Dee is regarded as one of the period’s leading scholars, who cast horoscopes for Queen Mary and her Spanish husband, Philip, and suggested the most auspicious date for the coronation of Elizabeth I.
But he was also said to use crystal balls to communicate with angels and collaborated with a conman who assured him the angels had suggested a spot of wife-swapping.
Now a group of international scholars gathered in Cambridge has tried to restore his reputation, four centuries on.
“If you’re looking for one of the most original thinkers of his day, in touch with all the major intellectuals of Europe, consulted by princes, right at the cutting edge of mathematical theory, author of the preface of the first English edition of Euclid, owner of the greatest private library in England and one of the best in Europe, that’s Dee.” said Jenny Rampling, who organised the weekend two-day conference at Dee’s old college, St John’s.
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