The Hieroglyphic Monad of Dr John Dee as a Synthesis of Late Renaissance European Thought

by Anna Bailey-Thiele

John Dee’s Monas Hieroglyphica presents his universal symbol of knowledge and explains some of the secrets contained within. A fundamental assumption of such a symbol is an underlying oneness of reality and of knowledge in which everything can be shown to be interrelated. In producing his symbols Dee combines a number of disparate topics in a way that seems impossible to modern readers but was considered only natural by his contemporaries. Thus, in this thesis I examine the manner in which this important aspect of Renaissance thought can be illuminated through a study of the Monas Hieroglyphica.

74 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 2015