Simon Forman
Encyclopedia
Simon Forman was arguably the most popular Elizabethan astrologer
, occultist and herbalist
active in London
during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I
and James I of England
. His reputation, however, was severely tarnished after his death when he was implicated in the plot to kill Sir Thomas Overbury. Writers from Ben Jonson
to Nathaniel Hawthorne
came to characterize him as either as a fool or an evil magician in league with the devil.
, Fugglestone St Peter
, near Salisbury
, Wiltshire
on 31 December 1552. At the age of nine he went to a free school in the Salisbury area but was forced to leave after two years following the death of his father on 31 December 1563. For the next ten years of his life he was apprenticed to Matthew Commin, a local merchant. Commin traded in cloth, salt and herbal medicines, and it was during his time as a young apprentice that Forman started to learn about herbal remedies. After arguments with Mrs Commin, Simon found his apprenticeship terminated, and he moved to Oxford
to live with cousins. He then spent a year and a half at Magdalen College
, Oxford
where he studied chiefly medicine
and astrology, continuing the same studies in Holland.
Through the 1570s and 1580s Forman worked as a teacher while studying the occult arts. In 1583 he moved to London starting up a practice as a physician
in Philpot Lane, Westminster
. Having survived an outbreak of the plague in the city that year and again in 1594 his medical reputation began to spread. Around this time a Buckinghamshire
clergyman named Richard Napier
(1559 – 1634) became his protégé. From 1597 he began to develop a more serious interest in the occult eventually setting up an alternative medical practice in Billingsgate
, providing astrologically-based remedies keeping detailed casebooks of his clients' questions about illness, pregnancy, stolen goods, career opportunities and marriage prospects. In his new office he was able to fulfill the role of both physician and surgeon (seen as two very separate professions by his medical peers). This unorthodox practice, however, soon attracted the attention of the Company of Barber-Surgeons (now the Royal College of Surgeons of England) who successfully banned him from medical practice. Since he possessed no diploma, and following the death of one of his patients, Forman served several prison sentences. He continued to dispute with the Company of Barber-Surgeons, eventually obtaining a license to practice from the University of Cambridge
in 1603.
With a notable sexual appetite, Forman was said to have pressed himself upon nearly every women he met. Forman himself wrote of his conquests in his diaries, showing as little regard for the background of his inamoratas as for the location of consummation. Many of his clients provided brief affairs. He wrote of having his first sex with his "beloved" on 15/12/1593, 5:00 PM, London." Then writing after "She died 13/6/1597." On 22 July 1599, Forman wed seventeen year-old Jane Baker, a girl renting a room in his house in Lambeth
. Having never been content with just one woman, the marriage sadly, “did not make much difference to (his) way of life, except that he had an inexperienced girl now as mistress of the house; he continued to be master.” In 1611, he accurately predicted his own death on the River Thames
. Another astrologer, William Lilly
, reports that one warm Sunday afternoon in September of that year, Forman told his wife that he would die the following Thursday night (12 September). And, sure enough:
After his death he was implicated in the murder of Thomas Overbury
through his association with his two patients, Lady Frances Howard
, and Mrs Anne Turner
. During the testimony of Howard's trial, lawyers hurled accusations at Forman, claiming that he had given Lady Essex the potion with which she plotted to kill Overbury. During the trial he was described by Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench as the 'Devil Forman'; the result being that his reputation was severely tarnished.
currently in the British Library
. Forman left behind a large body of manuscripts dealing with his patients and with all the subjects that interested him, from astronomy and astrology to medicine, mathematics, and magic. His Casebook is the most famous of these resources, though he also produced diaries and a third-person autobiography. His only printed work was a pamphlet advertising a bogus method for divining the longitude while at sea.
