 Elias Ashmole by an unknown hand (detail), c. 1688, after the portrait by John Riley, c. 1681, below. Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617–18 May 1692), the celebrated English antiquary, was a politician, officer of arms, student of astrology and alchemy, and an early speculative Freemason. He supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices. Throughout his life he was an avid collector of curiosities and other artifacts. Many of these he acquired from the traveller, botanist, and collector John Tradescant the younger, and most he donated to Oxford University to create the Ashmolean Museum. He also donated his library and priceless manuscript collection to Oxford. Image File history File links Elias Ashmole, by an unknown hand, after a portrait by John Riley. ...
Image File history File links Elias Ashmole, by an unknown hand, after a portrait by John Riley. ...
May 23 is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ...
May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Events February 13 - Massacre of Glencoe March 1 - The Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony with the charging of three women with witchcraft. ...
An antiquarian or antiquary is one concerned with antiquities or things of the past. ...
The Politics series Politics Portal This box: A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ...
Banners bearing heraldic badges of several officers of arms at the College of Arms in London. ...
Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ...
This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
The Masonic Square and Compasses. ...
Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ...
The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ...
King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ...
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ...
John Tradescant the younger Ester, his second wife John Tradescant the Younger (1608–1662), son of John Tradescant the elder, was a botanist and gardener, born in Meopham, Kent. ...
The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...
The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) in Oxford, England is the worlds first university museum. ...
A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ...
Apart from his collecting hobbies, Ashmole illustrates the passing of the occult philosophy in the 17th century: while he immersed himself in alchemical, magical and astrological studies and was consulted on astrological questions by Charles II and his court, these studies were essentially backward-looking. Although he was one of the founding members of the Royal Society, a key institution in the development of experimental science, he never participated actively. The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...
Solicitor and royalist
Ashmole was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire. His family had been famous, but its wealth had declined somewhat by the time of Ashmole's birth. The family name is likely a variation in spelling of Ashmore (from "ash moor," also a place name), as the two spellings were used interchangeably in the Midlands.[1] His father, Simon Ashmole, was a soldier and a saddler; his mother Anne was a cousin of James Pagit, a Baron of the Exchequer. Ashmole attended Lichfield Grammar School and became a chorister at Lichfield Cathedral. In 1638, with the help of Pagit, he became a solicitor. He enjoyed a successful practice in London, and married Eleanor Mainwaring, a member of a poor but aristocratic family, who died only three years later. Still in his early twenties, Ashmole had taken the first steps towards status and wealth. Ashmole supported the side of Charles I in the Civil War. At the outbreak of fighting in 1642, he left London for the house of his father-in-law, Peter Mainwaring, at Smallwood in Cheshire. There he lived a retired life until 1644, when he was appointed King's Commissioner of Excise at Lichfield. Soon afterwards, he was given a military post at Oxford, where he devoted most of his time to study and acquired a deep interest in alchemy, astrology and magic. He studied physics and mathematics at Brasenose College, Oxford, though he did not formally enroll as a student. In late 1645, he left Oxford to accept the position of Commissioner of Excise at Worcester. (Excise Commissioners set taxes on specific locally-produced commodities; at that time, the division between official and personal property was not as rigorously observed as it is today, so such offices could be very lucrative to their holders.) Ashmole was given the additional military posts of Captain of the Horse and Comptroller of Ordnance, though he seems never to have participated in any fighting. The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral, June 2005 Lichfield (Welsh: Caerlwytgoed) is a small city and civil parish in Staffordshire, 110 miles northwest of London and 14 miles north of Birmingham. ...
Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ...
Ashmore may refer to: Ashmore, a small village in Dorset, England Ashmore Green, a small village in Berkshire, England Ashmore, Illinois, USA Ashmore Park, a small housing estate in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England Ashmore, Queensland, Australia The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, two groups of uninhabited tropical islands in...
Ashmore pond Ashmore is a small picturesque village in north east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase five miles south east of population of 162 (Census 2001). ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
The Exchequer of Pleas or Exchequer was one of the three common-law courts of Medieval and Early Modern England. ...
King Edward VI School is situated near the heart of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, just a five minute walk from local amenities. ...
A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ...
The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. ...
A solicitor is a type of lawyer in many common law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but not the United States (in the United States the word has a quite different meaning—see below). ...
This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...
Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ...
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ...
The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ...
Smallwood may refer to: Surnames: Denis Smallwood, British RAF commander Joey Smallwood, Canadian politician Kathy Smallwood, British sprinter Marrina Smallwood, fictional character in the Marvel Universe Roberta Smallwood Rod Smallwood, music business manager Tucker Smallwood, American actor William Smallwood, American general and politician Places: Smallwood, Cheshire Smallwood, New York Smallwood...
