The art of distillation spread to Ireland and Scotland no later than the 15th century, as did the common European practice of distilling ‘Aqua Vitae’ or spirit alcohol primarily for medicinal purposes.[8] The practice of medicinal distillation eventually passed from a monastic setting to the secular via professional medical practitioners of the time, The Guild of Surgeon Barbers.[8] The first confirmed written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland. In the IrishAnnals of Clonmacnoise in 1405, the first written record of whisky attributes the death of a chieftain to "taking a surfeit of aqua vitae" at Christmas. [9] In Scotland, the first evidence of whisky production comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls for 1494 where malt is sent "To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae", enough to make about 500 bottles.[10]