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Edward KelleyEnglish mystic, alchemist and adventurer
Date of Birth: 01.08.1555
Country:  Great Britain |
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Biography of Edward Kelley
Edward Kelley, also known as Edward Talbot, was an English mystic, alchemist, and adventurer. He was one of the most controversial figures in English occultism during the Renaissance era. Kelley claimed to be a medium and worked alongside John Dee on his magical experiments. In addition to his ability to summon spirits and communicate with angels through a crystal ball, which Dee highly valued, Kelley also claimed to possess the secret of transmuting base metals into gold.
Early Life
Very little is known about Edward Kelley's early life before his encounter with Dee. According to Dee's horoscope and diary entries, Kelley was born on August 1, 1555, in Worcester, England. He claimed to have descended from one of the royal clans of Ireland. Kelley had a sister named Elizabeth, born in 1558, and a brother named Thomas, who later lived with Edward in Dee's house. It is possible that he studied at Oxford under the name Talbot. Kelley was an educated man who knew Latin and, presumably, had some knowledge of Greek. There are also records of contemporary discussions about Kelley being publicly punished in Lancaster for forgery or deceit, with his ears cropped off, which was a common punishment during the Tudor period. Some sources claim that he started his career as an apothecary's apprentice.
Association with John Dee
Kelley became close with John Dee in 1582. Dee had already been attempting to communicate with angels through a crystal ball but had been unsuccessful. However, Kelley's abilities in this field impressed the renowned mystic so much that Edward became his closest assistant. They spent the next seven years working side by side. About a year after their acquaintance, Kelley showed Dee a book on alchemy called "The Book of Dunstan" and a certain red powder. He believed that the powder could be used to create an elixir that would enable him to turn other metals into gold. It is even said that he demonstrated his power several times, including in Bohemia, where he and Dee lived for a few years.
Life in Europe
In 1583, Dee met a Polish nobleman named Albert Laski, who had a keen interest in alchemy. In September of the same year, Dee and Kelley, along with their families, left England and traveled with Laski to the continent. Dee hoped to gain the patronage of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and Stefan of Poland in Krakow, but he failed to interest these high-ranking individuals. They spent many years moving from place to place, wandering across Europe and even facing persecution from the Catholic Church, which accused occultists of necromancy. Finally, in 1586, Kelley and Dee settled in Trebona under the patronage of a wealthy Czech count named Vilem Rožmberk, who shared Kelley's interest in alchemy.
Separation from John Dee
In 1589, Dee and Kelley had a falling out. Dee returned to England with his family and they never saw each other again. There were rumors in the family that Theodore, Dee's son from his second wife, was actually Kelley's son. By 1590, Kelley was living a life of luxury, having received several estates and a substantial sum of money from Rožmberk. He also had access to gold and silver mines, which he took advantage of. Rudolf II knighted him, but in May 1591, Kelley was arrested and imprisoned in a castle, supposedly for the murder of a government official. In reality, it seems that the emperor feared Kelley would escape the country with all his alchemical secrets, and Queen Elizabeth I urged Kelley to return to his homeland. Both Rudolf and Elizabeth apparently had no doubt about Kelley's ability to produce gold in large quantities, and the emperor hoped that imprisoning Kelley would make him more willing to cooperate. He was released in 1595 but failed to produce the long-awaited gold from base metals. Kelley was imprisoned again and there were rumors that he attempted to escape by climbing down a wall but fell and died from his injuries on November 1, 1597. Several treatises by Kelley on various topics, mostly on alchemy, have survived to this day.
