John Damian

His attempts at medicine, alchemy, flying, and his advancement by the king encouraged a satirical attack by the poet William Dunbar.

He rewarded a "stranger of Perpignan that shewed quinta essentia" in January 1499, and employed a "multiplier" to make gold in the Tower of London.

Between 1501 and 1508 he received a great deal of money from the king and bought many ingredients to make the quintessence, which included aqua vitae, quicksilver, sal ammoniac, alum, litharge, orpiment, saltpetre, silver, sugar, sulphur, tin, verdigris, vinegar and white lead.

The records of royal treasurer list sums of money lost by the King playing cards with John and betting at shooting matches with his hand culverin.

The contemporary poet William Dunbar described Damian's career in comic terms in the poem, "A Ballad of the False Friar of Tongland, How He Fell in the Mire Flying to Turkey".

There is no other evidence for the flying attempt apart from Dunbar's poems and Lesley's later account, and the episode of the failed flight has a number of traditional literary parallels as an example of foolish striving for superhuman attainment.

The birds who attack the flier in the poem draw attention to his lack of identity; "all fowill ferleit (wondered) quhat he sowld be" as an imposter.

[13] A late 17th century carpenter's bill for work at Stirling Castle refers to a now unknown location, presumably at the King's Old Building built by James IV, where 'the Devil flew out'.