Year 1577
Original
Jan. 16th, the Erle of Lecester, Mr. Phillip Sydney, Mr. Dyer, &c., came to my howse. Jan. 22nd, The Erle of Bedford cam to my howse. Feb. 19th, great wynde S.W., close, clowdy. March 11th, my fall uppon my right nuckul bone, hora 9 fere mane; wyth oyle of Hypericon in 24 howres eased above all hope: God be thanked for such his goodness of his creatures! March 24th, Alexander Simon the Ninivite came to me, and promised me his servise into Persia. May 1st, I received from M. William Harbert of St. Gillian his notes uppon my Monas. May 2nd, I understode of one Vincent Murfyn his abhominable misusing me behinde my back; Mr. Thomas Besbich told me his father is one of the cokes of the Court. May 20th, I hyred the barber of Cheswik, Walter Hooper, to kepe my hedges and knots in as good order as he sed them than, and that to be done with twise cutting in the yere at the least and he to have yerely five shillings, meat and drink. June 10th, circa 10, a shower of hayle and rayne. June 18th, borrowed £40 of John Hilton of Fulham. June 19th, I understode of more of Vincent Murfyn his knavery; borrowed £20 of Bartylmew Newsam. June 20th, borow £27 uppon the chayn of golde. June 26th, Elen Lyne gave me a quarter's warning. June 27th, showrs of rayne and hayle. Aug. 19th, the Hexameron Brytanicum put to printing.
Nov. 3rd, William Rogers of Mortlak, abowt 7 of the clok in the morning, cut his own throte, by the fende his instigation. Nov. 6th, Sir Umfrey Gilbert cam to me to Mortlak. Nov. 18th, borowed of Mr. Edward Hynde of Mortlak £30 to be repayed at Hallowtyde next yere. Nov. 20th, two tydes in the forenone, the first 2 or 3 howres to sone. Nov. 22nd, I rod to Windsor to the Q. Majestie. Nov. 25th, I spake with the Quene hora quinta. Nov. 28th, I spake with the Quene hora quinta; I spake with Mr. Secretary Walsingham. I declared to the Quene her title to Greenland, Estetiland and Friseland.
Dec. 1st, I spake with Sir Christofer Hatton; he was made knight that day. Dec. 1st, I went from the cowrte at Wyndsore. Dec. 30th, inexplissima illa calumnia de R. Edwardo, iniquissime aliqua ex parte in me denunciabatur: ante aliquos elapsos dies, sed... sua sapientia me innocentem.
Musean translation
Modern machine-assisted Musean edition by Mouseia, from Halliwell's 1842 printing. Latin entries and catalogue titles are translated; uncertain readings are marked. In the Original, 'whereof' is normalized to 'of which' in five entries. The 9 December 1579 dream is decoded and respelled, with 'sal' for the cipher's 'shal'; the other decoded cipher reads 'one uppon a hundred'. This edition decodes the remaining cipher passages. Greek follows the source transcription. The editor's preface, footnotes, index and Ashmole's separate list are omitted.
Jan. 16th, the Earl of Leicester, Mr. Philip Sidney, Mr. Dyer, etc., came to my house. Jan. 22nd, The Earl of Bedford came to my house. Feb. 19th, great wind S.W., close, cloudy. March 11th, my fall on my right knuckle bone, at about 9 in the morning; with oil of Hypericon it eased within 24 hours, beyond all hope. God be thanked for such goodness in his creatures! March 24th, Alexander Simon the Ninivite came to me, and promised me his service into Persia. May 1st, I received from M. William Harbert of St. Gillian his notes upon my Monas. May 2nd, I learned of one Vincent Murfyn's abominable mistreatment of me behind my back; Mr. Thomas Besbich told me his father is one of the cooks of the Court. May 20th, I hired the barber of Cheswik, Walter Hooper, to keep my hedges and knots in as good order as he said they were then, with at least two cuttings a year, and he to have five shillings yearly, meat and drink. June 10th, about 10, a shower of hail and rain. June 18th, borrowed £40 from John Hilton of Fulham. June 19th, I learned of more of Vincent Murfyn's knavery; borrowed £20 from Bartholomew Newsam. June 20th, borrowed £27 on the gold chain. June 26th, Elen Lyne gave me a quarter's warning. June 27th, showers of rain and hail. Aug. 19th, the *Hexameron Brytanicum* (The British Hexameron) put to printing.
