease not (as I am informed by D. Denny)46 wickedly and againe ... to report of[that]
drinke, as the cause of Mr. Beaumont his death ... [C]hildren have drounk a gallon ofye
drink, and eaten a pownd of[that] Electuary at severall times to their most happy restoring
owt of consuming and long feuers: ... Yow and divers [others] can testify that if myselfe
draunk not 2 spoonfull, but2bowles fullofye samedrinkstogether: andyowyourselfe, Mrs
Bexo (as I remember) and Mr. Beaumont his sonnes, and one ofthe [others] dranck a good
quantity therof. Yow knowe andhave felt theeffect ... and therfore asmanifest eyewitnesses
are able to [and] willing to confuse the adversary and againe when I see on their part the
malice hath no measure, and envey cannot be contayned in ye bondes ofhonest dealing: I
[am] I say so confirmed and settled in mind by both those arguments that (God be praised
therfore) I am nothing moved in my selfe, how much they seemd (as madd men) to be
removed owt ofthem selves.
Therefollowsaverydetailedaccountofwhatmaybeoneoftheearliestdescriptions
ofa post-mortem. The dead man's muscles were found to be:
spotted with yellowe black and blue spottes ... [the] lungs were very read, and swolen, and
inflamed, and rotten in most places ... [the] ... harte was very faire and sound. His liver
spottedwithwhiteandredd spottesallover,resemblingthebitings offlease ... [The] kidneyes
[were] faire, and att ye present time without stones. His gall little, and emptied. His guttes
fullofwind... [The]quartered [peritoneumandomentumrevealed] diversulcersbreddwithin
... which had eaten assunder the skinne ofthe saide call [the omentum] ... and a store of
ichorous [jaundiced] bloode ... about the guttes, and falling also into his coddes.
It was the "corrupt matter ... [contained within the ulcers which was] ... so
sharpe that it almost fetcht of ye skinne from ye surgeons hands" which Moffet
believed was the "cause of that extreme and continuall paine in his belly ... [and]
the instrument ofhis death". Moffet had wished to examine the patient's brain but
"his sonne seeing sufficient causes of his fathers death, would have us proceed no
further, and so we ended". The letter closes with the following plea, which includes
a further indication that Moffet shared his religious views with many ofhis patients
and patrons:
Thus desiring you communicate this letter with Mr. Beaumont his sonnes, whose consent in
religion lincketh unto me (no doubt) a consent ofgood will, and will p[er]suade the[m] to
report ye truth ofme: ... From Ipswich 20 ofJuly 1585 yourassured friend ... Tho: Moffet.
Althoughhegives no details ofthe ingredients ofthejulep ortheelectuary, Moffet
is at pains to point out, vehemently and several times, the harmlessness of the
substances, and considers himself vindicated by the results of the post-mortem.
Fortunately, it was attended by Mr. Beaumont's son who was entreated by Moffet,
via Hickes, to clear his name. Not only had Moffet's enemies accused him of a
serious breach of professional conduct, they had done so at a time when he was
seeking the candidacy of the London College of Physicians. This episode, and his
46No D(octor) Dennyappears intheAnnals,
orin Munk, forthisperiod. Perhaps Moffet
refers to his friend DrWilliam Penny.
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