This website has already explored Sir Rowland Hill’s connection with Mathew Parker, revealing Hill’s theological valency. Here we look at an association that was important in another of his interests: medicine and public health shown via his friendship with Dr John Caius.
Dr John Caius
Thse links begin as far as we can firmly see in 1551, but they may go back fearlier via continental intersts that can be seen in Caius studing in Italy, and Hill having the huge European intersts he had. Dr. John Caius played a crucial role in combating the terrifying “sweating sickness” that ravaged England in the 16th century. Summoned to Shrewsbury by the Council of Wales and the Marches (of which Old Sir Rowland was a member), Dr. Caius witnessed the epidemic firsthand. His meticulous observations formed the basis for his book, “A Boke or Counseill Against the Disease Commonly Called the Sweate, or Sweatyng Sicknesse.”
This groundbreaking work became the primary source of knowledge about the disease, now believed to be influenza. Dr. Caius dedicated the book to the President of the Council, highlighting the importance of their collaboration in understanding and potentially treating the illness. His detailed account proved invaluable for future medical professionals facing similar outbreaks.
Later on we can see Hill is hugely involved in hospitals. He served as the first president of Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals from 1557 to 1558 and again from 1559 to 1561. He also held the position of surveyor-general of the London hospitals from 1559 until his death. Along with Sir Martin Bowes, he prepared The Order of the Hospitals of King Henry VIII and King Edward VI, namely St. Bartholomew’s, Christ’s, Bridewell, and St. Thomas’s, in 1557.
John Caius, was a prominent physician all this this time who left a lasting mark on both medicine and academia. Accusations against him swung wildly, from atheism to secretly harboring Catholic ritual items. These items were later discovered and destroyed in the college courtyard.
In 1557, he honored the memory of Thomas Linacre with a monument in St Paul’s Cathedral.
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Gate of Honour
Also in 1557 he significantly expanded his former college, Gonville Hall. He renamed it “Gonville and Caius College,” generously donating land and funding the construction of a new court. He assumed the role of Master in 1559, leading the college until shortly before his own passing. At the college he took care to design the Gate of Honour, a special entrance reserved for prestigious occasions like graduation ceremonies. Architectural expert James D. Wenn has identified intriguing symbolism within the Gate of Honour’s design that is connected to the codes Hill was using at Soulton all. Wenn has pointed to connections to the practices of medicine in ancient Greece and Rome, references to Plato’s philosophies, and even the geometry of a specific shape called a rhombic dodecahedron.
This is explained in more detail below:
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Where exactly Dr. Caius got the funds to refound his Cambridge College is a question which may repay further reflection….
There’s also a debate on whether Dr. Caius in Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor”…
