At once deeply religious and fastidiously superstitious
October 22, 2015 5:32 AM Subscribe
In preparation for the upcoming exhibition Scholar, courtier, magician: The lost library of John Dee at the Royal College of Physicians (January 2016), the RCP museum's twitter has posted some gifs showing details from some of the books that will be on display for the first time.
The gifs include hungry bookworms, 3D examples from Euclid's Elements of Geometrie (1570) and a cipher disc in action.
The RCP hold the largest known collection of works formerly owned by Dee and this public display will also include a selection of Dee's possessions from other collections, including crystal balls, scrying mirrors and Dee's own crystal, which he claimed was a personal gift from the angel Uriel.
The gifs include hungry bookworms, 3D examples from Euclid's Elements of Geometrie (1570) and a cipher disc in action.
The RCP hold the largest known collection of works formerly owned by Dee and this public display will also include a selection of Dee's possessions from other collections, including crystal balls, scrying mirrors and Dee's own crystal, which he claimed was a personal gift from the angel Uriel.
Describing the opportunity to put Dee’s Library on public display for the first time in over 400 years as “truly amazing” Katie Birkwood, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian and exhibition curator, said the Royal College was “incredibly privileged” to be guardians of the 100 works that make up largest surviving part of what was once "one of the greatest collections of books and manuscripts in Tudor England, indeed Europe.”
“Dee was a figure for whom the words polymath, paradox and puzzle seem to have been coined," she added. "I only hope our exhibition reveals something of the man behind the myths and stories that have grown up across the centuries.”
A 3d book! Lovely. I wish I had the chance to visit this exhibition.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 6:28 AM on October 22, 2015
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 6:28 AM on October 22, 2015
Oh, I'm so going to that! Thanks for telling me.
posted by Grangousier at 6:38 AM on October 22, 2015
posted by Grangousier at 6:38 AM on October 22, 2015
Sweet sweet 16th century dataviz!
posted by gwint at 6:43 AM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gwint at 6:43 AM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can't have a post on Dee without mentioning his long-time cohort and con man Edward Kelley.
Kelley, who reported had his ears cropped for forgery, approached Dee claiming he had the ability to speak with angels and transmute lead into gold. The two became inseparable, Dee apparently convinced of Kelley's "powers."
Kelley's influence over Dee is illustrated by the time in which Kelley told Dee that an angel suggested that Dee "share" his wife with Kelley, a suggestion that Dee agreed to.
Kelley pushed his luck when he convinced Emperor Rudolph I of his transmutational abiliites. After he failed to produce gold, he was thrown in jail where he eventually died.
Dee, of course, is a fascinating figure on his own, but the two of them together are quite the odd couple. Unlike Kelley, Dee seems to have been much more sincere in his search for alchemical truths.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:23 AM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Kelley, who reported had his ears cropped for forgery, approached Dee claiming he had the ability to speak with angels and transmute lead into gold. The two became inseparable, Dee apparently convinced of Kelley's "powers."
Kelley's influence over Dee is illustrated by the time in which Kelley told Dee that an angel suggested that Dee "share" his wife with Kelley, a suggestion that Dee agreed to.
Kelley pushed his luck when he convinced Emperor Rudolph I of his transmutational abiliites. After he failed to produce gold, he was thrown in jail where he eventually died.
Dee, of course, is a fascinating figure on his own, but the two of them together are quite the odd couple. Unlike Kelley, Dee seems to have been much more sincere in his search for alchemical truths.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:23 AM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Unlike Kelley, Dee seems to have been much more sincere in his search for alchemical truths.
It's worth remembering that Dee had a fairly solid understanding of all fields of study in Western Europe of his age. He more or less knew everything. He turned to angelic communication, at least in part, because he had exhausted human knowledge. I like to imagine that, if he had been born a century later, he would have given Newton a run for his money as the first great modern scientist (although, to be fair, Newton's output by volume was about 10% science and math; in a very real sense, he was an occultist and theological speculator with a sideline in calculus and physics).
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:34 AM on October 22, 2015 [10 favorites]
It's worth remembering that Dee had a fairly solid understanding of all fields of study in Western Europe of his age. He more or less knew everything. He turned to angelic communication, at least in part, because he had exhausted human knowledge. I like to imagine that, if he had been born a century later, he would have given Newton a run for his money as the first great modern scientist (although, to be fair, Newton's output by volume was about 10% science and math; in a very real sense, he was an occultist and theological speculator with a sideline in calculus and physics).
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:34 AM on October 22, 2015 [10 favorites]
Dee’s own catalogue of his library is browsable online, courtesy of Trinity College Library, Cambridge, and will apparently be one of the volumes on show at the exhibition.
posted by misteraitch at 7:49 AM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by misteraitch at 7:49 AM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
"It's worth remembering that Dee had a fairly solid understanding of all fields of study in Western Europe of his age. He more or less knew everything."
Okay, now one of my favorite tropes of the James Bond series makes a lot more sense to me. The scenes where M asks Bond what he knows abour something and Bond always seems to know at least something of value about the topic at hand (though they haven't done this in the Daniel Craig movies which kinda sucks.) So it always seemed to me that James Bond always had a huge breadth of knowledge that seemed a tad bit unrealistic but was extremely inspirational.
What does this have to do with John Dee? Well, he may have been a spy for the British queen Elizabeth. And either way, he signed his letters as "007".
posted by I-baLL at 8:11 AM on October 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
Okay, now one of my favorite tropes of the James Bond series makes a lot more sense to me. The scenes where M asks Bond what he knows abour something and Bond always seems to know at least something of value about the topic at hand (though they haven't done this in the Daniel Craig movies which kinda sucks.) So it always seemed to me that James Bond always had a huge breadth of knowledge that seemed a tad bit unrealistic but was extremely inspirational.
What does this have to do with John Dee? Well, he may have been a spy for the British queen Elizabeth. And either way, he signed his letters as "007".
posted by I-baLL at 8:11 AM on October 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
Well, he may have been a spy for the British queen Elizabeth. And either way, he signed his letters as "007".
I know! Mind blown, right? Right!?
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:37 AM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I know! Mind blown, right? Right!?
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:37 AM on October 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
John Dee and Edward Kelley are not minor characters in John Crowley's novel LOVE & SLEEP, which is fabulous in every sense of the word. (It's the second in a series, after what was originally AEGYPT - kudos to you if you own a volume produced before they renamed it to THE SOLITUDES.) I cannot recommend this series enough.
posted by newdaddy at 9:19 AM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by newdaddy at 9:19 AM on October 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
What a fascinating man!
posted by Kevin Street at 3:01 PM on October 22, 2015
posted by Kevin Street at 3:01 PM on October 22, 2015
Very interesting! I first heard of John Dee because Damon Albarn wrote an opera about him. Don't buy the Dr Dee album, you'll be very disappointed.
posted by wilful at 3:23 PM on October 22, 2015
posted by wilful at 3:23 PM on October 22, 2015
Yes - this is super timely as I'm just finishing the fist book in John Crowley's Aegypt series. Fantastic.
posted by taltalim at 5:24 PM on October 26, 2015
posted by taltalim at 5:24 PM on October 26, 2015
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Thanks for posting.
posted by vacapinta at 5:51 AM on October 22, 2015