Philosopher
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Robert Fludd was born
and bred an Elizabethan. His father was Sir Thomas Fludd, the younger son of
a Shropshire family who rose from the humble post of victualler for the
Berwick-on-Tweed garrison to that of Treasurer for Her Majesty’s forces in
the Netherlands. For his services he received a knighthood, and retired to
his home in Milgate House, Bearsted, Kent which though largely rebuilt in the
eighteenth century still retains part of the sixteenth-century building. In
Bearsted Parish Church register, the marriages of Sir Thomas’s other children
to knights and gentlefolk are recorded. Sir Thomas was buried there in 1607,
a Justice of the Peace, respected and esteemed by all. Our knowledge of
Robert is a blank from his birth in 1574 until 1592, when he entered St
John’s College, Oxford. By the time he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1596, he
was sufficiently versed in music to compose his treatise on the subject, and
had become expert in mundane and hourly astrology. Priding himself on having
always remained an ‘unstained virgin’ he had little sympathy for the
frailties of the flesh, and sexual desire figured in his philosophy as the
very cause of man’s Fall. |
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He remained at Oxford
until he attained his Master of Arts degree in 1598, then left England for the Continent
where he travelled for nearly six years in France, Spain, Italy and Germany,
working as a tutor in aristocratic families. He names some of his pupils as
Charles de Lorraine, fourth Duc de Guise, and his brother François; the Marquis
de Orizon, Vicomte de Cadenet, and one Reinaud of Avignon. It is reported that
he was sorry to have to leave Avignon for Marseilles, where he was to tutor the
Guises, but he must then have returned to Italy, for in 1602 he met William
Harvey in Padua.
It seems fair to assume
that his vocation as a physician formed itself during these years of roaming,
and that his leanings towards the occult, already evident in his hobby of
astrology, led him into medical circles on the Continent. His inclination was
towards holistic healing that treated the patient first and the disease second;
thus he considered not just the physical body but the subtler senses as well,
and said that a doctor ignorant of astrology is nothing better than a quack.
On his return to
England, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, and by May 1605 passed his Bachelor
and Doctorate of Medicine. He failed his first examination for the College of
Physicians and was not allowed to practice. In February 1606 he was examined a
second time, and according to the College’s records, ‘Although he did not give
full satisfaction in the examinations, he was thought not unlearned and
therefore allowed to practice medicine'. By May, he had once again fallen foul
of the college so that his name was again removed from the roll and he was told
to behave himself better. So in 1607 he had to apply again, was thrice
examined, and re-admitted as a candidate in December. In March 1608, he again
‘conducted himself so insolently as to offend everyone’, and was once more
rejected. Not until September 1609 was he finally admitted a Fellow in good
standing. However, once his initial sparring with the College of Physicians was
over, his standing improved to the point of his serving frequently as their
Censor (examiner).
He set up his medical practice
in London, first in Fenchurch Street and later in Coleman Street. He was
successful enough to employ his own apothecary, doubtless a necessity for a
physician whose herbal and chemical remedies were not compounded by every
pharmacist. He used several techniques of diagnosis, including the
time-honoured methods of feeling the patients’ pulses and examining their
urine, to both of which he gave a thorough if idiosyncratic philosophical
grounding. He diagnosed, too, through his patients’ horoscopes and calculated
their critical days from planetary transits.
The first of his two
great literary works entitled "History of the Macrocosm" caused
something of a stir on its appearance in 1617. He was summoned by King James 1
to reply to his critics and afterwards he said that he "received from that
time forward many gracious favours of him [the King], and found him my just and
kingly patron all the days of his life" (James 1 died 1625). His second
major work was the "Medicina Catholica" a universal medical text book
in two volumes, published in 1629 and 1631 respectively. He wrote only one
other work from then onwards, "Philosophia Moysaica", a summation of
his philosophy, which appeared posthumously in 1638.
He died at his home in
Coleman Street, London on 8 September 1637, aged sixty-three, and was buried in
Bearsted Church. The handsome monument above designed by him and erected by his
nephew Thomas Fludd or Flood of Gore Court, Otham, Kent may still be seen
there, although it was moved from the chancel to the vestry by a disapproving
vicar towards the end of the nineteenth century. The name of Robert Fludd soon
passed as a mere catchword for arcane and incomprehensible philosophy, but he
truly was one of the last of his kind, a true "Renaissance man" of
the 17th century.
