Today in 1545 William Butts died. He served as King Henry VIII’s physician, serving at his court from 1528 until he died. He also treated Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Lady Mary, Henry Fitzroy, and others. He is known as the physician that Henry sent to Anne Boleyn in 1528 when she was suffering from the sweating sickness, and is also the physician to whom Henry confided when he was having trouble consummating his marriage to Anne Boleyn. All of those famous discussions about Henry VIII’s ability to have hot dreams, so he knew he had the ability, but couldn’t with Anne… they all happened with William Butts. So, you know, that had to be a fun conversation.
He was a known Protestant, and was close to Archbishop Cranmer, and other leading Protestants like Hugh Latimer.
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’Calleigh at the Tudor Summit on Tudor Medicine
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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.