A conference has been held this week in Cambridge to consider the reputation of John Dee (1527-1608/9), one of England's greatest original thinkers. He owned the largest private library in the country, coined the phrase "The British Empire", was an expert on algebra, astronomy and navigation, advising explorers of the Northwest Passage of suitable routes to take. He was a tutor and adviser to Queen Elizabeth, introduced the first English edition of the works of Euclid, and his proposals to modify the calendar were 200 years ahead of their time.
Unfortunately...he has largely been remembered as an astrologer and an occultist - i.e. a bit of a wizard. He cast horoscopes for Mary and Philip and suggested the most auspicious date for Elizabeth's coronation. He had a crystal ball for communicating with angels, and looked into the future using a special black mirror. He fell in with a conman and had a sequence of unfortunate adventures in Bohemia and Poland when he tried to share his angelic communications with several unimpressed monarchs. He returned to England penniless and died in poverty, cared for by his daughter.
However, Dee's reputation, both as a scholar and a mystic has grown considerably. There is a vast amount of information on him on the internet, and you can even read some his own books. So - does he deserve to be called a Royal Wizard, or not?
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