A True and Faithful relation of what has passed for many years between Dr. John Dee . . .and some spirits. . . . by John Dee
This month’s featured text is A True and Faithful Relation of what has passed between Dr. John Dee. . . and some spirits by John Dee. John Dee was a well known mathematician, scientist, astrologer, and "wizard" in the court of Elizabeth I. He was born of a prominent Welsh family in 1527 and took his undergraduate degree at St. John's College, Cambridge. After Dee left Cambridge, he traveled in Europe and studied at Louvain, Brussels, and Paris lecturing on topics like Euclidian geometry and learning about cartography from figures like Gerard Mercator. In 1555, he forecast the death of Queen Mary I and was imprisoned for witchcraft, an accusation that would plague him throughout his life. When Mary died in 1558, Dee found favor in the court Queen Elizabeth I becoming an important advisor on astrological and scientific matters. He forecast a "propitious" day for Queen Elizabeth I's coronation, and in 1577 published General and Rare Memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation which outlined many of England's claims to an overseas empire. Dee also published widely in many other fields including a translation of Euclid (1570), and a mystical work called Monas Hieroglyphica (1564). In his later life, Dee became increasingly interested in occultism and traveled through Eastern Europe with Edward Kelley. Dee and Kelley became well known for their magical abilities and were invited to courts throughout Europe including King Stephen of Poland, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, and even Ivan the Terrible of Russia (an invitation they declined). After returning to England in 1589, Dee was treated with great suspicion as an evil sorcerer. He died in poverty at his home in Mortlake in 1608.

A True and Faithful Relation was published posthumously in 1659 by Méric Casaubon and details Dee's travels in Eastern Europe. Dee's life and work is important for several reasons. First, he exemplifies the ideal of an Elizabethan magus found in many works, most notably Prospero in Shakespeare's Tempest. Dee also shows that the distinctions between science, philosophy, and magic were not well defined in the early modern period, and Dee himself showed great interest in all three. Dee's life also demonstrates the changing dynamics of early modern reactions to such "magical" beliefs. In the early part of his career, Dee was much favored by the monarchs of Europe, but was not so favored at the end of his career when fear of witchcraft and sorcery became more prominent. Dee also represents the emergence of a new learning happening throughout Europe during the Renaissance that was not yet fully formed. He was a serious scholar of mathematics, science, and navigation, and influenced others like Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, and Francis Bacon. The separation between science and magic later developed but was still unclear in Dee's time. In all, his life and his work demonstrates an interesting time in the early modern period, and a unique way of understanding learning during a transitional time.

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