Northern Rebellion (1569–70) An uprising in the north
of England led initially by Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of
Norfolk (1536–72). Howard, a cousin of ELIZABETH I, re-
sented William Cecil’s influence over her, and plotted to
marry the exiled MARY, Queen of Scots as her fourth hus-
band, to restore the Scottish crown to her, and to have her
recognized as Elizabeth’s successor on the English throne.
After Howard was sent to the Tower of London in October
1569, disaffected northerners whose main motive was to
see Roman Catholicism restored took up arms against
Elizabeth, but were easily defeated by government forces.
Some 800 were executed, and early in 1570 the pope is-
sued the Bull Regnans in Excelsis excommunicating Eliza-
beth.
northwest passage A route from Europe to China and
India along the northern coast of America. An intense
search for this passage was sponsored by English, Dutch,
and French merchant companies in the 16th century, as
Europe yearned for rapid access to Asia’s riches, but the
adverse climatic conditions rendered most expeditions
abortive and claimed many lives. Sebastian CABOTin 1509
sailed northwest from Newfoundland, perhaps as far as
the Hudson Strait, until ice and threatened mutiny forced
him to retreat. French expeditions followed (1523, 1534),
leading to the exploration of Canada (see CARTIER,
JACQUES), and in 1576 Sir Humfrey Gilbert refired enthu-
siasm for the search with his Discourse of a Discoverie of a
new passage to...Cathay. This resulted in the voyages
(1576–78) of Martin FROBISHER, John DAVIS(1585–87),
Henry HUDSON(1607–10), and William BAFFIN(1615–
16)—all names commemorated on the map of Canada’s
Arctic region—but the question of a route northwest
from Hudson Bay remained unresolved for more than two
centuries.
See also: NORTHEAST PASSAGE
Further reading: James P. Delgado, Across the Top of
the World: The Quest for the Northwest Passage (Colling-
dale, Pa: DIANE, 1999); Ann Savours, The Search for the
North West Passage (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999).
Nostradamus (Michel de Nostredame) (1503–1566)
French astrologer
Born at St.-Remy, Provence, the son of a Jewish-Italian
doctor, Nostradamus studied medicine at Montpellier
(1522–25). He then spent four years tending sufferers
from plague, acquiring a reputation as a healer. Moving to
Agen, he married (c. 1534), but his family was killed by
plague. In 1538 he was accused of heresy and left Agen to
wander across Europe, and it was during this time that
stories of his prophetic powers began to circulate. From
1550 onward he produced a yearly almanac. In 1555 the
first part of his Centuries, a book of prophecies, was pub-
lished and made a great impression, resulting in a sum-
mons to the French court (1556). However, the remainder
of the work was not published until 1568, probably be-
cause of the dangers of investigation for practicing magic.
For the same reason, the Centuries were written in a de-
liberately obscure style. They still exert an influence in oc-
cult circles.novella The prose tale, ancestor of the short story, origi-
nated and flourished in Italy from the 13th to the 17th
century. It was established as a respectable literary genre
by Boccaccio’s DECAMERON, though Boccaccio invented
neither the term novella nor the form. Novelle drew on
many sources for their plots, which were straightforward,
often anecdotal. Folk tales, classical and oriental sources,
the Bible, exempla, romances of chivalry, and fabliaux all
provided material. The narratives were direct, sometimes
conversational in style, reflecting contemporary everyday
life, especially of the urban merchant class. They were
published in collections, usually with a frame (cornice) in
imitation of the Decameron. The outstanding collection
before the mid-14th-century Decameron is the anonymous
Tuscan Cento novelle antiche (or Novellino), anecdotal nar-
ratives presented as models for inculcating polite speech
and manners. Fourteenth-century collections written after
the Decameron include the Trecentonovelle (223 stories) of
Franco SACCHETTI, who dropped the framing device and
wrote in a lively colloquial style; Percorone (Numskull, a
reference to a number of stupid characters in the tales;
c. 1378) by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, with 50 stories
including one having the plot of Shakespeare’s Merchant
of Venice; and the 155 Novelle of Giovanni Sercambi of
Lucca (1347–1424), much indebted to the oral tradition
of storytelling.
Resembling secular novelle in some respects are the
exemplary tales found in two religious works, Vite dei
santi padri by Domenico Cavalca (1270–1342) and Lo
specchio di vera penitenza by Jacopo Passavanti (c. 1302–
57). Fifteenth-century humanist Latin examples are Histo-
ria de duobus amantibus (1444) by Aenea Silvio Piccolo-
mini (later Pope PIUS II) and the bawdy Facetiae of Poggio
BRACCIOLINI. Giovanni Gherardi da Prato (c. 1366–
c. 1446) in Paradiso degli Alberti (c. 1426) portrays a
learned gathering, which includes Coluccio SALUTATIand
Luigi Marsigli, telling tales but mainly conversing during
a stay at Antonio degli Alberti’s villa (Paradiso) in 1389.
The Novelle (1424) of Gentile Sermini of Siena and the
Bolognese Giovanni Sabadino degli Arienti’s Le Porrettane
(The Ladies of Porretta; 1475) refer, in their frames, to life
at spas, which permitted a certain license and relaxed
humor. The 50 tales in the Novellino of Masuccio Salerni-
tano (c. 1415–c. 1480) are notable for harsh polemical
passages against friars and women; one story is a source
for the Romeo and Juliet plot.
Contributions during the 16th century include FIREN-
ZUOLA’s uncompleted Ragionamenti d’amore (10 novelle),
DONI’s La zucca (1551), the Novelle de’ novizi (1560) bynnoovveellllaa 3 34433