1 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: You're listening to part two of Unexplained, Season seven, episode eighteen, 2 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:27,159 Speaker 1: A Dance with Mister d. It is late October in 3 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: fifteen fifty eight. Queen Mary is bedbound in her chambers 4 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 1: at Saint James's Palace in London. She flitters from bouts 5 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: of lucidity to states of deep confusion in the grip 6 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: of some terrible malady. At times, she calls out in 7 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: the middle of the night in distress, saying that she 8 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: has gone blind, she is dying. Mary's life had not 9 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: been an easy one. As a child, she suffered from 10 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: constant fevers, depression, and anorexia, not surprising considering the cruelty 11 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:12,479 Speaker 1: of her father, Henry the Eighth. When her mother, Catherine 12 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:17,039 Speaker 1: of Arrogant, was ostracized after Henry jettisoned her for Anne Boleyn, 13 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,559 Speaker 1: Mary was forbidden from seeing her, and, as he did 14 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: with her mother, Henry often threatened Mary with death, and 15 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: it was no empty threat at that. He called her 16 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: illegitimate and denied her the right to call herself a princess. 17 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: When Mary's mother finally succumbed to illness in fifteen thirty five, 18 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: Mary was denied the opportunity to say her goodbyes. As 19 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: Mary lay dying in October fifteen fifty eight, some believed 20 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: she'd finally succumb to the melancholy that had dogged her 21 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: all her life, though it is more likely she was 22 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: suffering from an aspecse vily virulent strain of influenza that 23 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: swept across Europe that year. Towards the end, she would 24 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: come round from bouts of fever to tell of the 25 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: extraordinary dreams she'd been having and the visions of young 26 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: angelic children she'd seen dancing around her bed. In the 27 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: early hours of November seventeenth, a deep gasp escaped her lips, 28 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: her rib cage expanded for one last time, and then 29 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: her body was still. The queen was dead. Earlier that month, 30 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: the Catholic Mary amended her will to confirm that her sister, 31 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: the Protestant leaning Elizabeth, would be her rightful successor, and 32 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: so a week after Mary's death, Elizabeth arrived in London 33 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 1: to a rapturous reception from her supporters. As city dignitaries 34 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,519 Speaker 1: stood in line to greet her, Elizabeth offered her hand 35 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: to be kissed by each of them. One after another, 36 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: took it and planted a soft kiss on the outside 37 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: of her glove. But when Elizabeth got to Catholic Bishop 38 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: Edmund Bonner, John Dee's employer and the man who'd done 39 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: so much to root out Mary's Protestant enemies, she withdrew 40 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: her hand before he had a chance to take it. 41 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: Elizabeth herself had at one point been held under arrest 42 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: in the Tower of London, accused of plotting against Queen Mary. 43 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: It was not a good sign for Bonner or his 44 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: fellow Catholic bishops and their associates. But while many would 45 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: soon find themselves exiled or imprisoned indefinitely, John d miraculously 46 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: once again escaped to the worst of it. Chief among 47 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's immediate concerns was selecting a date for her coronation, 48 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: and the stakes could not have been higher. Though she 49 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,720 Speaker 1: had no immediate realistic challenges to the throne, her position 50 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: was a precarious one. A deeply unsettled nation was about 51 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: to welcome its fourth monarch in just over five years. 52 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: That Elizabeth was female only made the job of asserting 53 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,840 Speaker 1: her authority or the more difficult. Many openly despised the 54 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: sheer idea of women in positions of power or as 55 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: influential Scottish minister John Knox put it, such a thing 56 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: was repugnant to nature. On top of that, where a 57 00:04:55,480 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: series of strange, unsettling prophecies coming from across channel in France, 58 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: made by a man named Michel de Nostre Dame or Nostrodamis. 59 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: He predicted that when Elizabeth took the throne, England would 60 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: suffer many calamities, weepings and mournings, with civil unrest in 61 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: which the lowest in society would rise up against the highest. 