John Dee's Studies of Tritemius: From Steganographia to Angelic Evocation

in his letters [...]. I have copied half of it myself. And now I entrust myself to the courtesy of a Hungarian nobleman for the reproduction of the remaining part." – John Dee, letter to Sir William Cecil, 1563

The book has cost him more than he could "honestly afford." John Dee confesses in a letter that he hopes to grasp the secrets of Abbot Tritemius by relying on divine grace and conference with mysterious men whom he declares "difficult to find although seen daily."

The year after having read and abundantly studied the Steganographia, John Dee publishes his perhaps most important book: the Hieroglyphic Monad, which was to resume part of the discourse made by Tritemius in the Polygraphia. Thus from 1569 (cf. The Angels of John Dee 2003) John Dee began the evocation of Angels, developing a special alphabet for such evocations and employing a whole series of particular devices. The purpose of these evocations was the understanding of the most hidden mysteries of nature, as he himself said:

From youth onwards I have desired and implored from God a pure and profound wisdom, and understanding of natural and artificial truths, so that the wisdom of God, his goodness and power bestowed in the creation of the world might fall in abundant measure under the dominion of my capacity.

Dee's Angels

Thus with the discovery of Abbot Tritemius' book begins the story of John Dee and the continuation of these ideas and these doctrines and practices that move from Germany to England and which we will see in the final lesson.