(1592-1658)
John Flood alias Fludd
sailed from London aboard the ship "SS Swan(n)" in the summer of 1610
and landed at Jamestowne, Virginia, America in the same year. The passenger
list describes him as "a gent" (gentleman). He took with him a
considerable supply of provisions, including "corn, pease and
beanes", and also firearms and ammunition. He was the son of Nicholas
Fludd, who is thought to be a relative of Sir Thomas Fludd, a wealthy land owner living
at Millgate, Bearsted, Kent. Nicholas married Elizabeth Davis at St. Andrews
Church, Canterbury, Kent in February 1588/9.
Initially John would
have worked for various employers but he is known to have been employed in 1616
by The Reverend Alexander Whitaker, in Charles City, a settlement just to the
west of Jamestowne, who is reputed to have converted Princess Pocahontas to
Christianity in c1613. She is said to have been married to John Rolfe by
Reverend Bucke at about this time.
John was to marry
Margaret Finche, widow, in c1624/5. She had arrived in Jamestowne in 1620
aboard the "SS Supply" with her husband William Finche and their
daughter Frances. In September 1620 they are recorded as each holding fifty
acres of land, but by 1624 William had passed away and John had married the
widow Finche and they were living in Jordan's Journey with their children
Frances Finche and William Flood.
By 1638 John had
accumulated a considerable amount of land including that of his wife by right
of marriage, and he was declared an Ancient Planter such that he was entitled
to another 100 free acres of land. He was also granted a Patent of 2100 acres
of land, where he established his plantation, located on the south side of the
James River just opposite the town of Jamestowne. Here their other children
were born, John c1627, Thomas c1629, and Mary c1635.
His wife Margaret died
c1644, leaving John with the young children. A year or so later he married
Fortune Jordan, sister of Col. George Jordan, legislator, a member of a well
known and influential family of Virginia. Their first daughter Jane, was born
soon after and son Walter was born in 1656 when John was aged sixty-four.
John served as a
Representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses for twenty-two years,
representing the areas of Flowerdieu Hundred, Westover and Weyanoke and served
at least one term as their Speaker. By 1643 he was one of the representatives
of James City County. In 1655 as Colonel John Flood, he was serving as a member
of the local militia.At his death in 1658 he was Chairman of the Surry County
Commission which held Court and administered the affairs of the County.
John survived many
hardships including the Indian uprising and massacre of 1644 which caused a
break in the Colony's fur trade. The Indian Treaty of 1646 gave the trade some
protection with the erection of 4 forts along the frontier to which the Indians
were permitted to come and trade. One of them, Fort Henry, was located on the
south side of the James River, on the Appomattox. Across the river from the
fort was the home of Captain John Flood, as he was then, who was appointed to
the post of official interpreter for the colony.
The Grand Assembly held
at James City October 5, 1646, enacted the following: "that upon any
occasion of a message to the Gov=r or trade, the said Necotowance and his
people the Indians doe repair to fforte Henery, alias Appmattucke fforte, or to
the house of Capt. John ffloud, and to no other place or places of the south
side of the river, att which places the aforesayd badges of striped stuffe are
to be and remaine. Indians found in ceded lands who were not wearing special
striped coats picked up at the designated forts were to be killed on sight, and
any white illegally entertaining Indians was to be punished severely. Be it
also enacted that Capt. John ffloud be interpreter for the collony, and that
for his service therin and transporting such Indians as shall be employed from
time to tyme to the Gov=r in a message or otherwise, he is to be allowed from
the publique the salary of four thousand pounds of tob'o [tobacco]
yeerly.". (The farming of tobacco was so widespread that it was used as a
basis for money and trade).
This item is taken from
an article submitted by Don Timmerberg.
(c1450-1517)
Roger Kynaston was the
fourth son of Griffith Kynaston of Stokes, Shropshire of landed gentry
descended from the Princes of Powys. His first wife was Elizabeth, widow of
Richard Lord Strange, and daughter of Lord Cobham, but she died in 1453 giving
birth to their son and heir Thomas. Sir Thomas, as he became, married Mary the
daughter of Sir Robert Corbett of Morton, Shropshire, but he died in 1513
without lawful issue and is buried in St. Mary’s church, Shrewsbury. In 1465, Roger
had married again to Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Grey, Earl of Tankerville,
and sister of Richard Grey, Lord Powis and it is through this marriage that
their descendants derive their royal descent.