62 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: Like most people of the time, Queen Elizabeth was deeply 63 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: superstitious and convinced of the power of astrology. She wanted 64 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: to make sure that the day of her coronation was 65 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: one that could give her the most luck for a 66 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: successful reign, one that the very stars in the sky 67 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: had picked out for her. She needed not just someone 68 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: of high learning to calculate it for her, but someone 69 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: with a suggestion of sorcery and arcane knowledge about them, 70 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: someone who people felt would bring more more than mere 71 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: logic to the equation to help prevent the dire predictions 72 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: from coming true. There was nobody better for it than 73 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: John d At the time d still lived in Upton, 74 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: just outside of the city of London. There, the local 75 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: children was said to run screaming from him in fright. 76 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: Such was his growing reputation as a magician and conjurer. 77 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: Only a few weeks after Mary's death, d received the 78 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: request to make a judgment on what would be the 79 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: best day for Elizabeth to begin her reign. No sooner 80 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: had he received it, d was in his library frantically 81 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: searching his shelves for any ancient texts to seek out 82 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: precedents and auguries of good fortune for the day. Having 83 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: compiled everything he needed, he drew up a horoscope and 84 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: concluded that January the fifth, fifteenth fifteen fifty nine was 85 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: the optimum day. As was explained to the Queen in 86 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: waiting later on that day, Jupiter would be in Aquarius, 87 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: which promised impending greatness and statesmanship, while Mars was in Scorpio, 88 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: meaning that Elizabeth would have the necessary passion and commitment 89 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: to be the country's monarch. Elizabeth was impressed. Queen Elizabeth's 90 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: coronation was an all day spectacle, involving the new queen 91 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: being taken through the throng streets of London on a 92 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: golden litter, essentially a large ornate box carried by servants. 93 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: The parade was embellished with a series of five pageants 94 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 1: designed to be essentially brand establishing propaganda. The pageant themes 95 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: variously stressed the new monarch's virtuousness, her Englishness, and her 96 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: descent from a family that had ended years of civil 97 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: war in England. The fifth pageant drew parallels between her 98 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: and Deborah, an Old Testament prophet who supposedly rescued the 99 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: House of Israel, then ruled successfully for forty years, and 100 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: once again John D was at the center of it all. 101 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: But not long after Elizabeth was crowned, D completely disappeared. 102 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: For several years, There was no historical record of where 103 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: he went and what he was doing. The most likely 104 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: explanation is that he returned to Europe in pursuit of 105 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: a new quest. When known accounts of D resume in 106 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: February fifteen sixty three, he was staying at an inn 107 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 1: called the Sign of the Golden Angel in Antwerp, Belgium. 108 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: This time, it seems D's quest was to understand the Kabbalah, 109 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: a mysterious text containing ancient Hebrew knowledge based on mathematics 110 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: and mysticism going back to the first century. This text 111 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: was said to contain the secrets of the universe. Among 112 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: its most important insights was the apparent role of angels, 113 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: who were said to provide the key to understanding God. 114 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 1: Antwerp was a bustling merchant town as well as home 115 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: to numerous printing presses and publishing houses, with the booksellers galore, 116 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: which was why D was there. He was hunting a 117 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: rumored copy of one of the most secret valuable manuscripts 118 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: of the age, of which there were said to be 119 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: only three or four copies in existence, Called the Steganographia, 120 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:07,199 Speaker 1: It was written by a German abbot called Johannes Trithemius 121 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: and was essentially one of the first ever works on 122 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: cryptography the science of codes. D finally got his hands 123 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: on a copy and spent a feverish ten days copying 124 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: it out. The book outlined an elaborate system for sending 125 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: messages between two people, like an early version of the 126 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: Second World War German code making machine, the Enigma, except 127 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: rather than utilizing a machine, this system required the user 128 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: to utilize an incantation to summon spirits, who would then 129 00:10:46,280 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 1: communicate the coded transmissions between sender and recipient. After finding 130 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: the steganographia, John D was eager to return to England 131 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: and determined to make his way into Queen Elizabeths in 132 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: