Year 1586
Original
July 10th, Mr. William Maynard natus hora 12 noctis, vel paulo post, Londini. Sept. 14th, Trebonam venimus. Oct. 18th, E. K. recessit a Trebona versus Pragam curru delatus; mansit hic per tres hebdomadas. Nov. 8th, illustrissimus princeps versus Pragam; iter institit hora tertia a meridie. Nov. 14th, rescripsi ad Victorem Reinholdum. Nov. 19th, to the glas hows. Nov. 21st, Michael was begone to be weaned. Nov. 22nd, recepi literas Jacobi Memschiti. Dec. 8th, Monday abowt none Mr. Edward Garland cam to Trebona to mee from the Emperor of Moschovia, according to the articles before sent unto me by Thomas Hankinson. Dec. 11th, St. Poloniensis obiit: natus anno 1530 die 13 Januarii, hora quarta mane min. 26, in Transylvania. Obiit, hora secunda post mediam noctem, ut intellexi ex literis Dni Lasky, receptis die 29 per Alexandrum. Dec. 19th, 19die (novi kalendarii) ad gratificandum Domino Edouardo Garlando, et Francisco suo fratri, qui Edouardus nuncius mihi missus erat ab Imperatore Moschoviæ ut ad illum venirem, E. K. fecit proleolem lapidis in proportione unius...... gravi arenæ super quod vulgaris oz. et ½ et producta est optimi auri oz. fere: quod aurum post distribuimus a crucibolo una dedimus Edouardo. Dec. 30th, E. K. versus Pragam.
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.
July 10th, Mr. William Maynard was born at 12 of the clock at night, or a little after, in London. Sept. 14th, we came to Trebona. Oct. 18th, E. K. departed from Trebona toward Prague, carried by carriage; he stayed here for three weeks. Nov. 8th, the most illustrious prince toward Prague; he set out on his journey at three after noon. Nov. 14th, I wrote back to Victor Reinhold. Nov. 19th, to the glass house. Nov. 21st, Michael began to be weaned. Nov. 22nd, I received letters from James Memschit. Dec. 8th, Monday about noon Mr. Edward Garland came to Trebona to me from the Emperor of Moschovia, according to the articles sent to me before by Thomas Hankinson. Dec. 11th, St. Poloniensis died: born in the year 1530 on the 13th day of January, at 26 minutes past four in the morning, in Transylvania. He died at two after midnight, as I learned from the letters of Lord Lasky, received on the 29th by Alexander. Dec. 19th, on the 19th day (of the new calendar), to gratify Mr. Edward Garland and Francis his brother, Edward having been sent to me as a messenger by the Emperor of Moschovia so that I should go to him, E. K. made a *proleolem* [sic; not a Latin word, probably corrupt; perhaps "projection"] of the stone in the proportion of one … of heavy sand, upon which the usual oz. and ½ [wording and quantities unclear in the source], and nearly an oz. of the best gold was produced: which gold we afterward distributed from the crucible, and together gave it to Edward. Dec. 30th, E. K. toward Prague.
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.
July 10th, Mr. William Maynard was born at 12 at night, or a little after, in London. Sept. 14th, we arrived at Trebona. Oct. 18th, E. K. left Trebona for Prague, carried there by carriage; he had stayed here three weeks. Nov. 8th, the most illustrious prince set out for Prague, starting the journey at 3 in the afternoon. Nov. 14th, I sent a reply in writing to Victor Reinhold. Nov. 19th, to the glass house. Nov. 21st, Michael began to be weaned. Nov. 22nd, I received letters from James Memschiti. Dec. 8th, Monday about noon, Mr. Edward Garland came to Trebona to me from the Emperor of Muscovy, according to the articles sent to me beforehand by Thomas Hankinson. Dec. 11th, St. Poloniensis died: he was born in the year 1530 on Jan. 13th at 4:26 in the morning, in Transylvania. He died at 2 after midnight, as I learned from the letters of Lord Lasky, received on the 29th by Alexander. Dec. 19th, on the 19th (of the new calendar), to reward Mr. Edward Garland and Francis his brother—Edward being the messenger sent to me by the Emperor of Muscovy so that I should go to him—E. K. made a *proleolem* [sic; not a Latin word, probably corrupt; perhaps "projection"] of the stone in the proportion of one...... of heavy sand, with a common ounce and a half upon it [wording and quantities unclear in the source], and the result was nearly an ounce of the best gold; afterward we shared out that gold from the crucible and together gave it to Edward. Dec. 30th, E. K. went toward Prague.
About this section
Year 1586 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 19 of 35 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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