The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
some sadly abused talents‖ was an exaggerated and incomplete assessment. 82 Rather Kelley<br />
demonstrated a ―thorough familiarity with the technical procedures <strong>of</strong> occultism‖. 83<br />
However, while Evans noted <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s interest in Kelley, a thorough examination was not<br />
within the bounds <strong>of</strong> his study. 84<br />
<strong>The</strong> most thorough recent account <strong>of</strong> Kelley‘s alchemical activities is Michael<br />
Wilding‘s article ‗A Biography <strong>of</strong> Edward Kelley, the English Alchemist and Associate <strong>of</strong><br />
Dr. John Dee‘ (2007). 85 Wilding utilised the majority <strong>of</strong> the available English language<br />
manuscript evidence, along with the Czech evidence uncovered by Evans, to present a<br />
largely accurate narrative <strong>of</strong> Kelley‘s time in the Holy Roman Empire. Wilding dispelled<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the plethora <strong>of</strong> myths and misinterpretations that have surrounded Kelley since his<br />
death. However, Wilding <strong>of</strong>fered almost no analysis <strong>of</strong> Kelley‘s importance and only<br />
provided a narrative <strong>of</strong> his travels and correspondence. When Wilding attempted to<br />
explain <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s interest in Kelley he fell back to Strype‘s unlikely explanation <strong>of</strong> Kelley as an<br />
informant. 86<br />
Susan Bassnett has recently made a compelling argument for Edward Kelley being<br />
the step-father <strong>of</strong> the prominent Latin poet, Elizabeth Weston. Bassnett argued that<br />
previous historians have had a ―somewhat xenophobic interpretation that sees Rudolph<br />
and the powerful Rozemberk [Rosenburg] as Kelley‘s gulls‖, while understating English<br />
interest in the alchemist. 87 She recognised that ―<strong>Burghley</strong> at least took Kelley‘s scientific<br />
claims seriously‖. 88 This, however, was the limit <strong>of</strong> her analysis <strong>of</strong> Kelley‘s relationship<br />
with the English Court.<br />
Glyn Parry‘s upcoming biography <strong>of</strong> John Dee, <strong>The</strong> Arch-Conjuror <strong>of</strong> England: John<br />
Dee and Magic at the Courts <strong>of</strong> Renaissance Europe (forthcoming 2010) puts the episode into the<br />
82 R. J. W. Evans, Rudolf II, pp. 225-26.<br />
83 Ibid.<br />
84 Ibid. p. 228.<br />
85 Michael Wilding, ‗A Biography <strong>of</strong> Edward Kelly, the English Alchemist and Associate <strong>of</strong> Dr. John Dee‘, in<br />
Stanton J. Linden, Mystical Metal <strong>of</strong> Gold: Essays on Alchemy and Renaissance Culture, New York, 2007, pp. 35-89.<br />
86 Wilding, ‗A Biography <strong>of</strong> Edward Kelly‘, pp. 61-62.<br />
87 Susan Bassnett, ‗Absent Presences: Edward Kelley‘s Family in the Writing <strong>of</strong> John Dee‘ in Stephen Clucas<br />
(ed.), John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought, Dordrecht, 2006, p. 287.<br />
88 Ibid., p. 288.<br />
90