a circle. He excitedly wrote to one of Elizabeth's key advisers, 133 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: William Cecil, describing the mysterious book and its rituals. He 134 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: believed it would be of great use to the nation 135 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,679 Speaker 1: as it could help decipher other texts like the Book 136 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: of Souger, thought to contain a divine message from God, 137 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: which was supposedly written in the first ever language that 138 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: was spoken by Adam, the first human being. But Cecil, 139 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: who had no time for or belief in codes that 140 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: required invoking help from spirits, was unimpressed. D finally returned 141 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: to England in June fifteen sixty four and made renewed 142 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: attempts to secure a post at the Royal Court. He 143 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: approached William Cecil again and offered to take on the 144 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: role as the Queen's court philosopher. D described how his 145 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: years of travel, his great knowledge, and his acquaintance with 146 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: many of the great thinkers of the day meant that 147 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: he was ideal for such a post. He promised to 148 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: bring the wealth of Renaissance, Europe's finest thinking to England, 149 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: but again Cecil was uninterested. Under ThReD D made his 150 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: way to the Queen's court at Greenwich Palace, accompanied by 151 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: a noble woman who'd offered to reintroduce him to the Queen. 152 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: A short time later, the tall and slender D, with 153 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 1: his long, pointy beard, found himself in the royal presence chamber, 154 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: surrounded by courtiers who chatted politely among themselves as gentle 155 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:00,680 Speaker 1: music from minstrels suffused the room. Then eventually he was 156 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: brought before the sumptuously clothed, bejeweled and heavily perfumed Queen. 157 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 1: Bowing deeply, John D produced a book from the folds 158 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: of his gown. It was the Monus Hieroglyphica, a controversial 159 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: text containing what many considered to be pagan magical ideas, 160 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: including astrology, cosmology, and mathematics. It was a huge gamble 161 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: that could easily have repulsed the Queen, but instead, she 162 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 1: was intrigued. She asked D to stay and disclose the 163 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: book's secrets to her. John D and Queen Elizabeth sat 164 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: side by side as D patiently took her through the 165 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: text Elizabeth was entranced as D proceeded to explain all 166 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 1: about the strain astrological symbols it contained. After that, D 167 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: gained regular audiences with the Queen, the kind of access 168 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: that was most unusual for someone who wasn't of noble birth. 169 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: Over the next few years, he was frequently called to 170 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: court to converse with her, including on matters of some intimacy, 171 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 1: such as her proposed marriage to the Duke of Anjou. 172 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: It was said that the pair developed their own code 173 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: language to relay messages to one another, and that they 174 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: even used code names for each other. In his diaries, 175 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: D used the capital letter E topped with a crown 176 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: whenever he wrote about Elizabeth. The Queen who called D 177 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: at this time her special eyes denoted him with two 178 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 1: zeros to represent eyes, followed by D's favorite mystical number seven. 179 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: D became the first double O seven agent in Her 180 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: Majesty's service. It was said that Elizabeth had a strong 181 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: sense of the cosmological forces supposedly acting on her, and 182 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: that she felt D provided the kind of mystical revelations 183 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 1: to help her govern which other members of her administration 184 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: could not. She took to referring to D as my philosopher. 185 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: When a strange wax effigy of the Queen was found 186 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: under a tree in Lincoln's Inn Fields in the center 187 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: of London, stuck all over with pig bristles, John D 188 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: was called on to determine its meaning. When the Queen 189 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: suddenly fell ill of an undiagnosed mystery illness, D was 190 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: once again called to determine its severity. And when one 191 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: night an unusually bright star was observed in the sky, 192 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: it was D who was asked to decipher what it meant. 193 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: Despite John D's devotion to the Queen and what some 194 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: believed was a magical hold over her, he was never 195 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: offered the official position of court philosopher that he so desired. Nonetheless, 196 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 1: D continued his studies of astronomy, astrology, alchemy and magic, 197 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,479 Speaker 1: with the ultimate goal of understanding the truth of the universe. 