Today is the birthday of Edward Kelley, a close associate of John Dee. A few weeks ago when we talked about Dee we discussed how this period saw the merger of what we would call “real” science and the occult. Similarly to his associate Dee, Edward Kelley took his work very seriously, working as an apothecary and chemist, as well as a magician who supposedly could turn metals into gold, communicate with Angels, and who possessed the Philosopher’s Stone.
Kelley’s main claim to fame, though, was his supposed ability to talk with Angels. He grew up in Ireland, and became associated with Dee, and traveled with him throughout Europe communicating with angels in a special language he developed called Enochian. Kelley would get the message, and translate it to Dee. It’s not clear whether Dee was fooled, or if he was in on the plans. Either way, it was all quite serious because Kelley claimed that the language was the original language originally spoken by Adam and Eve, and a predecessor to Hebrew.
Edward Kelley, born today in 1555.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com
Suggested links:
John Dee: Brilliant Scientist and Occult Philosopher
Episode 154: A Brief History of Alchemy
Episode 084: Elizabethan Astronomy
From my shop:
Cute, but Kinda Tudor Nerdy T-Shirt
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.