Apothecary order, Robert Erskine and the Letter of Peter I

Abstract

Despite several publications on the history of Russian medicine of the 17th and 18th centuries, this period remains insufficiently studied. The works of the first Russian historians of medicine ― V. Richter, Ya.A. Chistovich, and L.F. Zmeev ― are well known. Unfortunately, their works do not always contain an accurate description of historical facts and correct dates of events. This refers to the era of Emperor Peter the Great ― the reformer of Russia, founder of the regular Russian army and navy, and reformer of Russian medicine and military medical education in the country ― as well as to the history of the Apothecary order. The focus is on the date of the appointment of the closest associate of Peter the Great, a professional doctor Robert Erskine, to the position of head of the Apothecary order and to the position of Archiater, the chief of all military and civil medical institutions in Russia. We have already written briefly about this in our earlier publications. This important issue continues to cause controversy and disagreement among historians. Professor Ya.A. Chistovich argued that Robert Erskine was appointed to the position of Archiater only in 1716, according to the date of issuance of the Letter of Peter I to Robert Erskine: April 30, 1716. Earlier, in the historians opinion, the boyar, Prince Ya.N. Odoevsky, was the head of the Apothecary order and the chief of all medical institutions in Russia. He had no medical education but had successfully carried out the reforms during the Great Northern War (17001721). In 1907, an outstanding Russian and Soviet scientist, jurist (lawyer), historian of Law and Medicine, Master of Police Law (1907), Doctor of Police Law (1919), Doctor of Historical Sciences (1943), Professor Nikolai Yakovlevich Novombergsky (18711949), after many years of studying and analyzing archival documents of the 17th and 18th centuries, convincingly proved the incorrectness of statements by L.F. Zmeev (related to 1714) and Ya.A. Chistovich (related to 1716) on the date of appointment of doctor Robert Erskine to the position of Archiater. The great work by N.Ya. Novombergsky Development of Russian medicine in the pre-Petrine era (1907) was presented by him as the dissertation for a masters degree in Police Law, and he was awarded the Grand Prize named after Count A.S. Uvarov of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Russia (1908). The author paid special attention to the history of the Apothecary order and documented that in 1706 Doctor Robert Erskine was already an Archiater. The appointment of Robert Erskine as Archiater in 1706 significantly influenced the further development and establishment of Russian medicine, and this year was the most important for the Russian medical service. Our study of archival documents of the beginning of the 18th century, published documentary sources, and scientific works on the history of medicine, has confirmed the evidence and conclusions of N.Ya. Novombergsky. On April 30, 1716, Robert Erskine was granted the rank of the actual state councillor. An analysis of the text of the Letter of Peter I to Robert Erskine has also confirmed that event.