Sir Robert Dudley: explorer, cartographer, inventor, bigamist
13 October @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Ready to take your next journey of Discovery? The Renaissance: Journeys of Discovery at BRLSI is a yearlong programme of talks and events exploring the many joys, discoveries and something of the broader cultural legacy of a movement still making waves in the 21st century. Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Martin Luther, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Machiavelli, Hieronymus Bosch, if you love culture then you’ll love our new talks series!
And now for a talk on one of the most flamboyant and gifted characters of the Elizabethan era, Robert Dudley (1574-1649), “base son” of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
Banished for bigamously marrying one of Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting, he spent the rest of his life in the service of the de Medici in Tuscany, where his talents were greatly appreciated. “He was skilled in philosophy, chemistry and physics and perfectly acquainted with all branches of mathematics and the means of applying them for the service and benefit of mankind…”
His encyclopaedic Alcano del mare has been described as “one of the greatest atlases of the World – and one of the most complex ever produced”. Dudley left his scientific and navigational instruments and manuscripts to his patron, Ferdinand II, which are now on display in the Museo Gallileo, Florence.
Learn more on the remarkable achievements of one of the Renaissance’s more colourful characters!
