Geber (fl. 721–776): Arabian alchemist
Gemistus Plethon (c. 1355–c. 1450): Byzantine Platonist, influential in Renaissance Florence
Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100–1154): British inventive historian
George, St: patron saint of England
George, David: see Joris
Germanicus (15 B.C.-A.D. 19): Roman general, adopted son of Tiberius (q.v.)
Gesner(us), Konrad (1516–1565): Swiss naturalist, author of History of Animals
Geta: Roman emperor (211–212)
Gigas: see next entry
Giggei, Antonio (d. 1632): Italian orientalist, gave Aldrovandi (q.v.) a piece of peacock’s flesh that was six years old
Giovio, Paolo (1530?5–1585?): Italian Latin poet
Giraldi, Giglio (1479–1552): Italian poet and archaeologist
Giraldus Cambrensis (1147–c. 1223): Welsh historian
Goliah: see next entry
Goliath: the Philistine giant killed by David (see 1 Samuel 17)
Gomesius, Bernardinus: author of Diascepseon de sale (1605)
Gordianus: Roman emperor (238–244)
Goropius: see Becanus
Gregory XV: Pope (1621–1623)
Grotius, Hugo (1563–1645): Dutch scholar, statesman, authority on international law
Gruterus, Janus (d. 1607): Dutch scholar and educator
Guagninus, Alexander (1548?–1614): Italian historian
Guellius, Valentinus: annotator of Virgil (1575)
Guevara, Antonio de (1490–1544): Spanish chronicler and moralist
Gyraldus: see Giraldus
Habakkuk (Habbacuc): Hebrew prophet who also figures in the apocryphal Bel and the Dragon (33–39); also the homonymous Biblical book
Hades: the abode of the dead; also the ruler of the underworld (cf. Pluto)
Hadrian: Roman emperor (117–138)
Halicarnasseus: see Herodotus
Ham: the youngest son of Noah (q.v.), regarded as forefather of the Egyptians
Hannibal (247–183 B.C.): the Carthaginian general who invaded Italy
Harald: i.e. Haraldr Hilditöhn(Wartooth), the semi-historical Danish king killed c. 775 by Ringo (q.v.)
Harpalus (d. 324? B.C.): Macedonian general and satrap of Babylonia
Harvey, William (1578–1657): English physician and naturalist, discovered the circulation of the blood
Hector: the foremost Trojan warrior, killed by Achilles (q.v.)
Hecuba: queen of Troy, mother of Hector
Helena, St (c. 255–c. 330): mother of Constantine the Great, reputed to have discovered the Cross
Heliogabalus: Roman emperor (218–222)
Helmont, Jean Baptiste van (1577–1644): Flemish physician and chemist
Henry II: king of England (1154–1189)
Henry III: king of England (1216–1272)
Henry VIII: king of England (1509–1547)
Heraclitus (6th/5th cent. B.C.): the Greek ‘weeping philosopher’
Hercules (Heracles): the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, completed the twelve ‘labours’ imposed by Juno
Hermes: see Mercury
Hermes surnamed Trismegistus (‘the thrice-greatest’): legendary author of Greek and Latin religious and philosophical writings
Hermias (fl. 350 B.C.): tyrant of Atarneus and patron of Aristotle
Hernandes, Francisco (1530–1587): Spanish physician and naturalist
Herod the Great: king of the Jews (37–4 B.C.)
Herodias: the second wife of Herod Antipas son of Herod the Great (see Mark 6.1 ff.)
Herodotus (484–425 B.C.): Greek historian
Herostratus: who in 356 B.C. burnt the Temple of Diana (q.v.) to make his name immortal
Hesiod (fl. 859–824 B.C.): Greek epic poet
Hester: see Esther
Heurnius, Johannes van (1543–1601): Dutch physician and writer
Hevelius Johann (1611–1687): German astronomer
Hierusalem: i.e. Jerusalem
Hippocrates (460?–377? B.C.): Greek physician, ‘the Father of Medicine’
Hippolytus, St (c. 170–c. 236): theologian of the Latin Church
Hippon (5th cent. B.C.): Greek philosopher
Hofmann(us), Caspar (15 72–1648): German physician and prolific writer
Holinshed Raphael (d. c. 1580): English chronicler
Holland, Philemon (1552–1637): English translator
Homer: understood as author of the two epics and the ‘Homeric’ hymns
Horace (65–8 B.C.): Roman poet
Horto Garcias ab: see Orta
Horus: the Egyptian god of the sun, son of Osiris and Isis (q.v.), often conflated with Hermes Trismegistus (q.v.)