198 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: In fifteen sixty six, D moved in with his mother, 199 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: who lived in a ramshackled, sprawling cottage in Mortlake, a 200 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: village by the Thames about eight miles west of London. 201 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: On moving in, D set about arranging the massive collection 202 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: of books and manuscripts he'd amassed on all his train. 203 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,919 Speaker 1: Among them was Johannes de Burgo's occult text Treatise on 204 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: Magic and Secretum Secretorum are treatise on the Nature of 205 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:18,919 Speaker 1: Immortality attributed to Aristotle. Before long, D's mother's cottage was 206 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: transformed into one of the largest libraries in Europe. It 207 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: was so big, D even added extensions to the building, 208 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: as well as acquiring neighboring buildings to house all the material. 209 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: Neighbours spoke of laboratories that he'd also set up, full 210 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:42,360 Speaker 1: of all kinds of apparatus containing unknown substances that bubbled 211 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: away mysteriously. No one saw his inner sanctum, though, D's 212 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: most private study, where he stored his magical equipment and 213 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:59,440 Speaker 1: books like Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's fifteen thirty one Tome Diaculta 214 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 1: for Low Sophia about the powers of magic. This was 215 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: a time of growing interest in alchemy, a medieval type 216 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:14,159 Speaker 1: of chemistry which its adherents insisted could transform elements and 217 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: materials into other elements and materials. The major focus was 218 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: to find a method of converting base metals into gold 219 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 1: via a secret ingredient known as the fabled Philosopher's Stone 220 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: not an object as such, but rather a chemical concoction. 221 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: If one could establish the correct recipe for it, they 222 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: could be wealthy beyond their dreams. It was also rumored 223 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: to make anyone who drank it immortal, though no one 224 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: knows exactly what D was doing in his laboratory. In 225 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: the early fifteen seventies, he fell seriously ill. Much of 226 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 1: alchemy revolved around the use of mercury, which is a 227 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: high toxic substance. D would eventually recover, but by the 228 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,159 Speaker 1: time he was well enough to continue his work, he 229 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 1: was broke once again. In desperation, he wrote to the 230 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 1: Queen's court and was granted another patronage of a few 231 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: hundred pounds per annum, But it wasn't enough because D 232 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: had set his sights on a new series of experiments. 233 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,400 Speaker 1: For these, he would need enough money to dedicate months 234 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: and months of his time concentrating solely on the task 235 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 1: at hand. If successful, he would have the power to 236 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: grant anybody whatever they wanted. In November fifteen seventy seven, 237 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: something strange appeared suddenly in the night sky, as bright 238 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 1: as the moon. It was some kind of celestial object 239 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 1: that seemed to shimmer from a burning fire inside a 240 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 1: dazzling cloud, with a vast dusty tail stretching out behind it. 241 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: Observers all over the world were mystified and horrified in 242 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 1: equal measure. To a number of the Queen's advisers, it 243 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: was a clear portent of doom. A few days later, 244 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's chief spy, uncovered an Austrian plot 245 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,600 Speaker 1: to unseat the queen. As the Queen and her courtiers 246 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: debated how best to respond, John d attempted to speak 247 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: with the Queen once again to request a recognition as 248 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,679 Speaker 1: her court's official philosopher to raise more money for his 249 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: new experiments. Dee was forced to wait his turn for 250 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: an audience, and by the time he got it it 251 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: was clear his chance gone. However, visiting the Queen at 252 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: the same time was a rather loud, stout, and sturdy 253 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: looking man with a fetching mustache. The man was Francis Drake, 254 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: a slave trader, privateer, and a constant thorn in the 255 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: side of King Philip the Second of Spain, whose nation 256 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: was the leading colonial power of the time. Drake had 257 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 1: come to update the Queen on an epic voyage he 258 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: was preparing to embark on that she and a number 259 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: of her associates were financing. The plan was to complete 260 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: a circumnavigation of the globe to discover what other lands 261 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: might exist in the world that they could exploit, while 262 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: taking out as many Spanish vessels as they could along 263 