His intimate knowledge of Shakespeare's circle makes him especially attractive to literary historians. . Modern scholars—A. L. Rowse
is one prominent example, and others have followed his lead—have exploited Forman's manuscripts for the manifold lights they throw on the less-exposed private lives of Elizabethan and Jacobean
men and women. One of Forman's patients was the poet Emilia Lanier
, Rowse's candidate to have been Shakespeare's Dark Lady; another patient was Mrs Mountjoy, Shakespeare's landlady. Sixty-four volumes of his manuscripts were collected by Elias Ashmole
in the seventeenth century, and are now held in the Bodleian Library
, Oxford. Others can be found in the Plymouth
Library. A Brief Description of the Forman MSS. in the Public Library, Plymouth, was published in 1853.
at the Globe Theatre
on 20 April 1610; The Winter's Tale
at the Globe on 15 May 1611; and Cymbeline
, date and theatre not specified. The fourth play described by Forman is a Richard II acted at the Globe on 30 April 1611; but from the description it is clearly not Shakespeare's Richard II
. The manuscript was first described by John Payne Collier
in 1836, and in the 20th century it was suspected as one of his forgeries. Most modern scholars now accept the section as authentic, but some still suspect it could be a forgery.
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
, occultist and herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
active in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. His reputation, however, was severely tarnished after his death when he was implicated in the plot to kill Sir Thomas Overbury. Writers from Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
to Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
came to characterize him as either as a fool or an evil magician in league with the devil.
Life
Forman was born in QuidhamptonQuidhampton, Wiltshire
Quidhampton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 404 according to the 2001 census. It forms part of the Salisbury urban area and is around 2 miles west of the city centre...
, Fugglestone St Peter
Fugglestone St Peter
Fugglestone St Peter was a small village, manor, and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, lying between the town of Wilton and the city of Salisbury...
, near Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
on 31 December 1552. At the age of nine he went to a free school in the Salisbury area but was forced to leave after two years following the death of his father on 31 December 1563. For the next ten years of his life he was apprenticed to Matthew Commin, a local merchant. Commin traded in cloth, salt and herbal medicines, and it was during his time as a young apprentice that Forman started to learn about herbal remedies. After arguments with Mrs Commin, Simon found his apprenticeship terminated, and he moved to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
to live with cousins. He then spent a year and a half at Magdalen College
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
where he studied chiefly medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and astrology, continuing the same studies in Holland.
Through the 1570s and 1580s Forman worked as a teacher while studying the occult arts. In 1583 he moved to London starting up a practice as a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Philpot Lane, Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. Having survived an outbreak of the plague in the city that year and again in 1594 his medical reputation began to spread. Around this time a Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
clergyman named Richard Napier
Richard Napier
Note that Dr. Richard Napier may be confused with his nephew, Dr. Richard Napier who was also a physician and astrologer.Richard Napier was a prominent English astrologer and medical practitioner.-Biography:...
(1559 – 1634) became his protégé. From 1597 he began to develop a more serious interest in the occult eventually setting up an alternative medical practice in Billingsgate
Billingsgate
Billingsgate is a small ward in the south-east of the City of London, lying on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge...
, providing astrologically-based remedies keeping detailed casebooks of his clients' questions about illness, pregnancy, stolen goods, career opportunities and marriage prospects. In his new office he was able to fulfill the role of both physician and surgeon (seen as two very separate professions by his medical peers). This unorthodox practice, however, soon attracted the attention of the Company of Barber-Surgeons (now the Royal College of Surgeons of England) who successfully banned him from medical practice. Since he possessed no diploma, and following the death of one of his patients, Forman served several prison sentences. He continued to dispute with the Company of Barber-Surgeons, eventually obtaining a license to practice from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1603.
With a notable sexual appetite, Forman was said to have pressed himself upon nearly every women he met. Forman himself wrote of his conquests in his diaries, showing as little regard for the background of his inamoratas as for the location of consummation. Many of his clients provided brief affairs. He wrote of having his first sex with his "beloved" on 15/12/1593, 5:00 PM, London." Then writing after "She died 13/6/1597." On 22 July 1599, Forman wed seventeen year-old Jane Baker, a girl renting a room in his house in Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. Having never been content with just one woman, the marriage sadly, “did not make much difference to (his) way of life, except that he had an inexperienced girl now as mistress of the house; he continued to be master.” In 1611, he accurately predicted his own death on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. Another astrologer, William Lilly
William Lilly
William Lilly , was an English astrologer famed during his time. Lilly was particularly adept at interpreting the astrological charts drawn up for horary questions, as this was his speciality....