Howell, James (1594?–1 666): English pamphleteer and letter-writer
Hubert, St (d. c. 727); Bishop of Maestricht and Liége
Hucher(i) us, Joannes: French physician of Montpellier, author of De sterilitate (1610)
Hugo, Johannes (fl. early 16th cent.): German humanist
Humbert, St: see Hubert
Huss, John (c. 1369–1415): Bohemian Reformer, burnt at the stake
Hutter, Elias (1553–1607?): German orientalist and Biblical scholar
Hyacinth: the youth beloved of Apollo; also the flower
Hydra: the nine-headed serpent slain by Hercules (q.v.)
Ibrahim Pasha: Ottoman grand vizier (1523–1536) under Suleiman (q.v.)
Icarus: escaping with his father Daedalus from Crete, flew close to the sun and fell to his death
Ignatius, St (c. 35–c. 107): Bishop of Antioch and author
Iphicrates (419?-348? B.C.): Athenian general
Iris: the goddess of the rainbow; also the flower
Irus: the beggar of Ithaca (Odyssey, XVIII)
Isaac: Hebrew patriarch (see Genesis 21–28)
Isidore, St (c. 560–636): Archbishop of Seville, encyclopedic scholar
Isis: the Egyptian goddess of fertility, sister and wife of Osiris (q.v.)
Ixion: the Centaurs’ father, bound on a constantly revolving wheel on aspiring to love Juno (q.v.)
Jacob (Israel): Hebrew patriarch (see Genesis 25–49)
Jair: the eighth judge of Israel (see Judges 10.3–5)
Janus: the patron god of beginnings and endings, represented with two faces; the doors of his temple in Rome were open in wartime, closed in peacetime
Jeffery, John: Archdeacon of Norwich (1694–1720)
Jehoram: king of Judah, son of Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chronicles 21.1 ff.)
Jenny, Sir Arthur: one of Browne’s patients (see K, III, 301)
Jephthah: a ‘judge’ of Israel (see Judges 11.30 ff.)
Jeremiah (7th cent. B.C.): Hebrew prophet, accepted as author of homonymous Biblical book and of the Lamentations
Jeremy: see previous entry
Jerome, St (c. 342–420): scholar, translator of the Bible (Vulgate), Doctor of the Church
Joan: the mythical Pope: see p. 258
Job: protagonist of the homonymous Biblical book, personification of patience
John the Baptist, St: the forerunner of Christ
John the Evangelist: accepted as the author of the Fourth Gospel, the Book of Revelation, and three of the Catholic Epistles
John Chrysostom, St (c. 347–407): Patriarch of Constantinople, Father of the Church
John Ernest: Duke of Saxony (1594–1626)
Johnstonus: see Jonston
Jonah: Hebrew ‘prophet’ who sojourned in the whale’s belly and so a type of the Resurrection; also the homonymous Biblical book
Jonas: see previous entry
Jonathan: Saul’s eldest son, David’s close friend (see 1 Samuel 18–20)
Jones, Inigo (1573–1652): architect and stage designer
Jonston (Johnstone), John (1603–1675): Scottish naturalist
Jordandes (or Jordanes, 6th cent.): historian of the Goths
Joris, David (Jan Jorisz, c. 1501–1556): Anabaptist extremist
Joseph: Hebrew patr
iarch (see Genesis 30, 37–50)
Joseph, St: the husband of the Virgin Mary
Josephus, Flavius (38?-100?): Jewish historian
Joshua: the successor of Moses (q.v.), conqueror of Palestine
Josuah: see previous entry
Joubert, Laurent (1529–15 82): French medical writer, author of Erreurs populaires et propos vulgaires touchant la medicine et le régime de santé (1579; Latin trans., De vulgi erroribus, 1600)
Jove: see Jupiter
Jovius, Paulus: see Giovio
Judah: the fourth son of Jacob (q.v.); also the most powerful of Israel’s twelve tribes
Julian ‘the Apostate’: Eastern Roman emperor (361–363), attempted to restore paganism
Julius Caesar: see Caesar
Juno (Hera): queen of the Olympian gods, wife of Jupiter
Jupiter (Zeus): the supreme Olympian god; also the planet
Justin (3rd cent.?): Roman historian
Justin Martyr, St (c. 100–c. 165): Christian apologist
Juvenal (c. 60–c. 140): Roman lawyer and satirist
Keck, Thomas: see below, p. 552
Kepler, Johann (1571–1630): the great German astronomer
Kircher, Athanasius (1602–1680): German mathematician and scholar
Kirchmann, Johannes (1575–1643): German antiquary
Knolles, Richard (1550?–1610): English historian of the Turks
Lactantius (c. 240 – c. 320): Christian apologist: see p. 78, note 93
Laertes: the father of Ulysses (q.v.)
