Hugh of Evesham

Hugh of Evesham (died 1287) was a 13th-century English churchman, physician and alchemist. Given his name, it is likely that he came from Evesham, Worcestershire.

Hugh studied at Oxford University in the 1260s. At some point in his student career he became friends with John Peckham, future Archbishop of Canterbury. According to the manuscript of John Bale's mid-16th century Index Britanniae Scriptorum ), he was a Doctor of Medicine and the author of Quaestiones on Isaac's liber febrium. In 1269, Master Hugh of Evesham was one of the professors at Oxford who became drawn into the controversy between the Dominicans and Franciscans. By 1275 Master Hugh was Archdeacon of Worcester, and on 9 June 1275, Archdeacon Hugh was granted permission by Bishop Gifford to go to "parts beyond the sea" for the purpose of study. This meant that he went to study in Continental Europe. On 16 September 1275, however, Hugh was still in the Diocese of Worcester, for he received a mandate from the Bishop to proclaim the forthcoming ceremony of purgation of a criminal of his crime.

By the early 1270s he was working as a royal clerk, giving his services to King Edward I of England. By the end of the decade he had gained a wide reputation as a great physician. Hugh gained many benefices in the diocese of York, and in 1279 was involved in the election of a successor to Archbishop Walter Gifford. He is the "Magister Hugo de Ewesan", canon of York, who participated in the election of William de Wickwane, Chancellor of York, as Archbishop of York, on 22 June 1279. Chancellor William, who received all the votes except his own, voted for Hugh. On 17 December 1279 Master Hugh of Evesham, Canon of York, was one of the examiners of candidates for ordination in the Diocese of York, on appointment of Archbishop Wickwane.

Hugh and Archbishop Wickwane preserved their friendship, even after he went to Rome. On 12 September 1280 Archbishop Wickwane named Master Hugh of Evesham, Canon of York, and Stephen Patringtone his proctors at the Papal Curia, and so notified Cardinals Giacomo Savelli and Matteo Rosso Orsini In 1282 he was asked to assist the Archbishop in disputes with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Durham.

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