John Mosman was an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

at the Scottish court. Mercat Cross Inverkeithing

Mosman worked for the households of James IV of Scotland and the queen consort

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) 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 successfully fought to extend her regency. Ma ...

supplying medicines and spices, herbal remedies, and providing treatments.

Family background

Other members of the family were goldsmiths, including John Mosman who worked for James V and his son James Mosman, who built the house in Edinburgh known as the " John Knox House". It has been suggested that the Mosman family was of Jewish origin. A branch of the family including a John Mosman and his son Robert Mosman was recorded in February 1490 in connection with their tenancy of the lands of "Easter Gledstanis".

Career

Mosman received a regular fee of £10 from the royal treasurer by 1513. A copy of a household roll of the Scottish court made around 1507 names him and William Foular as the court "pottingaris". "Pottingar" is an old

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonl ...

word for apothecary.

Royal wedding

In April 1503 Mosman was sent to Flanders to buy materials for the king. This "stuff" may have been connected with the royal wedding. Mosman supplied sweetened and spiced "

Hippocras Hippocras ( ca, Pimentes de clareya; lat, vīnum Hippocraticum), sometimes spelled hipocras or hypocras, is a drink made from wine mixed with sugar and spices, usually including cinnamon, and possibly heated. After steeping the spices in the ...

" wine at the Edinburgh wedding of James IV and Margaret Tudor at Holyrood Palace, at a cost of 18 Scottish shillings. The English herald John Young, who wrote an account of her journey to Scotland, said there was "plenty of Ypocras", served in fellowship to the 41 men that James IV knighted for the queen.

Healing and medical practice

In November 1505 there was a plague scare in Dunfermline while Margaret Tudor was at

Dunfermline Palace Dunfermline Palace is a ruined former Scottish royal palace and important tourist attraction in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It is currently, along with other buildings of the adjacent Dunfermline Abbey, under the care of Historic Environment ...

. Mosman looked after four African people, known as the "More lasses" and probably including

Ellen More Ellen or Elen More () was an African servant at the Scottish royal court. There are records of clothing and gifts given to her, although her roles and status are unclear. Some recent scholarship suggests she was enslaved. She is associated with a ...

, at North Queensferry and

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an imp ...

. In August 1505 he helped to heal the arm of

Elizabeth Barlay Elizabeth Barlay or Barlow (died 1518) was an English lady in waiting to Margaret Tudor the wife of James IV of Scotland. Background Details of her English family are obscure. She may have been a daughter of John Barlow and Christian Berlay, or t ...

, an English lady in waiting to Margaret Tudor, who married

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle of ...

. Mosman was paid 14 shillings for his travelling expenses to Edinburgh "to mak potingary for Mastres Barleis arme." Mosman was supplied with glass jugs and urinals on 13 September 1505. He went to Stirling Castle in November to fetch a rare imported " must cat". In June 1513 he sent spices for Margaret Tudor to Linlithgow Palace.

Fifth element project

He was involved in the king's project to make the fifth element, the "quinta essentia" with furnaces at Holyrood Palace and Stirling Castle. He supplied materials to the alchemists in January 1508 and in January 1513 was given a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

weight in gold to the quintessence. The others alchemists at Stirling were supervised by the Captain of the Castle

Andrew Aytoun Andrew Aytoun (died 1547), was a Scottish soldier and engineer, and captain of Stirling Castle. Aytoun worked for James IV of Scotland, whose reign lasted from 1488 until his death at the battle of Flodden in 1513. He was regarded as a member of ...

, and included Caldwell, Valentine McLellane, and the Italian John Damian, who is known for his attempt at flying, the subject of a poem by

William Dunbar William Dunbar (born 1459 or 1460 – died by 1530) was a Scottish makar, or court poet, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work i ...

, ''

The Fenyeit Freir of Tungland is a comic, satirical poem in Scots by William Dunbar (born 1459 or 1460) composed in the early sixteenth century. The title may be rendered in modern English as ''A Ballad of The False Friar of Tongland, How He Fell in the Mire Flying to Tu ...

''. The royal accounts include payments to Mosman for constructing furnaces in December 1503 and for bellows. The "quintessence" was an imagined healing substance with some of the properties of distilled alcohol or aqua vitae, particularly associated with the 14th-century French alchemist

Jean de Roquetaillade :''Johannes de Rupescissa may also refer to Cardinal Jean de La Rochetaillée'' Jean de Roquetaillade, also known as John of Rupescissa, (ca. 1310 – between 1366 and 1370) was a French Franciscan alchemist and eschatologist. Biography Aft ...

. James IV's furnaces may have been intended to represent an image of successful rule and well-being to the king's subjects, his command of supernatural and literal elemental force. The idea of the quintessence was well-known in the sixteenth century, and in 1586 Queen Elizabeth joked that

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

had leapt to conclusions and so made a "quintessence of some humours" to taste a "sour liquid". The dates of John Mosman's birth and death are unknown.

Apothecaries in Early Modern Scotland

The View From Ladies Lookout, Stirling Castle (5897344735)

Another apothecary, William Foular, also served Margaret Tudor. She suffered from nosebleeds, and Foular provided a blood stone or heliotrope as a remedy. Foular also sent the queen medicinal spices including pepper, cinnamon, " cubebarum", and " galiga", with glass urinals. He made citron comfits for the king. Foular had a royal pension of 20

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

paid from the customs of Edinburgh, and was exempted from the burdens of civic duties.''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), pp. 64 no. 450, 133 no. 899. In the 1590s the Scottish court was served by the apothecary

Alexander Barclay Dr Alexander Barclay (c. 1476 – 10 June 1552) was a poet and clergyman of the Church of England, probably born in Scotland. Biography Barclay was born in about 1476. His place of birth is matter of dispute, but William Bulleyn, who w ...

External links

'The Falkland Palace apothecary', National Trust for Scotland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosman, John 16th-century Scottish people African presence at the Scottish royal court Court of James IV of Scotland Material culture of royal courts Mosman family People in health professions from Edinburgh Scottish alchemists Scottish apothecaries