Laertius: see Diogenes Laertius
Lamia: a female man-devouring monster
Lamia (4th cent. B.C.): Athenian courtesan
Lampridius Aelius (fl. 300): Roman historian
Largus, Scribonius (fl. 47): Roman physician
Laurenberg, Peter (1585–1639): German botanist and anatomist
Lazarus: the intimate friend of Jesus who raised him from the dead (see John 11.1–44)
Lazarus: the beggar in the parable (see Luke 16.20 ff.)
Lazius, Wolfgang (1514–1565): Austrian physician and historian
Leandro: see Alberti
Leeuwenhoek, Antony van (1632–1723): Dutch microscopist
Le Gros, Thomas: see p. 263, note 1.
Leo: the constellation between Cancer and Virgo
Leo III: Pope (795–816)
Leo IV, St: Pope (847–855)
Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici): Pope (1513–1521)
Leo XI: Pope (1605)
Leo the Jew: see Abrabanel
Leon of Modena (1571–1648): Jewish scholar and rabbi
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): Italian painter, scientist, natural philosopher, etc.
Lepidus (d. c. 77 B.C.): Roman triumvir
Leuenhoek: see Leeuwenhoek
Lewis: see Louis
Licinius: Roman emperor (308–324)
Linden, Johannes A. van der (1609–1664): Dutch physician and writer
Linschoten, Jan Hugh van (1563–1611): Dutch traveller and author
Lipsius, Justus (1547–1606): Flemish scholar
Livy (59 B.C.–A.D. 17): Roman historian
Lombard, Peter: see Peter Lombard
Lopes, Eduardo (late 16th cent.): Spanish (or Portuguese) explorer and author
Lot: Abraham’s nephew who fled Sodom; his wife glanced back and was turned into a pillar of salt (see Genesis 19)
Louis I le Débonnaire: king of Aquitaine (from 781), and emperor (813–833, 835–840)
Louis II: king of Hungary (1516–1526)
Louis XI: king of France (1461–1483)
Loveday, Robert: see p. 389 (headnote)
Lucan (39–65): Roman poet
Lucian (c. 120–200): Greek satirist
Lucifer: Satan’s name (‘light-bearer’) before his expulsion from Heaven
Lucilius (180–102 B.C.): Roman poet, creator of satire
Lucina: the Roman goddess of childbirth
Lucretius (96?–55 B.C.): Roman poet and philosopher
Ludovicus Pius: see Louis I
Luna: i.e. the moon
Luther, Martin (1483–1546): founder of the German Reformation
Lycosthenes (Konrad Wolffhart, 1518–1561): Swiss philosopher and theologian
Lycurgus: according to tradition, the foremost Spartan lawgiver
Lyser(us), Michael (fl. mid 17th cent.): German physician and writer
Machiavelli, Niccolò (1469–1527): Florentine statesman and political philosopher
Macrobius, Ambrosius Theodosius (fl. 395–423): Roman philosopher and grammarian
Magasthenes: see Megasthenes
Magdalen: see Mary Magdalen
Maginus (Giovanni Magini, 1555–1617): Italian mathematician
Magius, Hieronymus (Girolamo Maggi, 1523–1572): Italian engineer and author
Mahomet: see Mohammed
Maimonides, Moses (1135–1204): Jewish philosopher
Mammon: the false god of riches
Manasseh (Manasses): Joseph’s eldest son (see Genesis 41.51); also the tribe
Mandelslo, Johann Albrecht von (1616–1644): German traveller and author
Manlius: Titus Manlius Torquatus, who had his son beheaded (Livy, VIII, 7)
Mantuan: see Virgil
Marcellus (268?-208 B.C.): Roman general and statesman
Marcus: see next entry
Marcus Aurelius: Roman emperor (161–180) and author
Marius (2nd cent.): Christian martyr
Marius, Gaius (155?-86 B.C.): Roman general and statesman
Mark Antony (83?–30 B.C.): Roman general and triumvir
Marlianus, Joannes Bartholomaeus (1490?–1560?): Milanese antiquary
Mars (Ares): Olympian god of war; also the planet
Martial (fl. 1st cent.): Roman writer of epigrams
Martialis, St (fl. 2nd cent.): first bishop of Limoges
Martinus Polonus (d. 1278): chronicler
Martyr, Peter: see Peter Martyr
Mary Magdalen, St: a follower of Christ who cast out of her ‘seven devils’ (Luke 8.2)
Mathiolus: see Mattioli
Matilda (1102–1167): queen of England and empress
Matthew of Miechów (1475–1523): Polish historian
Matthias: German emperor (1612–1619)
Mattioli, Pietro Andrea (1500–1577): Sienese physician and botanist
Maud: see Matilda
Mauricius: Byzantine emperor (582–602)
Mausolus: king of Caria, buried (353 B.C.) in a splendid monument erected by Artemisia (q.v.)
