Today in 1555 Edward Wotten died.
He was an English doctor who was born in Oxford, and he is remembered for starting the modern study of zoology. He separated out much of the fanciful and folkloric additions that had been added over time to the body of zoological knowledge.
His systematic researches on Aristotelian lines were collected in De differentiis animalium libri decem, published in Paris in 1552. Wotton was also partly responsible for Insectorum, sive, Minimorum animalium theatrum or Theatre of Insects, although this was not published until 1634.
By favour of Bishop Fox, he was made socius compar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and was given permission to travel to Italy for three years. He attended Padua, applied himself to physic, and took the degree of doctor. He was admitted a fellow of the College of Physicians on 8 February 1528. He has often been credited with being a physician to Henry VIII, which is a myth. But did serve the Duke of Norfolk and Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested link:
Seamus O’Callaigh at the Tudor Summit talking about Tudor Medicine
From the shop:
Keep Calm and Be Grateful Henry VIII isn’t your husband Tshirt
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.