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:57,720 Speaker 1: the way. John d saw a golden opportunity. With all 264 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: his knowledge and experience of cartoggraphy and being close to 265 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: some of the world's greatest cartographers, he offered his services 266 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: in assisting the voyage with the Queen's full attention. Once again, 267 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: he outlined a scheme for England to lay claim to 268 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: the fabled New World in a direct challenge to the 269 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: King of Spain. As he told the Queen, it was 270 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: based on some historical and magic research that he'd been 271 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 1: apparently carrying out for a while. It revealed that now 272 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: was the time for her reign to shift into a 273 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: new expansionist phase in pursuit of what he called a 274 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:45,199 Speaker 1: new British Empire. The Queen couldn't help but be impressed. 275 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 1: A short time later, Dee presented her with his Britannity 276 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: Imperial Limiter, the limits of the British Empire. In it, 277 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: he predicted that the English Navy would become the key 278 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: weapon with which he could challenge the King of Spain's 279 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:09,919 Speaker 1: global supremacy. D's immediate financial future was once again secured. 280 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,679 Speaker 1: It was time to start the next phase of his experiments. 281 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: Thick velvet curtains are drawn across the windows of a 282 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: wood paneled study to keep out the chill of the 283 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: midwinter night. At its center stands a great wooden desk, 284 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: surrounded on all sides by endless bookshelves stuffed with books 285 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: and papers. Stacks of books and manuscripts litter the desk 286 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: in untidy heaps or pushed to one side. In their 287 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: place are two tall, white, flickering candles, the only light 288 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: in the room besides that cast by glowing embers smoldering 289 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:05,640 Speaker 1: in a large stone fireplace. Two bearded men sit across 290 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 1: from each other, both gazing intently into a large crystal 291 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: orb on the floor between them that scatters sparkles of 292 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: light across the dim chamber. The men are John d 293 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:25,119 Speaker 1: and his associate Barnabas Saw, and they are sitting in 294 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 1: D's in a sanctum. It's mid December of fifteen eighty one, 295 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: but in that moment, time seems to have completely stopped. Huh, 296 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 1: I see him clearly, says Saul in a hushed voice. 297 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: Welcome a Nal, he says with a dramatic flourish. An 298 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,400 Speaker 1: Ale was said to be one of the seven Angels 299 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 1: of creation. D was convinced he was the angel of 300 00:24:55,720 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: Intelligence who roared over the entire world. On the way 301 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,360 Speaker 1: Saul describes the entity he's claiming to see in the orb, 302 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: D isn't so sure it's him. Ask him to identify himself, 303 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: urges D, gazing into the ball, where, sadly, unlike Saul, 304 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:23,679 Speaker 1: he sees nothing. Saul hesitates for a moment. Barnabas Saul, 305 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: a self proclaimed Scria crystal gazer and channeler of spirits 306 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: and angels, arrived at Mortlake a few days before, claiming 307 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: to have rare books to sell to D. D had 308 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: enough knowledge of books and booksellers to doubt he had 309 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 1: anything he needed, but was impressed by the man's apparent 310 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: sensitivity for the occult. At the time, D was on 311 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,679 Speaker 1: the lookout for a partner to help him with his 312 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: latest experiment, the thing he'd been building up to all 313 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:03,440 Speaker 1: this time. An attempt to contact angels. Though D had 314 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 1: the material knowledge of what was required, he knew deep 315 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 1: down that he wasn't possessed with the kind of psychic 316 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 1: sensitivity that he believed was needed to make contact. What 317 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: he needed was a scria, someone with the supposed power 318 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 1: to communicate with other entities. So D took a chance 319 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: on Saul and asked him to stay at his house 320 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 1: and assist him. Before long, they were ensconced in his study, 321 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,600 Speaker 1: chanting incantations into the air as they worked through spell 322 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:44,879 Speaker 1: after spell from these many occult texts. Back in the 323 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 1: study on that mid December night, Saul's face contorts strangely. Aha, 324 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 1: a second spirit has now appeared, he exclaims. D stares 325 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: harder into the crystal orb, though he still can't see 326 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 1: anything other than the reflected flames of the candles. He 327 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: senses the light glitter and flash even brighter as it 328 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:14,000 Speaker 1: dances in the darkness above the men's heads. This one 329 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: is very beautiful, continued Saul. He's clothed in glittering gold robes. 