Re: DKs CSFR series 08 -- Praha [2nd Interlude]
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 1:09 pm
At first, I thought that Tycho Brahe did stand out as the one who would be my favourite member. But after more research, I found someone who really stands out, mostly because of the all cool things he did or is attributed to. Not that having a story about an elk that got drunk at a house party and died (now that would have been a party to have been at!) is pretty cool, here is what I can share with you about John Dee:
John Dee had the largest and greatest library in all of England, with over 4,000 books. That was until one of his trips to Europe, that a mob of people destroyed the collection, based on the rumors that he was a wizard. Bummer...
He is often credited with coming up with the idea of the British Empire and the word Britannia. But to be honest, he claimed this is what angels told him would happen...hmmm...first a wizard, now hearing things from angels...
John was thought to have been a spy for the British Empire. He would sign his letters in secret by using the signature "007". It is said that this was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond. How cool....an entire movie series in his honor!
He also has a number of Society groups in his name seeking to continue his work 400 years after he started. One of those groups goal is to recreate his library...good luck with that!
But lastly, and I think is the coolest, Iron Maiden wrote a song about him!!! Now that is really making a mark in the world you are sung about in a heavy metal song! "The Alchemist" on the 2010 release "The Final Frontier" is all about John Dee!
"The Alchemist"
Stranger than the comet as it streaks across the sky
Stranger than the truth I know before my open eyes
I have dealt in mysteries and trickery, of light to entertain
Looked into the abyss, called it by its name
I have plundered time itself, put the world inside it
And the mysteries, day and night, divide it
A plague of wonders, on your knees beside me
Know the secrets, you shall not deride us
My dreams of empire for my frozen queen
Will come to pass
Know me, the Magus
I am Dr. Dee
And this is my house
I am the master of the tides
I shame the mirror in my sight
What random music of the spheres across the years
Know this I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Chain of the demons set free
Strange alchemy
Gather round the aimless and the feckless and the lame
Hear the master summon up the spirits by their names
I curse you Edward Kelly your betrayal for eternity is damned
Know you speak with demons you cannot command
Even as I looked into the glass then I was blinded
Burning by the Mortlake shore my house my books inside it
You have taken up my wife and lain beside her
Now the black rain on my house, the timbers burning
My dreams of empire for my frozen queen
Will come to pass
Know me, the Magus
I am Dr. Dee
And this was my house
I was the keeper of the books
I had the knowledge of the scrolls
But now through ignorance and fear
I cast a shadow through the years
Know this I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Chain of the demons set free
Strange alchemy
Know this
I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Chain of the demons set free
Strange alchemy
Know this
I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Restore the knowledge memory
Strange alchemy
John Dee had the largest and greatest library in all of England, with over 4,000 books. That was until one of his trips to Europe, that a mob of people destroyed the collection, based on the rumors that he was a wizard. Bummer...
He is often credited with coming up with the idea of the British Empire and the word Britannia. But to be honest, he claimed this is what angels told him would happen...hmmm...first a wizard, now hearing things from angels...
John was thought to have been a spy for the British Empire. He would sign his letters in secret by using the signature "007". It is said that this was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond. How cool....an entire movie series in his honor!
He also has a number of Society groups in his name seeking to continue his work 400 years after he started. One of those groups goal is to recreate his library...good luck with that!
But lastly, and I think is the coolest, Iron Maiden wrote a song about him!!! Now that is really making a mark in the world you are sung about in a heavy metal song! "The Alchemist" on the 2010 release "The Final Frontier" is all about John Dee!
"The Alchemist"
Stranger than the comet as it streaks across the sky
Stranger than the truth I know before my open eyes
I have dealt in mysteries and trickery, of light to entertain
Looked into the abyss, called it by its name
I have plundered time itself, put the world inside it
And the mysteries, day and night, divide it
A plague of wonders, on your knees beside me
Know the secrets, you shall not deride us
My dreams of empire for my frozen queen
Will come to pass
Know me, the Magus
I am Dr. Dee
And this is my house
I am the master of the tides
I shame the mirror in my sight
What random music of the spheres across the years
Know this I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Chain of the demons set free
Strange alchemy
Gather round the aimless and the feckless and the lame
Hear the master summon up the spirits by their names
I curse you Edward Kelly your betrayal for eternity is damned
Know you speak with demons you cannot command
Even as I looked into the glass then I was blinded
Burning by the Mortlake shore my house my books inside it
You have taken up my wife and lain beside her
Now the black rain on my house, the timbers burning
My dreams of empire for my frozen queen
Will come to pass
Know me, the Magus
I am Dr. Dee
And this was my house
I was the keeper of the books
I had the knowledge of the scrolls
But now through ignorance and fear
I cast a shadow through the years
Know this I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Chain of the demons set free
Strange alchemy
Know this
I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Chain of the demons set free
Strange alchemy
Know this
I will return to this land
Rebuild where the ruins did stand
Restore the knowledge memory
Strange alchemy