Bullein, William

William Bullein (c.1515–76) began his professional life as a Protestant preacher, but he is best known for the witty and religiously charged medical treatises he wrote in the second half of his life. He came from a prosperous family, possibly related to that of Anne Boleyn, and it is likely that he studied at either Oxford or Cambridge, though no records exist of his enrolment. In 1550 he took up a position in a Suffolk rectory, where he was related to one of the town's prominent families, and he remained there until late 1554, when Queen Mary's rise to power prompted his resignation. Dismayed by Mary's commitment to Catholicism, Bullein soon left for the Continent, studying medicine while he was there. He returned to England by the late 1550s, practising medicine in Northumberland and Durham and moving to London in 1560. During this time Bullein's personal life was marked by scandal. Having married the widow of his late friend and patron, Sir Thomas Hilton, he soon found himself accused of murder and debt by Sir Thomas's brother William. He was found innocent of murder but spent time in a London debtors’ prison, where he wrote his second book. Although Bullein never joined the College of Physicians, he seems to have cultivated a successful London practice, leasing a substantial house in Grub Street during his time in the city (Mitchell 1959).