The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a...
Look up Excise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the branch of science concerned with the discovery and characterization of universal laws which govern matter, energy, space, and time. ...
Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ...
and of the Brasenose College College name The Kings Hall and College of Brasenose Latin name aula regia et collegium aenei nasi Named after Bronze door knocker Established 1509 Sister college Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Principal Prof. ...
Worcester (pronounced ) is a city in the Midlands of England, and the county town of Worcestershire. ...
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The word commodity has a different meaning in business than in Marxian political economy. ...
Freemason After the Royalist defeat of 1646, he retired again to Cheshire.He then met a scholar known as Tyler Parott who helped him travel the world. During this period, he was admitted as a Freemason (the earliest documented admission of a Freemason in an English lodge). His diary entry for 16 October 1646 reads in part: "I was made a Free Mason at Warrington, in Lancashire, with Coll: Henry Mainwaring, of Karincham, in Cheshire." Although there is only one other mention of Masonic activity in his diary he seems to have remained in good standing and well-connected with the fraternity as he was still attending meetings in 1682. On 10 March that year he wrote: "About 5 H P.M., I received a summons to appear at a Lodge to held the next day, at Mason's Hall, London." The following day, 11 March 1682, he wrote: "Accordingly, I went & about Noone were admitted into the Fellowship of free Masons." And, "I was the Senior Fellow among them (it being 35 years since I was admitted)." And "We all dyned at the halfe Moone Taverne in Cheapside, at a noble dinner prepaired at the charge of the new-accepted Masons." American Square & Compasses Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. ...
Marriage In 1649, he married Mary, Lady Mainwaring (daughter of Sir William Forster of Aldermaston), a wealthy thrice-widowed woman twenty years his senior. She was a relative by marriage of his first wife's family and the mother of grown children. The marriage took place over the opposition of the bride's family, and it did not prove to be harmonious: Lady Mainwaring filed an unsuccessful suit for separation and alimony in 1657. The match, did, however, provide Ashmole with her first husband's estates centred on Bradfield in Berkshire which left him wealthy enough to pursue his interests without concern for his livelihood. View of Aldermaston village circa 1959 Aldermaston is a village in the English county of Berkshire, two miles north of Tadley. ...
In many countries alimony, maintenance or spousal support is an obligation established by law that is based on the premise that both spouses have an absolute obligation to support each other during the marriage (or civil union) unless they are legally separated, though in some instances the obligation to support...
Bradfield is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Alchemy and the Tradescant Collection During the 1650s, Ashmole devoted a great deal of energy to the study of alchemy. In 1650 he published Fasciculus Chemicus under the anagrammatic pseudonym James Hasholle. This work was an English translation of two Latin alchemical works, one by Arthur Dee. In 1652, he published his most important alchemical work, Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, an extensively annotated compilation of alchemical poems in English. The book preserved and made available many works that had previously existed only in privately held manuscripts. It was avidly studied by other alchemists. Image File history File links Fasciculus_chemicus_frontispiece. ...
Image File history File links Fasciculus_chemicus_frontispiece. ...
Fasciculus Chemicus or , is an anthology of alchemical writings compiled by Arthur Dee (1579-1651) in 1629 whilst resident in Moscow as chief physician to Czar Mikhail Romanov, founder of the Romanov dynasty (1613-1917) Fasiculus Chemicus was revised by Arthur Dee sometime between 1631-33 and translated from Latin...
Fasciculus Chemicus or , is an anthology of alchemical writings compiled by Arthur Dee (1579-1651) in 1629 whilst resident in Moscow as chief physician to Czar Mikhail Romanov, founder of the Romanov dynasty (1613-1917) Fasiculus Chemicus was revised by Arthur Dee sometime between 1631-33 and translated from Latin...
An anagram (Greek ana- = back or again, and graphein = to write) is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce other words, using all the original letters exactly once; e. ...
A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ...
Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...
Arthur Dee (1571-1651) was the eldest son of Dr John Dee. ...
Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum (1652), Ashmole's annotated compilation of alchemical poems in English. In 1653, the alchemist and near-neighbour, William Backhouse of Swallowfield, who had made Ashmole his alchemical "son", is said to have confided the secret of the Philosopher's Stone to Ashmole when the former believed himself to be close to death. (The Philosopher's Stone was a substance or object that had the power to convert base metals to gold, among other mystical virtues: its discovery was one of the key goals of European alchemists.) Ashmole is said to have passed the secret on to Robert Plot, the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. Ashmole published his final alchemical work, The Way to Bliss, in 1658. There is no evidence of him personally carrying out any actual experiments (or "operations", in the alchemical jargon of the time). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (614x860, 186 KB)Cover of Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum (1652), a compilation of alchemical poems in English by Elias Ashmole. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (614x860, 186 KB)Cover of Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum (1652), a compilation of alchemical poems in English by Elias Ashmole. ...
