remain under Moorish rule after 711). NEBRIJA’s Gramática
(1492) was the earliest scientific grammar of any Euro-
pean vernacular language, and the Tesoro de la lengua
castellana o española (1611) of Sebastián de Covarrubias y
Orozco (fl. 1545–72) was the first major Spanish dictio-
nary. The Real Academia Española was founded in Madrid
in 1713, one of its primary purposes being the compila-
tion of an authoritative dictionary of the language. Six vol-
umes were subsequently published (1726–37).
Speed, John (c. 1552–1629) English cartographer and
historian
Born in Farringdon, Cheshire, Speed began his career as a
tailor. Through Fulke GREVILLE’s patronage he was allowed
to present maps to Queen Elizabeth in 1598. He earned
the admiration of the Society of ANTIQUARIES, whose
members helped him compile and publish his two most
famous works. The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain
(1611–12) was an atlas based on existing maps. This work
was a prologue to the rather less valuable Historie of Great
Britaine (1611). These works were often republished and
were influential for many years, as was Speed’s world atlas,
A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World (1627).
Spenser, Edmund (c. 1552–1599) English poet
Spenser was born in London and attended the Merchant
Taylors’ School there before going to Cambridge. At Cam-
bridge he became friends with the scholar Gabriel HARVEY,
with whom he corresponded about poetics, but soon
made more influential acquaintances in the earl of Leices-
ter’s circle (see AREOPAGUS). To one of these, Sir Philip SID-
NEY, he dedicated his first major publication, the set of 12
eclogues named after the months of the year and entitled
The Shepheardes Calender. In 1580 he went as secretary to
the lord deputy, Lord Grey, to Ireland, where he spent
much of the rest of his life. From 1589 to 1598 he lived on
his estate at Kilcolman; despite the friendship of RALEIGH
and later the earl of ESSEX, he obtained little recognition at
court, apart from a £50 pension. When Kilcolman was
sacked during Tyrone’s revolt (1598), Spenser withdrew to
London, where he died.
Spenser probably began work on THE FAERIE QUEENE
before his departure for Ireland; only six books and a frag-
ment of a seventh were completed before his death. His
other poetic works include Complaints (1591), an assort-
ment of original poems and translations; Colin Clouts
Come Home Again (1595), recording his fruitless journey
to court in 1590/91 in search of patronage; “Astrophel”
(1595), an elegy on Sidney’s death; Amoretti (1595) and
“Epithalamion,” a sonnet sequence and bridal ode com-
memorating his marriage to Elizabeth Boyle; and Fowre
Hymnes (1596) on Platonic themes of love and beauty. His
View of the Present State of Ireland, written between 1594
and 1597, was not published until 1633.
Further reading: Andrew Hadfield (ed.), The Cam-
bridge Companion to Spenser (Cambridge, U.K.: Cam-
bridge University Press, 2001); A. C. Hamilton The
Spenser Encyclopedia (Toronto, Canada; University of
Toronto Press, 1991).Sperandio, Savelli (c. 1425–c. 1504) Italian medalist,
goldsmith, and sculptor
Possibly born in Mantua, Sperandio was the pupil of his
father Bartolommeo. He also worked in Ferrara, Milan,
and Faenza, and in 1482 completed the terracotta monu-
ment to Pope Alexander V in San Francesco, Bologna. In
1496 he moved to Venice. He executed a number of por-
trait medals, but the strong designs are sometimes marred
by careless workmanship.Speroni, Sperone (1500–1588) Italian humanist and
literary critic
Speroni was born at Padua and educated at Bologna under
POMPONAZZI, graduating in philosophy and medicine in- His main importance was as a critic and student of
literary language. He used the dialogue as a medium for
his ideas, his most important work being the dialogue
Delle lingue (1542) in which he maintained that the Ital-
ian language was capable of achieving any of the effects of
Latin. He also wrote a tragedy, Canace (1542), in an irreg-
ular meter later borrowed by TASSOand GUARINIand pro-
duced critical works on Dante, Virgil, and Ariosto, which
treated vernacular literature as worthy of serious discus-
sion.
Speyer, Diets of See SPIRES, DIETS OFspheres, armillary See ARMILLARY SPHERESspheres, celestial See CELESTIAL SPHERESSpiegel, Hendrick Laurensz. (1549–1612) Dutch
writer
He was a native of Amsterdam and a member of the Ege-
lantier chamber of rhetoric, who made himself the center
of a distinguished literary circle based at his country estate
on the Amstel. He was the main author of the Twespraack
van de Nederduitsche letterkunst (1584), to which his
friend COORNHEERTcontributed the preface; it was influ-
ential in promoting notions of correctness in the use of the
Dutch language. Although brought up as a poet in the rede-
rijker tradition (seeCHAMBERS OF RHETORIC), Spiegel be-
came after 1578 an exponent of Renaissance poetic
meters, principally the alexandrine. His major work, Hert-
spiegel (published posthumously in 1614), is a long alle-
gorical poem written in this meter and blending Christian
and Platonic philosophy. Spiegel also wrote the play
Numa, drawn from Plutarch, and a hymn of praise for the
defeat of the SPANISH ARMADA.SSppiieeggeell,, HHeennddrriicckk LLaauurreennsszz.. 4 44499