Medea: sorceress who helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece
Megasthenes (fl. c. 300 B.C.): Greek geographer and historian
Mela, Pomponius (1st cent.): Latin geographer
Melissa: wife of Periander (q.v.)
Menoeceus: the hero self-killed for his country’s welfare (Statius, Thebaid, X)
Menoeceus: the recipient of the letter of Epicurus (q.v.)
Mercurialis (Girolamo Mercuriale, 1530–1606): Italian physician and scholar
Mercurii (Girolamo Mercurio, 1550?–1615): Italian physician, author of De gli errori popolari d’Italia (1603)
Mercurius: see next entry
Mercury (Hermes): Olympian god of commerce, eloquence, etc.; also the planet
Mersenne, Marin (1588–1648): French mathematician and scholar
Metellus, L. Caecilius (d. 221 B.C.): Roman dictator
Methuselah: patriarch, died aged 969 (see Genesis 5.27)
Metrophanes (9th cent.): Bishop of Smyrna and theologian
Michelangelo (1475–1564): Italian sculptor, painter, poet
Michovius, Matthaeus: see Matthew of Miechów
Minerva (Athena): Olympian goddess of wisdom
Minutius Felix (fl. c. 270): Roman rhetor
Miszraim: see next entry
Mizraim: the second son of Ham (see Genesis 10.6)
Modena: see Leon of Modena
Mohammed (570–632): Arabian prophet, founder of I
slam
Moloch: a Phoenician-Ammonite god to whom children were sacrificed by burning
Montacutius (Richard Montague, 1577–1641): English scholar and theologian, Bishop of Norwich from 1638
Montanus, Arnoldus (fl. 1657–1683): Dutch miscellaneous writer
More, Henry, the Cambridge Platonist (1614–1687): English philosopher
Morpheus: the god of dreams, son of the god of sleep
Morta: see p. 397, note 34
Moses: the founder and lawgiver of Israel, accepted as the author of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
Moses Bar-Cepha (c. 813–903): Syrian bishop and Biblican scholar
Muffetus (Thomas Moffett, 1553–1604): English physician and author
Murad IV: Ottoman emperor (1623–1640)
Mustapha I: Ottoman emperor (1617–1618, 1622–1623)
Nabuchodonosor: see Nebuchadnezzar
Naphthali: the sixth son of Jacob (see Genesis 49.21); also the tribe
Narses (478?-573): Byzantine general and statesman
Nebuchadnezzar II: king of Babylon (605–562 B.C.)
Nebuchodonosor: see previous entry
Nemesis: the Greek goddess of vengeance: see p. 423, note 25
Nero: Roman emperor (54–68)
Newton, Sir Isaac (1642–1717): English mathematician and scientist
Nicephorus: obscure Byzantine writer on dreams: cf. Artemidorus
Nicholas of Damascus (1st cent. B.C.): Greek historian
Nieremberg, Juan (1595–1658): Spanish mystic
Nimrod: legendary founder of the Assyrian Empire (see Genesis 10.8–10)
Ninus: legendary founder of Nineveh
Nirembergius: see Nieremberg
Noah: tenth in descent from Adam; father of Shem, Ham and Japheth
Numa Pompilius: the legendary second king of Rome
Octavian: see Augustus
Oedipus: noted for solving riddles; became king of Thebes on murdering his father and marrying his mother
Og: the giant king of Bashan (see Deuteronomy 3.11)
Olaus Magnus (1490–1558): Swedish historian
Oleaster, Hieronymus (d. 1563): Portuguese Biblical commentator
Olmo, Giovanni (late 16th cent.): Italian physician and writer
Olympias (d. 316 B.C.): mother of Alexander the Great
Ophir: famous for its gold (1 Kings 10.11, Isaiah 13.12, etc.)
Opimius (d. 100? B.C.): Roman consul
Oppianus of Apameia (fl. c. 210): Greek poet
Orcus: the underworld (see Hades)
Orestes: son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, murdered her and her lover Aegisthus
Origen (c. 185–c. 254): Alexandrian Biblical scholar and theologian
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