, reports that one warm Sunday afternoon in September of that year, Forman told his wife that he would die the following Thursday night (12 September). And, sure enough:
Monday came, all was well. Tuesday came, he not sick. Wednesday came, and still he was well; with which his impertinent wife did much twit him in his teeth. Thursday came, and dinner was ended, he very well: he went down to the water-side, and took a pair of oars to go to some buildings he was in hand with in Puddle-dock. Being in the middle of the Thames, he presently fell down, only saying, 'An impost, an impost,' and so died. A most sad storm of wind immediately following.
After his death he was implicated in the murder of Thomas Overbury
Thomas Overbury
Sir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
through his association with his two patients, Lady Frances Howard
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset was an English noblewoman who was the central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I...
, and Mrs Anne Turner
Mrs Anne Turner
Mrs Anne Turner , aka Mistress Anne Turner or Mrs. Anne Turner, was the widow of a respectable London doctor who was hanged at Tyburn for her role in the famous 1613 poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury referenced in the plays A New Trick to Cheat the Devil, The Widow, The World Tossed at Tennis and...
. During the testimony of Howard's trial, lawyers hurled accusations at Forman, claiming that he had given Lady Essex the potion with which she plotted to kill Overbury. During the trial he was described by Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench as the 'Devil Forman'; the result being that his reputation was severely tarnished.
Work
Forman's papers have proven to be a treasure trove of rare, odd, unusual data on one of the most studied periods of cultural history. They include autobiographies, guides to astrology, plague tracts, alchemical commonplace books and notes on biblical and historical subjects. They also contain his disputes with the Company of Barber-Surgeons and his largely unsuccessful magical experiments. At one time he possessed the copy of the PicatrixPicatrix
Picatrix is the name used today, and historically in Christian Europe, for a grimoire originally written in Arabic titled غاية الحكيم , which most scholars assume was written in the middle of the 11th century, though a supported argument for composition in the first half of the 10th century has...
currently in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. Forman left behind a large body of manuscripts dealing with his patients and with all the subjects that interested him, from astronomy and astrology to medicine, mathematics, and magic. His Casebook is the most famous of these resources, though he also produced diaries and a third-person autobiography. His only printed work was a pamphlet advertising a bogus method for divining the longitude while at sea.
His intimate knowledge of Shakespeare's circle makes him especially attractive to literary historians. . Modern scholars—A. L. Rowse
A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse, CH, FBA , known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to friends and family as Leslie, was a British historian from Cornwall. He is perhaps best known for his work on Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer...
is one prominent example, and others have followed his lead—have exploited Forman's manuscripts for the manifold lights they throw on the less-exposed private lives of Elizabethan and Jacobean
Jacobean
Jacobean indicates the period of English history that coincides with the reign of James I of England :*Jacobean era*Jacobean architecture*Jacobean literature*Jacobean English...
men and women. One of Forman's patients was the poet Emilia Lanier
Emilia Lanier
Emilia Lanier, also spelled Lanyer, was the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional poet through her single volume of poems, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum...
, Rowse's candidate to have been Shakespeare's Dark Lady; another patient was Mrs Mountjoy, Shakespeare's landlady. Sixty-four volumes of his manuscripts were collected by Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
in the seventeenth century, and are now held in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford. Others can be found in the Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
Library. A Brief Description of the Forman MSS. in the Public Library, Plymouth, was published in 1853.
The "Book of Plays"
Among Forman's manuscripts is a section titled the "Bocke of Plaies," which records Forman's descriptions of four plays he saw in 1610-11 and the morals he drew from them. The document is noteworthy for the listing of three Shakespearean performances: MacbethMacbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
at the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
on 20 April 1610; The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
at the Globe on 15 May 1611; and Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
, date and theatre not specified. The fourth play described by Forman is a Richard II acted at the Globe on 30 April 1611; but from the description it is clearly not Shakespeare's Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
. The manuscript was first described by John Payne Collier
John Payne Collier
John Payne Collier , English Shakespearian critic and forger, was born in London.-Reporter and solicitor:...
in 1836, and in the 20th century it was suspected as one of his forgeries. Most modern scholars now accept the section as authentic, but some still suspect it could be a forgery.
External links
- Extracts from Forman's Metrical Autobiography with other notes (published 1853). http://www.presscom.co.uk/halliwell/plymouth.html#dr_forman
- The Casebooks Project, an electronic edition of the casebooks of the 50,000 astrological consultations that Simon Forman and Richard Napier conducted between 1596 and 1634.