This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, close to Reading. ...
The philosophers stone, in Latin lapis philosophorum, is a legendary substance that supposedly could turn inexpensive metals such as lead into gold (chrysopoeia in the Greek language) and/or create an elixir that would make humans younger, thus delaying death. ...
A base metal is a metal that oxidizes or corrodes relatively easily, and reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to form hydrogen. ...
GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ...
Robert Plot (Borden, Kent, England, 1640 December 13 – Borden, 1696 April 30), was a British naturalist, first Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University and the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. ...
Ashmole met the botanist and collector John Tradescant the younger around 1650. Tradescant had, with his father, built up a vast and renowned collection of exotic plants, mineral specimens and other curiosities from around the world. Ashmole helped Tradescant catalogue his collection in 1652, and, in 1656, he financed the publication of the catalogue, the Musaeum Tradescantianum. In 1659, Tradescant, who had lost his only son and heir ten years earlier, legally deeded his collection to Ashmole. Under the agreement, Ashmole would take possession at Tradescant's death. When Tradescant died in 1662, his widow Hester contested the deed, but the matter was settled in Chancery in Ashmole's favor two years later. Some scholars consider that Ashmole was an “ambitious, ingratiating” social climber who stole a hero's legacy.[2] Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ...
John Tradescant the younger Ester, his second wife John Tradescant the Younger (1608–1662), son of John Tradescant the elder, was a botanist and gardener, born in Meopham, Kent. ...
John Tradescant the elder (ca 1570s – 15/16 April, 1638), father of John Tradescant the younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England. ...
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Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ...
The Musaeum Tradescantianum was the first public museum to be established in England. ...
One of the courts of equity in England and Wales. ...
Restoration At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Ashmole's loyalty was richly rewarded. He was given the office of Comptroller for the Excise in London, and later was made a Commissioner of Surinam and the Accountant General of the Excise, a position that made him responsible for a large portion of the king's revenue. These posts yielded him considerable income as well as considerable patronage power. King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ...
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ...
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Ashmole became one of the founding members of the Royal Society in 1661, but he was never an active member. His most significant appointment, though, was to the College of Arms as Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 1660. In this position he devoted himself to the study of the history of the Order of the Garter, which had been a special interest of his since the 1650s. In 1667, he began collecting information for his Antiquities of Berkshire and, five years later, published the fruits of years of research concerning The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, a lavish folio with illustrations by Wenceslaus Hollar. Ashmole performed the heraldic and genealogical work of his office scrupulously, and he was considered the leading authority on court protocol and ceremony. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2520x3252, 3677 KB) Summary A portrait of Elias Ashmole wearing a tabard painted by Cornelius Neve (sometimes known as de Neve or Le Neve) in 1664. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2520x3252, 3677 KB) Summary A portrait of Elias Ashmole wearing a tabard painted by Cornelius Neve (sometimes known as de Neve or Le Neve) in 1664. ...
A tabard worn by Francis Sedley Andrus, Beaumont Herald of Arms Extraordinary. ...
The Windsor Herald is an officer of arms of the College of Arms, named after the Barony of Windsor and the town of Windsor. ...
The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...
The entrance of the College of Arms. ...
The Windsor Herald is an officer of arms of the College of Arms, named after the Barony of Windsor and the town of Windsor. ...
The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ...
Events England, France, Munster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is know as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands. ...
The size of a specific book is measured from the head to tail of the spine, and from edge to edge across the covers. ...
Wenzel (or Wenceslaus) Hollar (Vaclav Holar) (July 13, 1607 - March 28, 1677), Bohemian etcher, was born at Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margarets church, Westminster. ...
Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ...
Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ...
Part of the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard in Whitehall, London. ...
In 1668, Lady Mainwaring died, and Ashmole married the much younger daughter of his friend and fellow herald, the antiquarian Sir William Dugdale. In 1675, he resigned as Windsor Herald, perhaps because of factional strife within the College of Arms. He was offered the post of Garter Principal King of Arms, but he turned it down in favor of Dugdale. Heralds, wearing tabards, in procession to St. ...
Sir William Dugdale (September 12, 1605 - February 10, 1686) was an English antiquary. ...
Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. ...
As might be expected of a herald, Ashmole possessed a coat of arms. In his case, he was entitled to one by descent from armigerous ancestors. This coat of arms is expressed in heraldic terminology (blazoned) as Quarterly sable and or with a fleur de lis or in the first quarter with a greyhound courant for the crest. In 1661, Ashmole was granted a new crest in place of the greyhound, one which reflected his interest in astrology: On a wreath sable and or the planet Mercury collocated in the middle of the caelestiall Signe Gemini proper his right hand extended toward heaven and left holding a Caducan rod or. An armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of arms. ...
