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Andrew Boorde (or Borde) (''c.'' 1490April 1549) was an English traveller,
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and writer.


Life

Born at Boords Hill, Holms Dale,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
, he was educated at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, and was admitted a member of the
Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
order while under age. In 1521 he was dispensed from religion in order that he might act as suffragan bishop of
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
, though he never actually filled the office, and in 1529 he was freed from his monastic vows, not being able to endure, as he said, "the rugorosite off your relygyon". He then went abroad to study
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
, and on his return was summoned to attend the
Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
. He subsequently visited the universities of
Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and
Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglome ...
,
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
,
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...
and
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...
, saw the practice of
surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pa ...
at Rome, and went on pilgrimage with others of his nation to Compostela in
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
. In 1534 Boorde was again in London at the Charterhouse Monastery, and in 1536 wrote to
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
, complaining that he was in thraldom there. Cromwell set him at liberty, and after entertaining him at his house at Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire, seems to have entrusted him with a mission to find out the state of public feeling abroad with regard to the English king. He writes to Cromwell from various places, and from
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
he sends him the seeds of
rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of '' Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhi ...
, two hundred years before that plant was generally cultivated in England. Two letters in 1535 and 1536 to the prior of the Charterhouse anxiously argue for his complete release from monastic vows. In 1536 he was studying medicine at
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
. He frequented the house of the Earl of Arran and
Lord Avondale There have been several peerage titles created with the name Avondale (or Avandale), referring to the dale (or valley) of the Avon Water in Scotland. The word strath also means valley, and the area is now better known as Strathaven. The title ...
, and gathered his observations about the Scots and the "devellyshe dysposicion of a Scottysh man, not to love nor favor an Englishe man". About 1538 Boorde set out on his most extensive journey, visiting nearly all the countries of Europe except Russia and Turkey, and making his way to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Of these travels he wrote a full itinerary, lost by Cromwell, to whom it was sent. He finally settled at Montpellier and before 1542 had completed his ''Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge'', which ranks as the earliest continental guidebook, his ''Dietary'' and his ''Brevyary''. He probably returned to England in 1542, and lived at
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
and perhaps at
Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part ...
. John Ponet,
bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...
, in an ''Apology against Bishop Gardiner'', relates as matter of common knowledge that in 1547 Doctor Boord, a physician and a holy man, who still kept the Carthusian rules of fasting and wearing a hair shirt, was convicted in Winchester of keeping in his house three loose women. For this offence, apparently, he was imprisoned in the Fleet, where he made his will on 9 April 1549. It was proved on the 25th of the same month. Thomas Hearne ( Benedictus Abbas, i. p. 52) says that he went round like a
quack doctor Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, k ...
to country fairs, and therefore rashly supposed him to have been the original Merry Andrew.


Works

Boorde left works on domestic hygiene and medicine, and ''The Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge''. In it the Englishman describes himself and his foibles, his fickleness, his fondness for new fashions, and his obstinacy, in verse. Then follows a geographical description of the country, followed by a model dialogue in the
Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a revived language, having become extinct as a living community language in Cornwall at the end of the 18th century. However, ...
. Each country in turn is dealt with on similar lines. His authentic works are: * ''Here foloweth a Compenyous Regiment or Dyetary of health, made in Mountpyller'' (Thomas Colwell, 1542), of which there are undated and doubtless earlier editions; * ''The Brevyary of health'' (1547?); * ''The Princyples of Astronamy'' (1547?); * ''The Peregrination of Doctor Board'', printed by Thomas Hearne in ''Benedictus Abbas Petroburgensis'', vol. ii. (1735); * ''A Pronostycacyon or an Almanacke for the yere of our lorde MCCCCCXLV.'' made by Andrew Boorde. His ''Itinerary of Europe and Treatyse upon Berdes'' are lost. Several jest-books are attributed to him without authority: ''The Merie Tales of the Mad Men of Gotam'' (earliest extant edition, 1630), ''Scogins Jests'' (1626), ''A mery jest of the Mylner of Abyngton, with his wyfe, and his daughter, and of two poore scholers of Cambridge'' (printed by
Wynkyn de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (died 1534) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immigra ...
), and a Latin poem, ''Nos Vagabunduli''.


References

Attribution: *


Further reading

* F. J. Furnivall's reprint of the ''Introduction'' and some other selections for the
Early English Text Society The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...
(new series, 1870).


External links


The fyrst boke of the introduction of knowledge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boorde, Andrew 1490 births 1549 deaths People from Mid Sussex District Carthusians English non-fiction writers Medical doctors from Hampshire 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century English medical doctors English explorers 16th-century explorers English male non-fiction writers People from Winchester