"The Bomelius Case": Why Ivan the Terrible's Physician, Whom Even the Oprichniks Feared, Was Executed

History knows many mysterious figures, but Eliseus Bomelius stands out among them with his dark and contradictory reputation. Some consider him a clever adventurer and charlatan, others - a professional magician and astrologer. In the chronicles he is called "the evil sorcerer". This foreigner managed to win the trust of Ivan the Terrible himself, but Bomelius' life ended in a terrible death. Who was he really?

From the very beginning, the Muscovite state actively established ties with Europe, inviting foreign specialists. Ivan III was the first to attract architects, engineers and doctors from abroad. This practice continued under his successors. At first, Italians were invited, but as the country's borders expanded, more military specialists were needed. This is how "Germans" appeared in Rus' - this is what all Western Europeans were called except Italians. Foreign craftsmen played a huge role in the development of Russia: from the construction of the Kremlin to the minting of coins and the introduction of firearms.

Foreigners were not particularly eager to work in distant Muscovy. They knew that the Moscow rulers could be generous, but their anger knew no bounds. Many fell into disgrace or were executed, like Ivan III's first doctors, Anton and Leon. And Muscovites often did not let doctors and engineers go home after the end of their contract, knowing that they might not get a new competent expert. And the salary was small by European standards, and it was regularly delayed. Because of all these risks, sought-after professionals remained in their homeland, and outright rogues who had nothing to lose often went to Moscow. Among such adventurers was the Dutchman Bomelius.

Eliseus Bomelius was born in 1530 in Westphalia. His father, a Lutheran priest, fled from Holland to escape religious persecution. But from his youth, Eliseus was interested not in the spiritual, but in the physical. His passion for medicine led him to the University of Wesel, but his violent nature and bad habits quickly ruined his academic career.

After being expelled from the university for "his passion for black magic, fornication and wine drinking," Bomelius did not grieve for long and moved to England. There he made useful connections and entered Cambridge University. Instead of the required six years in the medical department, Eliseus studied for five. He never received a proper diploma, but nevertheless began medical practice in London.

The young physician earned the reputation of a good doctor, and also earned money as an astrologer and alchemist. The Dutchman was doing well until his interests intersected with those of Queen Elizabeth's personal physician, Thomas Francis. The court physician, fearing competition, wrote a denunciation of Bomelius, in which he reported that he was treating without a license. This was a serious violation, and Elizeus lost his diploma and ended up behind bars. His connections helped him quickly get out of prison, but the enemy did not calm down, and the Dutchman was thrown back into prison on the same charge. Bomelius got out of prison again, but then an accusation of witchcraft arrived, this time from the church.

The doctor realized that he would not have peace. Therefore, he began negotiations with the Moscow ambassador Andrey Sovin directly from prison, asking to take him with him to Moscow. He agreed, and straight from the Tower cell Bomelius got on a ship going to Muscovy. His wife and servant joined him.

In Moscow, the nimble and educated Dutchman quickly became one of them. He managed to get to the royal chambers and even helped the sovereign cope with some illness. Bomelius had no other choice but to be needed by the Moscow Tsar, because at home he could again end up in prison or something even worse. Eliseus quickly became "one of his own" for the sovereign - the doctor and astrologer Eliseus Bomelius.

Ivan the Terrible valued Bomelius's gift as a healer. But most of all, the Tsar liked the Dutchman's ability to prepare special potions that quickly sent people Ivan disliked to the next world. Yelisey Bomelius was a true professional - a person died exactly at the specified time. Understanding how unreliable the Tsar's favor was, the foreigner skillfully wove intrigues. He constantly kept the monarch in suspense, slandering the boyars and courtiers, as well as predicting conspiracies and rebellions and immediately offering magical protection.

The doctor also got the Tsar interested in astrology. Instead, they would climb the bell tower at night and talk about planets and constellations until morning. The Tsar doted on Yelisey and generously gifted him. Everyone around hated and feared the foreigner, who could influence the hot-tempered and cruel Ivan. To be on the safe side, the boyars, merchants, and even the daring oprichniks made large gifts to Bomelius, which he accepted without a twinge of conscience. The Tsar's doctor gradually exported the gifts abroad.

Bomely lived with the tsar for more than 9 years, becoming one of the most influential people in Muscovy. He caused the death of hundreds of people, but he himself did not escape the evil fate. In 1579, the adventurer felt that his influence on the tsar was weakening and decided to flee. One version says that Elisha, leaving his wife and child in Moscow, disguised himself as a servant and fled to Riga. At that time, this city was under the rule of the Polish crown.

The Tsar came to his senses in time and the fugitive was caught and returned. He claimed that he simply wanted to replenish his stock of medicinal herbs, but the angry Tsar did not believe him and handed the doctor over to the executioners. The second version says that while playing chess with the Tsar, Yelisey drank too much wine and predicted sorrows and misfortunes. The angry Ivan the Terrible hit him on the head with a goblet, after which Bomelius fell ill for several days. Having recovered from the blow, he decided to run away, but was caught on the way.

It is difficult to say which version was real. What is known for sure is that the death of Yelisey Bomelius was terrible. His escape coincided with the investigation of the conspiracy of the Novgorod Archbishop Leonid, and the doctor was made a participant in treason. First, Yelisey was terribly tortured, and the process was allegedly led by Tsarevich Ivan himself. When the Dutchman, hanging on the rack, said a lot about himself, they tied him to a pole and began to roast him over a slow fire. The charred Yelisey, still alive, was carried to prison and left there to die, to the delight of his enemies. Thus ended his days the best doctor of Ivan the Terrible, whom all of Moscow feared and called in whispers "the fierce sorcerer."

After Bomelius's death, his wife remained in Moscow. She was able to return to England thanks to the intercession of Queen Elizabeth I only after Ivan the Terrible's death during the reign of his son, Tsar Feodor I. Thus ended the tragic story of one of the most mysterious and terrible people in Ivan the Terrible's entourage.