Was Kelley really a scammer?

[Frater R.P.G.]

Every biography of John Dee tries to paint Kelley as this evil charlatan and scammer, whose ears were cropped for his misdeeds, but after digging into sources I found that all this essentially comes from one book, John Weever's Ancient Funeral Monuments (1631), where he also accuses Kelley of grave robbing/necromancy - all this, as he admits, based on hearsay. This was reproduced in Casaubon's TFR, where it went on to become the main story about Kelley.

Now there is an account in Dee's diary of Kelley being accused of countefeiting money, but it doesn't seem like that got anywhere. It seems Kelley's ex-friend Husey was spreading rumours about him.

A legend about Kelley acquiring the famous red powder was popularised by Ashmole in Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum (1652), in which the powder got dug out of a grave in Glastonbury Abbey, and which Kelley then purchased from (unaware of its value) peasants. This legend could perhaps be the source for the accusations of grave robbing.

Ashmole later realised though, that this legend also doesn't match Dee's diary where he states the powder was found on Northwick Hill, far away from Glastonbury.

Later on Kelley was imprisoned by the Emperor in Prague after working for him, but it's likewise not quite clear why.

Is there any real evidence that Kelley was a criminal, or is it all just rumours?

(I tried to keep this brief, but happy to provide more specific references if needed.)

 

[glaive]

Interesting question. I wonder how much of the general opinon of Kelley as a scammer is because he was the one scrying and receiving angelic communications. I think historians would look at those claims with skepticism, especially combined with his (failed afaik) claims that he could transmute base metals into gold.

In general, I tend to believe that people are communicating with spirits; at the minimum I at least believe that they believe they're communicating with the spirits they say they are. However, one of Kelley's communications I'm skeptical of is when he said that angels told him that he and Dee needed to exchange wives, in order that they "hold everything in common" in the spirit of "furthering philosophical partnership". Seems sus!

 

[Yazata]

There are a couple of strange things in Five Books. One that comes to mind now is when the second (or true) Lanen was given, and Dee days that Kelley's notebook was lying next to the skrying glass and miraculously had the same figure (or one very close to it) in Kelley's writing in it.
I think in this same session he (Kelley) had to get up suddenly to read a letter from his wife (or a prayer) by the window away from Dee. In the end I'm not sure if it even matters whether the whole system was made up or not.