Read The Arch Conjuror of England Online
Authors: Glyn Parry
The Arch Conjuror of England
Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of Oliver Baty Cunningham of the Class of 1917, Yale College
Copyright © 2011 Glyn Parry
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Printed in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Parry, G. J. R.
The arch-conjuror of England: John Dee/Glyn Parry.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–300–11719–6 (cl:alk. paper)
1.~Dee, John, 1527–1608. 2.~Great Britain–History—Elizabeth, 1558–1603—Biography. 3.~Scientists—Great Britain—Biography. 4.~Occultists—Great Britain—Biography. 5.~Astrologers—England—Biography. 6.~Alchemists—Great Britain—Biography. 7.~Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533—1603—Friends and associates. 8.~Intellectuals—Great Britain—Biography. 9.~Great Britain—Intellectual life—16th century. I. Title.
BF1598.D5P37 2012
130.92—dc23
[B]
2011030702
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of Pat Collinson (10 August 1929–28 September 2011) A great historian, but a greater human being
2 The Rays of Celestial Virtue
7 Hunting for the Philosopher's Stone
10 ‘More is hid, than uttered’: The Philosopher's Stone and Empire
11 Rehabilitating ‘The Arch-Conjuror’
12 Defending Elizabeth against the Dark Arts
13 ‘The winking eye of Achitophel’
14 ‘Misbegotten time’: Reforming the Calendar
15 Called to a King's Office: Laski and the Second Coming
16 ‘Chief Governor of our Philosophical proceedings’
17 The Magnificent Master Alchemist
18 The Counter-Revolution Against Magic
19 Conjuring up a Spanish Conquest
20 Checkmate: Exiling the Conjuror to Manchester
1. Title page of John Dee's
Monas hieroglyphica
, 1564. © The British Library Board. All rights reserved (718.g.6).
2. Unfolding the Monad to reveal alchemical vessels, from Dee's
Monas hieroglyphica
, 1564. © The British Library Board. All rights reserved (718.g.6, fo. 22).
3. Unknown artist,
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
,
c.
1560s. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
4. Attributed to Nicholas Hilliard,
Queen Elizabeth I
(the ‘Phoenix’ portrait),
c.
1575. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
5. Attributed to Nicholas Hilliard,
Queen Elizabeth I
(the ‘Pelican’ portrait).
c.
1575. © National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery.
6. Title page of John Dee's
General and Rare Memorials Pertaining to the Perfect Art of Navigation
, 1577. © The British Library Board. All rights reserved (C.21.e.12).
7. Nicholas Hilliard,
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
, 1576. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
8.
Sir Francis Walsingham
, possibly after John De Critz the Elder,
c.
1587. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
9. The Seal of Aemeth, two smaller seals, Dee's obsidian disc, his crystal ball, and a golden talisman. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
10. The Seal of Aemeth. © Clay Holden and The John Dee Publication Project.
11.
Emperor Rudolf II
, from Ludwig Bechstein's
Zweihundert deutsche Manner in Bildnissen und Lebensbeschreibungen
, 1854. © The British Library Board. All rights reserved (10703.i.30).
12. Unknown artist,
Sir Christopher Hatton
, seventeenth century. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
13. Unknown artist,
John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury
, early seventeenth century. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
14. Title page of John Dee's
A Letter, Containing a most briefe Discourse Apologeticall
, 1599. © The British Library Board. All rights reserved (G.2363).
1 Title page of John Dee's
Monas hieroglyphica
, 1564. The Monad hid ‘in its innermost centre’ the philosopher's stone, perfectly balancing all celestial rays (pp. 56–7).
2 Unfolding the Monad to reveal alchemical vessels (p. 59).
3 William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. ‘Beneath the grave exterior of his stuffy official portraits beat the excitable heart of a speculator in occult philosophy’ (p. 75).
