HENRY by the grace of God, King of England and France, and Lord of Ireland, To all to whom these present letters shall come, health. WE have inspected the letters patent of the Lord Edward the fourth, of gracious memory, late King of England, our progenitor, made in these words, “EDWARD by the grace of God . . . . . . . . Witness my self at Westminster the 24th day of February in the first year of our reign.” WE ALSO, the aforesaid letters, and all and singular therein contained ratifying and granting, for us and our heirs, as much as in us lies do accept and approve, and to our beloved lieges, Richard Haywarde, James Holand, John Robertson, and John Boteler, now Masters or Governors of the Mystery of BARBERS and SURGEONS within our City aforesaid, and to their successors, by these presents, do ratify and confirm, as in the aforesaid letters is reasonably testified. IN WITNESS whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. WITNESS myself at Westminster the fifth day of December in the fifteenth year of our reign. CLERK. for twenty shillings paid into the hanaper. (Endorsed.) Entered in the book marked with the letter m. in the time of Nicholas Alwyne, Mayor of the City of London, in the fifteenth year of the reign of King Henry the Seventh. PAKENHAM. 1511. In this year an Act of Parliament was passed, which infringed on the privileges of the Barbers’ Company, inasmuch as it placed the approbation and licensing of Surgeons in the hands of certain clerical dignitaries, to wit, the Bishop of London and Dean of St. Paul’s (while for the country the several Bishops or their Vicars general were nominated). This Act was possibly the outcome of some laxity on the part of our Company, or of an intolerable growth of quackery, with which it could not cope, the pretenders to surgical knowledge being a “great multitude” of ignorant persons, and women, using sorcery, witchcraft and noxious remedies. This Act of Parliament (3 Hen. VIII, cap. XI) as given below, is from an original copy in the possession of Mr. Charles J. Shoppee (Master 1878). ¶ AN ACTE CONCERNYNG THE APPROBATION OF PHISICIONS AND SURGIONS.