William Foular facts for kids
William Foular was a Scottish apothecary who worked for the royal family. An apothecary was like a pharmacist who prepared and sold medicines.
William Foular was an important person in the court of King James IV of Scotland. He provided medicines and other special items to the King and his wife, Queen Margaret Tudor. Records of his payments were kept in the royal treasurer's accounts.
Who Was William Foular?
Around the year 1507, a list of people working for the Scottish court named William Foular and another person, John Mosman, as the court's "pottingaris." This is an old Scottish word for an apothecary.
William Foular lived and worked in Edinburgh. He was also a "burgess," which meant he was an important citizen of the town. Besides medicines, he also sold books, special prayer books called missals, and candles to the King.
Royal Support and Special Tasks
Starting in January 1500, William Foular received a regular payment from the King. This payment was called a royal pension. It meant he was paid 20 "merks" (an old type of coin) from the taxes collected in Edinburgh. He was also excused from some public duties because of his important role.
In December 1507, Foular was paid for making "distilled waters" and "aqua vitae" (a strong alcoholic drink, often used as medicine) for the King and Queen. He also supplied English apothecary books to the royal household.
William Foular also provided special "glasses." These were likely urinals used by doctors to help diagnose illnesses. King James IV was very interested in alchemy, which was an old practice that tried to turn common metals into gold. The King had special furnaces at Stirling Castle and Holyrood Palace for these experiments. Foular helped by finding materials for these projects, including mercury, which was sometimes called "quicksilver."
Supplies for the Royal Family
In January 1503, William Foular received a payment of £34 Scots for a year's worth of supplies. In June 1504, he was paid over £37 for apothecary goods he provided to King James IV over four months.
In July 1504, Foular sent medicinal spices to Queen Margaret Tudor at Stirling Castle. These spices included pepper, cinnamon, "cubebarum" (a type of pepper), and "galiga" (galangal, a root similar to ginger). He also sent glass urinals. These items were for a special recipe given by Master Robert Schaw, who was a doctor for the women of the court.
Queen Margaret Tudor sometimes had nosebleeds. In February 1505, William Foular provided a "blood stone" or heliotrope, which was believed to help stop bleeding. He also sent other items for nosebleeds. At the same time, he sent medicines based on a recipe from Master William Baillie. He also sent fine green ginger and sweet citron "comfits" (candied fruits) to the Queen.
William Foular might have also supplied blue azurite, a type of blue pigment, to the King's painter at Stirling Castle in July 1506. He also provided materials to John Mosman, another apothecary at the court. The last payment recorded for William Foular was in December 1512. This payment was for a year's supply of "powder, spicery, apothecary, and materials" for the King and Queen.