A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...
This is an article about Heraldry. ...
In heraldry, a crest is a component of a coat of arms. ...
Though his interest in alchemy cooled somewhat after the 1650s, he never lost interest in magic and astrology. He was often consulted on astrological matters by Charles II and members of his court. In 1672, he acquired some of John Dee's previously unknown spiritual diaries describing his conferences with angels. He devoted much time and energy to the intensive study of these manuscripts, and contemplated writing a biography of Dee. Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ...
For the American college basketball coach, see John Dee (basketball coach). ...
Ashmolean Museum -
In 1677, Ashmole made a gift of the Tradescant Collection, together with material he had collected independently, to Oxford University on the condition that a suitable home be built to house the materials and make them available to the public. The Ashmolean Museum, designed by Christopher Wren, was completed in 1682. According to Anthony Wood, the collection filled twelve wagons when it was transferred to Oxford. It would have been more, but a large part of Ashmole's own collection, destined for the museum, including coins, medals, antiquities, books, manuscripts and prints, was destroyed in a disastrous fire in the Middle Temple on January 26, 1679. The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) in Oxford, England is the worlds first university museum. ...
Image File history File links Elias Ashmole by John Riley, c. ...
The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) in Oxford, England is the worlds first university museum. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...
Sir Christopher Wren, (20 October 1632–25 February 1723) was a 17th century English designer, astronomer, geometrician, and the greatest English architect of his time. ...
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood (December 17, 1632 - November 28, 1695) was an English antiquary. ...
Part of Middle Temple c. ...
January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Events January 24 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament August 7 - The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes. ...
Ashmole's health began to deteriorate in the 1680s, and though he would hold his excise office until he died, he became much less active in affairs. He began to collect notes on his life in diary form to serve as source material for a biography; although the biography was never written, these notes are a rich source of information on Ashmole and his times. He died in Lambeth on May 18, 1692. He was buried at South Lambeth Church. Ashmole bequeathed his library and his priceless manuscript collection to Oxford. Lambeth is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth. ...
May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Events February 13 - Massacre of Glencoe March 1 - The Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony with the charging of three women with witchcraft. ...
Michael Hunter, in his entry on Ashmole for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, concluded that the most salient points of Ashmole's character were his ambition and his hierarchical vision of the world—a vision that unified his royalism and his interests in heraldry, genealogy, ceremony, and even astrology and magic. He was as successful in his legal, business and political affairs as he was in his collecting and scholarly pursuits. His antiquarian work is still considered valuable, and his alchemical publications, especially the Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, preserved many works that might otherwise have been lost. He formed several close and long-lasting friendships, with John Aubrey for example, but, as Richard Garnett has observed, "acquisitiveness was his master passion". Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy. ...
John Aubrey. ...
Richard Garnett (February 27, 1835 – April 13, 1906) was a scholar, librarian, biographer and poet. ...
References A note on sources: Both Garnett's 1891 entry in the DNB and Michael Hunter's 2004 entry in the ODNB agree on the facts of Ashmole's life. Hunter's is, however, more detailed and makes use of a wider range of sources and benefits from more current scholarship. Beresiner's article has additional details on Ashmole's connection with early Freemasonry. The Dictionary of National Biography (or DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history. ...
- Beresiner, Yasha (2004). "Elias Ashmole: Masonic icon." MQ Magazine, Issue 11, October 2004.
- Churton, Tobias (2004). Magus: The Invisible Life of Elias Ashmole. (Oxford, England: Signal Publ. Co.)
- Coil, Henry Wilson (1961, repr. 1996). "Ashmole, Elias;" Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, pp. 72–73 (Richmond, VA: Macoy Publ. Co. Inc.).
- Garnett, Richard (1891, repr. 1973). "Ashmole, Elias (1617–1692)." Dictionary of National Biography (London: Oxford University Press).
- Hunter, Michael (2004). "Ashmole, Elias (1617–1692)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (London: Oxford University Press).
- The Tradescant Collection (2002). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum.
- Godfrey, Walter, Wagner, Anthony, and London, H. Stanford (1963). The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street : being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee, (London), (contains a biographical list of officers of arms)
- Webster, Charles (1970). "Ashmole, Elias". Dictionary of Scientific Biography 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
The Dictionary of National Biography (or DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history. ...
The Dictionary of Scientific Biography is a reference work consisting of extensive biographies of scientists from antiquity to modern times, excluding scientists who were alive when the Dictionary was first put out. ...
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