William Foular

Last updated

William Foular was a Scottish apothecary who served the Scottish court.

Career

Foular supplied medicines and cures to James IV of Scotland and his wife Margaret Tudor. [1] Payments were recorded in the royal treasurer's accounts. A copy of a household roll of the Scottish court made around 1507 names him and John Mosman as the court "pottingaris". [2] "Pottingar" is an old Scots language word for apothecary. [3]

Foular was based in Edinburgh, and a burgess of the town. He seems to have sold books, missals, and offertory candles to the king, although similar books were also provided by a man called by "John Foular". [4]

From January 1500 Foular had a royal pension of 20 merks paid from the customs of Edinburgh, and was exempted from the burdens of civic duties. [5]

He was paid in December 1507 for the "distillation of waters" and aqua vitae for the King and Queen over the year, and for English apothecary books supplied to the royal household. [6]

Foular supplied "glasses" which were perhaps urinals for diagnosis. [7] James IV was an enthusiastic alchemist and maintained furnaces at Stirling Castle and Holyrood Palace in an attempt to make the fifth element, the "quinta essentia". Foular sourced materials for the project, including five pounds of quicksilver or mercury. [8]

In January 1503 he was paid £34 Scots for a year's supplies, and in June 1504 just over £37 for apothecary goods supplied to James IV over four months. [9]

In July 1504 Foular sent medicinal spices including pepper, cinnamon, "cubebarum", and "galiga", with glass urinals, to Margaret Tudor at Stirling Castle. The order was for a recipe provided by Master Robert Schaw. [10] Schaw appears to have been a physician serving the women of the court, and was mentioned in William Dunbar's poem Of a Dance in the Quenis Chamber . [11]

Margaret Tudor suffered from nosebleeds, and Foular provided a blood stone or heliotrope as a remedy in February 1505 with "other stuff for bleeding of the nose". At the same time he sent medicines according to a recipe provided by Master William Baillie, and sent fine green ginger and citron comfits to the queen. [12]

He may have supplied blue azurite in three grades to the king's painter working at Stirling in July 1506. [13] Foular also provided materials to another court apothecary, John Mosman. [14] The last payment recorded to Foular was in December 1512 for a year's supply of "powder, spicery, apothecary, and materials for the King and Queen". [15]

In the 1590s the Scottish court was served by the apothecary Alexander Barclay.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Tudor</span> Queen of Scotland from 1503 to 1513

Margaret Tudor was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to extend her regency. Margaret was the eldest daughter and second child of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of King Henry VIII of England. By her line, the House of Stuart eventually acceded to the throne of England, in addition to Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkland Palace</span> Castle in Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, who took refuge there from political and religious turmoil of her times.

John Cor is the name of the friar referred to in the first known written reference to a batch of Scotch Whisky on 1 June 1495.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Elphinstone, 1st Lord Elphinstone</span>

Alexander Elphinstone, 1st Lord Elphinstone was a Scottish peer. He was the son of Sir John Elphinstone of that ilk and of Pittendreich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish royal tapestry collection</span>

The Scottish royal tapestry collection was a group of tapestry hangings assembled to decorate the palaces of sixteenth-century kings and queens of Scotland. None appear to have survived.

John Damian de Falcuis was an Italian at the court of James IV of Scotland. His attempts at medicine, alchemy, flying, and his advancement by the king encouraged a satirical attack by the poet William Dunbar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Of James Dog</span>

Of James Dog or, more fully, Of James Dog, Kepair of the Quenis Wardrop is a poem of William Dunbar in which the poet complains to Queen Margaret Tudor of Scotland about the keeper of her wardrobe, James Dog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen More</span>

Ellen or Elen More was an African servant at the Scottish royal court. She probably arrived in Scotland in the company of a Portuguese man with imported animals. There are records of clothing and gifts given to her, although her roles and status are unclear. Some recent scholarship suggests she was enslaved, and her arrival in Scotland can be linked indirectly with the slave trade. She is associated with a racist poem by William Dunbar, and may have performed in Edinburgh as the "Black Lady" at royal tournaments in 1507 and 1508.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mosman (goldsmith)</span> Scottish goldsmith

John Mosman or Mossman was a Scottish goldsmith based in Edinburgh who served the royal court and was involved in gold mining.

Jerome, Hieronimo, or Girolamo Frescobaldi (1444–1517) was an Italian financier and textile merchant based in Bruges. He supplied luxury goods to the Scottish court and was described as a "very good friend to the King of Scots". The Frescobaldi family and company, based in Florence, were involved in artistic commissions in England and Scotland. Jerome Frescobaldi was involved in the wool trade with Tommaso Portinari and his sons, and marketed spices obtained by Portuguese traders.

James Hommyll, was a wealthy merchant in Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Aytoun</span>

Andrew Aytoun, was a Scottish soldier and engineer, and captain of Stirling Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Merlioun</span> Scottish master mason

Walter Merlioun, was a Scottish master mason based in Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mosman (apothecary)</span>

John Mosman was an apothecary at the Scottish court.

Elizabeth Barlay or Barlow was an English lady in waiting to Margaret Tudor the wife of James IV of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Spittell</span> Scottish tailor who served Margaret Tudor

Robert Spittell or Spittall or Spittale was a Scottish tailor who served Margaret Tudor, queen consort of James IV of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Peebles (glazier)</span> Scottish glazier

Thomas Peebles or Peblis was a Scottish glazier who worked for James IV, Margaret Tudor, and James V of Scotland.

Eleanor Johns or Jones was a Welsh-born courtier of Elizabeth of York and her daughter Margaret Tudor.

Ane Dance in the Quenis Chalmer or A dance in the Queen's chamber is a humorous or satiric Scots poem by William Dunbar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">More taubronar</span> African musician in the Scottish court (d. 1507)

The More Taubronar was a musician of African origin at the court of James IV of Scotland and his wife Margaret Tudor. His name is unknown. A "taubron" was a kind of drum, the word is related to the modern form "tabor". The word "More" or "Moryen" was used for people of African origin at the Scottish court. Archival records credit the More Taubronar as the producer of a costumed dance or masque performed at the Scottish royal court in 1505.

References

  1. ↑ Helen M. Dingwall, Physicians, Surgeons and Apothecaries: Medicine in Seventeenth-century Edinburgh (Tuckwell: East Linton, 1995), p. 24.
  2. ↑ Andrea Thomas, 'Renaissance culture at the court of James V, 1528-1542', University of Edinburgh, thesis, 1997, p. 378, citing National Records of Scotland, E34/1.
  3. ↑ 'Pottingar', DOST/DSL
  4. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. lxxix, 34, 68, 100, 359.
  5. ↑ M. Livingstone, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), pp. 64 no. 450, 133 no. 899.
  6. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1507-1513, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), p. 92: John Dixon Comrie, History of Scottish Medicine (London, 1927), p. 54
  7. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 365.
  8. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 359.
  9. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. 356, 445.
  10. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 445.
  11. ↑ John Small, Poems of William Dunbar, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1893), p. cclvii: Priscilla Bawcutt, Dunbar the Makar (Oxford, 1992), p. 52.
  12. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 477.
  13. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1506-1507, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. 204-5.
  14. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 477.
  15. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer: 1507-1513, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), p. 354.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.