During the Wars of the
Roses, Roger supported the Yorkists and was an officer in the army under Lord
Salisbury. On 23rd September 1459 marching from Middleham in Yorkshire to
Ludlow they encountered a strong force of Lancastrians, led by James Touchet,
the 5th Baron Audley, on Blore Heath, near Market Drayton, where a battle was
fought. It was reported that so many men were slain on both sides that a
shallow watercourse which bisected the scene of the conflict "ran three
days and three nights with blood".
The victors were the
Yorkists, and a considerable share of whatever honour that may have been
attached to the victory was due to Roger Kynaston, for it was he who slew Lord
Audley, and thus took the heart out of the King’s army. In accordance with the
custom of the times, he assumed the arms of Lord Audley which were incorporated
with the armorial bearings of the Kynastons of Hordley (1st and 4th, Ermine, a
chevron, Gules). A month later, he again fought against the King’s forces at
Ludford near Ludlow and was eventually attainted for high treason. However, the
penalty of attainder was not inflicted for he and many others received the
royal pardon in 1467 on payment of a fine.
As a reward for his
services during the civil war, which had resulted in the House of York
attaining the throne, he was knighted by King Henry IV in 1470. He was
appointed for life as Escheator and Sheriff of Merioneth, was Constable of
Harlech and in 1462 and 1470, was Sheriff of Shropshire.
When Sir Roger died, his
widow Elizabeth took up residence at Myddle Castle, which Roger possessed
through his first wife (who was the widow of Lord Strange, from whom she had
inherited it as her dower house in 1449). Although the title to the Castle was
disputed by the Strange family, Humphrey Kynaston (1474-1534), her son, seems
to have made it his home, even though his manor was at Morton, Shropshire. He
had two wives of low parentage, his first wife being Elizabeth, the daughter of
Meredith ap Howel ap Morice of Oswestry and the second Mariana the daughter of
William Griffith. Both these marriages had issue.
Gough, the antiquarian,
whose knowledge of the history of Myddle is undisputed, wrote of Humphrey at
this time: "who from his dissolute and notorious manner of life was named
‘The Wild’. At the Assizes held at Stretton on December 20th 1491, it was
alleged that Humphrey was concerned with others, in the murder of John Hughes
at Stretton. Evidence was given that on the day of the murder, Humphrey
Kynaston, Thomas Kynaston, and Robert Hopton who were out riding together, came
upon John Hughes. Humphrey struck him on the right side of the breast with a
lance thus killing him. Whereupon Thomas Kynaston then lifted his sword and
struck Hughes on the left side of head, while Hopton struck him with a bill on
the calf of the left leg. A verdict of " Wilful murder" was returned
on all three men.
It transpired that this
event and the enormous debts he had contracted by his imprudent activities
finally led him to flee from Middle Castle, which he had allowed to fall into
ruins, and to take shelter in a cave in the west point of Nesscliffe Rock,
called to this day Kynaston's Cave. He was declared an Outlaw by Henry VII in
1491.
This cave is spacious
and even comfortable, being divided into two rooms by a strong pillar of the
rock, upon which is carved ‘H K 1564. One of these apartments was the stall of
the outlaw's celebrated horse, which some to this day, believe to have been the
devil. This horse was often turned to graze in the neighbouring fields, and
would instantly ascend the steps of the cave when his master whistled. In all
his deprecatory adventures Humphrey seems to have a regard for some sort of
justice, for what he took from the rich he gave freely to the poor, by whom he
was much beloved. Most of the adventures ascribed to him, whether probable or improbable,
seem to have been more dictated by whim than a desire to plunder. He had a
plentiful supply of hay, corn, and other necessaries from the people around,
the rich paying him tribute through fear, and the poor from gratitude." He
died in 1534 having been pardoned his crimes by Henry VII in 1493.
William Flude of Monks
Kirby, Warwickshire
(c1540-1593)
Extensive research has
failed to reveal the ancestors of William Flude of Monks Kirby in Warwickshire.
