Lewis Caerleon

Lewis of Caerleon (d. post 1495) was a 15th-century Welsh physician, astronomer, notable for his astronomical manuscripts and support of the Lancastrian faction in the War of the Roses. A qualified physician graduating from Cambridge University, Lewis was in the service of Elizabeth Woodville (the widow of King Edward IV) and Lady Margaret of Richmond (the mother of the future King Henry VII), and is suspected to have carried correspondences between the two political allies. His personal interests in astronomy, particularly in the calculation of eclipses, is of great historical value as some of the last surviving work from the time.

Background Originating from the south Wales town of Caerloen, Lewis acquired a Bachelor of Medicine from Cambridge University in 1465-6 and by 1481 obtained medical doctorate degree from an unknown university (speculated to have been Oxford University). Despite his lengthy career as a physician, he produced no extant writing on medical issues instead dedicating time to copying and annotating astronomical texts. Originally sold to a foreign buyer, the manuscript was prohibited from being exported out of the UK by the intervention of Culture Secretary Caroline Dinenage, upon recommendation of the ‘Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest’ (RCEWA).