Richard Masters (also Master, Mastre or Maistres) was a leading 16th-century English physician and personal doctor of Queen Elizabeth.
Richard Masters | |
|---|---|
| President of the Royal College of Physicians | |
| In office 1561–1561 | |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1588 |
| Alma mater | All Souls' College University of Oxford |
Early life
editMasters was the son of Robert Masters of Streetend in Willesborough, Kent. He became a fellow at All Souls' College in Oxford, eventually graduating with a B.A. in 1533 and an M.A. in 1537.[1]
He was a personal acquaintance of Rudolph Walther and in 1539 accepted a benefice from the Church of England, however, he forfeited it believing he was not a good clergyman.[2]
Medical career
editMasters enrolled at the University of Oxford to study medicine, and by 1545 was an admitted M.B. and granted a licence to practise medicine.[2] In 1553 he became a fellow at the College of Physicians and served as a censor between 1556 and 1558 and in 1560. In 1561 he served as President of the college, and as consiliarius in 1564 and 1583.[1]
Queen Elizabeth
editIn 1559, Master was granted a patent of £100 annually to serve as the personal physician to Queen Elizabeth.[2]
In 1568, Elizabeth granted Master a coat of arms and properties formerly in the possession of the Abbey of Cirencester.[3]
Boleyn cup
editQueen Elizabeth gave Master a silver cup topped with the falcon badge of her mother Anne Boleyn.[4] The cup is known as the "Boleyn cup" and was given to the parish church of Cirencester. It has London hallmarks for 1535.[5]
Prebendary of York
editIn 1562, Masters was made Prebendary of York, and in 1565 issued a royal patent for his family and heirs from the Queen receiving the Cirencester Abbey.[1][6]
Marriage and family
editMasters married Elizabeth, daughter of John Fulnetby, Esq. and had seven sons, including:[2]
- George, M.P. for Cirencester in 1586, 1588
- Thomas, Archdeacon of Salop
- Robert Master, Chancellor of Rochester and Lichfield; M.P. for Cricklade in 1601
- Henry, Principal of Alban Hall
Masters died in 1588.
References
edit- ^ a b c 'Mascall-Meyrick', in Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, ed. Joseph Foster (Oxford, 1891), pp. 982-1007. British History Online (accessed 29 November 2017)
- ^ a b c d Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 37. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 22.
- ^ T. Evans, 'Queen Elizabeth's Physician', The Lancet (9 November 1889), p. 987.
- ^ Treasures of the English Church - Sacred gold and silver 800 to 2000
- ^ A. J. Collins, Jewels and Plate of Queen Elizabeth I (London, 1955), p. 197 & plate III.
- ^ "Chester-Master Family", National Archives of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 January 2010.