He was born c1540 about the same time as Queen Elizabeth I and therefore lived
during the Tudor reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI (the boy King) and the said
Elizabeth, and at the same time as Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh, William
Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow.
The origins of the
village name by inference "Kirb[k]y" and "Monks", are
associated with "church", and so there was once a priory there called
St Nicholas which was founded by Geoffrey de Wirche. It was richly endowed and
in 1387 was administered by the Carthusian monks of Axholme Priory,
Lincolnshire, the revenue being over £84 p.a. in 1291 and over £165 p.a., but
by 1396 there were only 2 monks left. In 1399 it was granted to the church of
St. Nicholas, Angers [North France], but sometime after 1414 it was granted to
Axholme Priory again. In 1515, Sir Everard Feilding purchased some of the
priory lands by indenture, and then in 1538 the priory and its lands was
desecrated at the time of the Reformation and the land reverted to Crown
ownership. In 1539 Henry VIII granted some of the lands [Monks Kirby manor as
it had then become known] to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, from whom the
manor devolved eventually to the descendants of Sir Everard Feilding who became
the Earls of Denbigh in 1622.
William was a wealthy Yeoman and freeholder
of his lands in and around the village of Monks Kirby. How or when William the Elder acquired his
lands in Monks Kirby will probably never be discovered because according to the
Feilding family quote: '…. the Feilding papers are particularly deficient in
records of medieval date; very little from this period survived at all and the
series of manorial court rolls, accounts, rentals and deeds, with few
exceptions, do not start until the 17th century and even from this
date are by no means complete. Perhaps the most serious loss is the total
absence of estate maps;…..' Unfortunately, the old manor house was burnt to
the ground in the 17th century and only the 18th century stables and
wrought iron gates built between 1876 and 1879 remain today.
Nevertheless,
proof that William's estate was later sold by his surviving sons Randolph and
William the Younger, is recorded in two Deeds of Sale which are included
amongst the Manorial papers of Newnham Paddox, Warwickshire, the seat of the
earls of Denbigh. The deed dated 1621
refers to an earlier one dated 1603 [missing] when William Flude the Younger
sold his portion of the lands to Richard Harberd, and the one dated 1608 on
parchment in Latin, between Randolph Flude and John King, identifies precisely
some of the fields and meadows that constituted part of the original estate.
The boundaries are described as:
"All that croft
with a Close lying in Monks Kirby next to the property and bounded by the water
called Gibbs Dam[e] on the North side and by the Hawthorne Meadows on the South
Side and another Croft lying in Monks Kirby next to Kirby Park on the north
part and the field called Stretton [Strettiston] on the south part on the Fosse
Way on the West Side and above a certain Close in the holding of Willm
Stockwell on the East Side".
The Feilding papers held
in Warwickshire Record Office [CR2017/D29 - D34] record how all the fields and
properties were sold to various individuals or inherited by family members over
a period of several years until eventually, by 1680 they all bought into the
Newnham Paddox estate under the 3rd Earl of Denbigh, William
Feilding.
In his will, which was
proved in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1593,
William refers to his sister Ellen [no surname] and brother Richard
Flude. He leaves equal legacies [a fourth part of his estate] to each of his
four sons and bequeaths to "my man, George Wilson thirty shillings and
new apparel throughout". He also informs us that his son Thomas is
already serving an apprenticeship and that his youngest son William was to be "given
in Bond of six shillings and eight pence of John Parkers" as an
apprentice. In the event only the eldest and youngest sons survived to inherit
their portions of his estate.
His wife was probably
Margery [A]Grene (c1543-1600). In her will of 1600, she refers to "my
sister Agnes Packwoode", a relative by marriage to Christopher Packwood (he married Margareta Grene on 29 April 1560 at
South Kilworth, Leicestershire), who was one of the overseers of her husband
William's will in 1593. She also refers to "william Smithe of Stanforde
my brother [brother-in-law]". This Smith family is suspected of being
related to Edward Shuckburgh of Naseby, Northamptonshire and his son Eusby who
feature prominently in the will of their eldest son Randolph Flude
(c1565-1626), and who are descendants of the same landed gentry family of
Shuckburgh in Warwickshire.