330 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: Beams of light blazed from his head. He has eyes 331 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: of fire as Barnabas Saul continues to describe the entity 332 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: in the crystal orb, D can feel the hairs rise 333 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,640 Speaker 1: up on the back of his neck. Now this sounded 334 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: more like a nail. I can see characters writ upon 335 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: the crystal in shining gold, explained Saul, who hurriedly scribbles 336 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: them down and passes the paper to D. It's Hebrew, 337 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: says D, taking excitedly ask him if any angel is 338 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: assigned to this stone, presses D, grabbing one of the 339 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: other smaller crystals nearby and placing it next to the orb. Saul. 340 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:16,679 Speaker 1: Julia reports that this second crystal would in due course 341 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: reveal the archangel Michael, as named in the Holy Scriptures. 342 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:27,199 Speaker 1: A nail foretells that Michael shall appear to thee after Christmas, 343 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:32,639 Speaker 1: says Saul. He says, thou must prepare thyself to prayer 344 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: and fasting, and in the name of God, be secret. 345 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: D laps it all up. I am a nail. I 346 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: will take my leave now, says Saul, spelling out the 347 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 1: name letter by letter A N N A E L. 348 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 1: D frowns. The angel's name was spelt with only one N. 349 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: Either the angel didn't know how to spell its own name, 350 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: or Saw had been mistaken, or he'd been making the 351 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: whole thing up all along. Early in the new year, 352 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: Barnabas Saul was accused of committing the crime of consulting 353 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: with spirits. It's unclear why D was not included in 354 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: the charge. Perhaps Saul had been less secretive in his 355 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: work for other clients. At his hearing the following month, 356 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: Saul was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, But 357 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: on returning from court, perhaps fearful of another prosecution, Saul 358 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: admitted to D that he neither saw or heard spiritual 359 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:54,080 Speaker 1: creatures anymore. D was once again on his own, but 360 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: the news was out that he was looking for a 361 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: spiritual partner to fulfill his ambition. Then, on the afternoon 362 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: of March eighth, there came a knock at his door. 363 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: Waiting for him. On the doorstep was a mister Clerkson, 364 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: an agent for men purporting to be spirit mediums looking 365 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: for wealthy clients. Clerkson had brought with him a so 366 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: called friend of his, who he introduced as twenty six 367 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 1: year old Edward Talbot. Perhaps he could be the man 368 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: that D was looking for, Clerkson suggested. D. Agreed to 369 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: meet them for dinner the following day to discuss the 370 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: idea further. Later that evening, as it approached midnight, D 371 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: was poring over a manuscript in his study when he 372 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 1: sensed a shift in the air. All about the room 373 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: was ablaze with a strange red ambient light. D rushed 374 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 1: outside and stared up in disbelief. The entire night sky 375 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: appeared to be burning in fiery flames, as though a 376 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: great fire had just risen above the earth. D should 377 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 1: have taken it as a sign. You've been listening to 378 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:28,040 Speaker 1: Part two of Unexplained Season seven, episode eighteen, A Dance 379 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: with Mister D. Part three will be released next Friday, 380 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: April fifth. This episode was written by Diane Hope and 381 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: Richard McClain smith. Unexplained as an Avy Club Productions podcast 382 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: created by Richard McClain smith. All other elements of the podcast, 383 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:54,719 Speaker 1: including the music, are also produced by me Richard McClain smith. Unexplained. 384 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: The book and audiobook, with stories never before featured on 385 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: the show, is now available to worldwide. You can purchase 386 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please 387 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 1: subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts, 388 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts 389 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,960 Speaker 1: or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show, 390 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 1: perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like 391 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:23,320 Speaker 1: to share. You can find out more at Unexplained podcast 392 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: dot com and reach us online through Twitter at Unexplained 393 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:32,240 Speaker 1: Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained 394 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: Podcast