4 ms·
John Dee is also the original 007 for those who have James Bond on the brain (the movie was underwhelming imho). One of the more recent developments was of a pa
by arminiusreturns 5y ago
John Dee is also the original 007 for those who have James Bond on the brain (the movie was underwhelming imho). One of the more recent developments was of a painting of him in her court, when scanned it was revealed there had been a circle of skulls around him in the painting that had been painted over.
Theres all kinds of interesting factoids about him. He started collecting books and at the time had what was probably one of the largest personal libraries in existence, and the list goes on.
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoUm, in what way was he the original 007? I presume he did not literally have that number in that service...
- shaunxcode 5y agoHe would actually sign his letters "007" "The zeroes represented eyes, and the seven was thought to be a lucky number that offered protection" https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/bid/274528/the-first-james-bond-john-dee-was-the-original-007 https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/bid/274528/the-first-james-...
- lioeters 5y agoAbout his possible activities as a spy travelling around Europe, there's an interesting speculation in the book, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, by Frances Yates. The theory is that he played a significant role in the (literal) conspiracy to bring Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate to become the new Queen and King of Bohemia, and rule Protestant Europe.
- lapetitejort 5y agoJohn Dee sounds like the perfect character for Alan Moore to use in one of his historical fictions, such as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I went looking to see if he used John Dee anywhere, and it turns out he has an unpublished work devoted to him [0]. [0]: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/alan-moore-and-john-dee/ https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/alan-moore-a...