Nov. 3rd, William Rogers of Mortlak, about 7 o'clock in the morning, cut his own throat, at the devil's instigation. Nov. 6th, Sir Umfrey Gilbert came to me at Mortlak. Nov. 18th, borrowed from Mr. Edward Hynde of Mortlak £30 to be repaid at Hallowtide next year. Nov. 20th, two tides in the forenoon, the first 2 or 3 hours too soon. Nov. 22nd, I rode to Windsor to the Queen's Majesty. Nov. 25th, I spoke with the Queen at five. Nov. 28th, I spoke with the Queen at five; I spoke with Mr. Secretary Walsingham. I explained to the Queen her title to Greenland, Estetiland and Friseland. Dec. 1st, I spoke with Sir Christofer Hatton; he was knighted that day. Dec. 1st, I went from the court at Windsor. Dec. 30th, that *inexplissima* [sic; not a Latin word, probably corrupt; perhaps "inexplicable" or "unpardonable"] slander about R. Edward was being denounced against me, most unjustly, from some quarter: some days having already passed, but … by his wisdom [the verb is missing] me innocent.
Plain English translation
Modern machine-assisted Plain English edition by Mouseia, from Halliwell's 1842 printing. Latin entries and catalogue titles are translated; uncertain readings are marked. In the Original, 'whereof' is normalized to 'of which' in five entries. The 9 December 1579 dream is decoded and respelled, with 'sal' for the cipher's 'shal'; the other decoded cipher reads 'one uppon a hundred'. This edition decodes the remaining cipher passages. Greek follows the source transcription. The editor's preface, footnotes, index and Ashmole's separate list are omitted.
Jan. 16th, the Earl of Leicester, Philip Sidney, Mr. Dyer, &c., paid a visit to my house. Jan. 22nd, the Earl of Bedford turned up at my house. Feb. 19th, a hard wind out of the southwest, dull and cloudy. March 11th, I fell down onto my right knuckle bone at about nine in the morning, and oil of Hypericon took the pain away within 24 hours, far better than I had dared to hope—God be thanked for such goodness in his creatures! March 24th, Alexander Simon the Ninivite turned up and told me he would serve me on the trip into Persia. May 1st, Mr. William Harbert of St. Gillian sent me his notes on my Monas. May 2nd, I found out that one Vincent Murfyn was behaving disgustingly toward me behind my back; Mr. Thomas Besbich told me that his father is one of the cooks at Court. May 20th, I took on Walter Hooper, the barber of Cheswik, to look after my hedges and knot gardens and keep them in as good a condition as he found them. He was to cut them at least twice a year, and he would get five shillings a year, plus food and drink. June 10th, around ten, a shower of hail and rain. June 18th, I took £40 on loan from John Hilton of Fulham. June 19th, I heard about more of Vincent Murfyn's cheating; I took £20 on loan from Bartholomew Newsam. June 20th, I borrowed £27 against the gold chain. June 26th, Elen Lyne gave me a quarter's notice. June 27th, rain and hail fell in showers. Aug. 19th, the *Hexameron Brytanicum* (The British Hexameron) went off to the press.
Nov. 3rd, William Rogers of Mortlake cut his own throat at about seven in the morning, at the devil's prompting. Nov. 6th, Sir Humphrey Gilbert paid me a visit at Mortlake. Nov. 18th, I took £30 on loan from Mr. Edward Hynde of Mortlake, to be paid back at Hallowtide the following year. Nov. 20th, two tides in the forenoon, the first one 2 or 3 hours too soon. Nov. 22nd, I rode to Windsor to see Her Majesty. Nov. 25th, I talked with the Queen at five. Nov. 28th, I talked with the Queen at five again, and I also spoke with Mr. Secretary Walsingham. I laid out for the Queen her claim to Greenland, Estetiland, and Friseland.
Dec. 1st, I met with Sir Christopher Hatton; he received his knighthood that same day. Dec. 1st, I took my leave of the court at Windsor. Dec. 30th, that *inexplissima* [sic; not a Latin word, probably corrupt; perhaps "inexplicable" or "unpardonable"] slander about R. Edward was being laid against me, most unjustly, from some quarter: some days had already gone by, but... by his wisdom [the verb is missing] me innocent.
About this section
Year 1577 is part of The Private Diary of Dr. John Dee by John Dee. This page sets the 16th-century English original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 13 of 35 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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