that of patient Griselda, the archetypal submissive wife,
being retold in many different forms in several languages.
However, despite the popularity of stories from the
Decameron, many of which were familiar in various forms
to English readers from the 14th century, the first full-
scale translation of the work into English was not pub-
lished until 1620. This anonymous version has sometimes
been ascribed to John FLORIO. John Payne’s 1886 transla-
tion is available in an edition revised and annotated by
C. S. Singleton (Berkeley, Calif., 3 vols, 1982). In the 20th
century the translation by Richard Aldington (New York,
1930) enjoyed a number of reprints. The Penguin Classics
version (Harmondsworth, U.K., 1972) is by G. H.
McWilliam, and the World’s Classics version (Oxford,
U.K., 1990) by Guido Waldman.
Further reading: Peter E. Bondella and Mark Musa
(eds), The Decameron: A New Translation: 21 Novelle, Con-
temporary Reactions, Modern Criticism (New York: W. W.
Norton, 1980).
Dedekind, Friedrich (c. 1525–1598) German satirist
Born in Hannover, Dedekind became a Protestant pastor.
While a student at Wittenberg he wrote Grobianus sive de
morum simplicitate libri duo (1549), one of the famous
satires of the age. A book of anecdotes in Latin verse,
which owes much to BRANT’s Narrenschyff, it lampoons
boorish, selfish behavior (particularly table manners) by
ironically praising it. The book went into 20 editions in
the 16th century, with others in the 17th. Freely translated
into German in 1551, it was even more popular in this
form. Dedekind’s later works—two German plays and
some Latin verse—are less noteworthy.
de Dominis, Marc Antonio (1566–1624) Dalmatian
churchman
A brilliant student and teacher and member of the Jesuits,
de Dominis left the order in 1596 and six years later be-
came archbishop of Spalato. Siding with the Venetians in
their protests against papal claims and eventually repudi-
ating the pope’s authority, he was obliged to relinquish his
archbishopric (1616) and flee to England. He was warmly
received by James I and made dean of Windsor and mas-
ter of Savoy (1617) and the same year began publication
of his classic indictment of Rome, De republica ecclesias-
tica. Personal conflicts and political considerations led to
his departure from England and attempted reconciliation
with Rome in 1622 by means of a vehement attack on the
Anglican Church (1623). He died in Rome, a captive of
the Inquisition.
Dee, John (1527–1608) English mathematician, antiquary,
and magus
The son of a London gentleman, Dee was educated at
Cambridge and Louvain. He led an extremely varied life,
traveling widely throughout Europe, and moving easily
from mathematics to antiquarianism, and from commer-
cial activity to occultism. In this last field Dee was to be
found in 1586 in Prague with the medium Edward Kelley
conjuring up spirits and supposedly conversing with
them. More practically, Dee advised the Muscovy Com-
pany on the possibility of a NORTHEAST PASSAGEto China
and on the development of improved navigational instru-
ments. As well as being the author of such hermetic texts
as his Monas hieroglyphica (1564), he also contributed a
famous Preface (1570) to the first English translation of
Euclid, in which he argued eloquently for the need for
technically trained workers to develop England’s trade and
industry. At his Mortlake home Dee had assembled one of
the finest libraries in England. It was sufficiently impres-
sive to attract visits from ELIZABETH Iin 1575 and 1580,
but in 1583 it was partially destroyed by a mob on account
of Dee’s reputation as a wizard.
Further reading: Peter J. French, John Dee: The World
of an Elizabethan Magus (London: Routledge & Kegan
Paul, 1972); Benjamin Woolley, The Queen’s Conjurer: The
Science and Magic of Dr Dee (New York and London:
HarperCollins, 2001).Defenestration of Prague (1419) The incident that
marked the beginning of the HUSSITErevolution in Bo-
hemia. Popular support for Jan HUSSexpressed after his
execution (1415) prompted King Wenceslas to impose
upon Prague a town council of reactionary German mer-
chants. Their persecution of leading Bohemian reformers
led to a rising by the Prague mob, which culminated in the
magistrates being hurled out of the windows of the town
hall and impaled on pikes held by the mob below. Less
than three weeks later (August 16, 1419) Wenceslas died
of a stroke, and the Hussite wars began in earnest.Defenestration of Prague (1618) The incident that
sparked off the Thirty Years’ War between rival dynastic
and religious interests in central Europe. When Ferdinand
(1578–1637), Archduke of Styria, was elected king of Bo-
hemia (1617) and chosen to succeed Matthias as emperor,
the Bohemian Protestants feared for their religious and
civil freedom. In May 1618, invading the Hradschin
Palace, Prague, they broke up a meeting of the imperial
commissioners by throwing two Catholic councilors and
their secretary out of the window.della Casa, Giovanni (1503–1556) Italian churchman,
diplomat, and writer
Belonging to a prominent Florentine family, Della Casa
was probably born at Mugello and he studied literature
and law at Bologna and Greek at Padua before going to
Rome in 1532. He followed an administrative and diplo-
matic career in the Church, becoming archbishop of Ben-
evento and papal nuncio to Venice in 1544. During the
pontificate of Julius III he withdrew to Venice and devoted113366 DDeeddeekkiinndd,, FFrriieeddrriicchh