1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So today's 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: subject was a mathematician, a philosopher, and astronomer, and occultist, and, 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: according to the Catholic Church of the sixteenth century Italy, 6 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: a heretic uh. He was also really comfortable writing pretty 7 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: scathing critiques of people he disagreed with. We are going 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: to talk about Giordano Bruno today, who spoiler alert met 9 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: a bad end because of his views. But there's actually 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: been some debate over what exactly was the thing that 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: caused him to be finally found officially to be a 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: heretic uh. And we'll talk about that a bit at 13 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: the very end. He's an interesting story because he has 14 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: the trajectory of starting out in a religious career and 15 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: then because coming a heretic. So we're gonna jump right 16 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: into how Bruno went from being a friar to his 17 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: heretical life. Yeah. So Bruno was born Philippo Bruno in 18 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: and Nola, Italy. That's about thirty kilometers east of Naples. 19 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: His father was a soldier and at the age of fourteen, 20 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: Bruno left Nola to travel to Naples for his studies. 21 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: Among the many areas of education he had focusing on 22 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: humanities and dialectics, Bruno was also exposed to the work 23 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: of the Muslim philosopher Ebben Roused more commonly known to 24 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: European scholars as Avarroas. Avroas had lived in the twelfth 25 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: century and sought to combine the work of Greek philosophers 26 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: with the ideologies of Islamic traditions. He had written extensively 27 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: on the works of Aristotle and Plato and was deeply 28 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: influential for the philosophers who came after him. Bruno also 29 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: studied memory and recall and the way humans can teach 30 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: themselves to remember things using mnemonic devices and other prompts. Yeah, 31 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: all of this is interesting because he was exposed to 32 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: it so early on in his life, and these kinds 33 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: of ideas of like combining science and religious ideology, his 34 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: his memory, teaching to other people all comes back throughout 35 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: his life and becomes really important. So while he was 36 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: studying in Naples, Bruno made an impression on his teachers 37 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: for his astonishing memory. In fifteen sixty nine, he was 38 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: sent to perform for the Pope, showing off his recall ability, 39 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: and then three years after moving to Naples for his education, 40 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: Bruno joined the Dominican Order and moved into the convent 41 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 1: of San Domenico Maggiore. It was at this point that 42 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: he took the name Giordano. He was ordained as a 43 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: friar in fifteen seventy two after seven years with the Order, 44 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,399 Speaker 1: but he continued his studies in Naples, finishing his religious 45 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: scholarship program in fifteen seventy five. Though Bruno had been 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,639 Speaker 1: ordained and had been encouraged to continue his studies, there 47 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 1: had been from the beginnings of his life with the 48 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: Dominican Order some concerns about his heretical leanings, and he 49 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: did want to discuss heretical ideas. One that was of 50 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: interest to him is what's known as the Arian heresy, 51 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: named for the third century priest from Alexandria named Arius. 52 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: This heretical doctrine put forth the idea that Christ was 53 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: not divine, but was an instrument of the divine. Yeah, 54 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: we'll talk so much more about his his thoughts and 55 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: writings about Christ and why those upset people. Uh, because 56 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: you're donno. Bruno openly discussed this idea and others as 57 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: worthy of consideration, and of course, because questioning the Holy 58 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: Trinity was very dangerous, he found himself charged with heresy 59 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: for the first time by the Neapolitan leaders of the 60 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: Order in early fifteen seventy six, But rather than face 61 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: a heresy trial, Bruno decided he would just leave the 62 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: city and he headed to Rome. That only lasted a 63 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: couple of months because when additional heretical texts were found 64 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: among the things he left behind in Naples, including works 65 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: of Erasmus which questioned the powers of the papacy, and 66 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: the entire structure of the Catholic Church, which Bruno had 67 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: notated himself in the margins, so they knew he had 68 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: read it. The search for the heretical fugitive intensified, and 69 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: Rome was no longer safe, so Bruno was once again 70 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: on the run. This time he left behind all of 71 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: his ties to the Catholic Church and his life as 72 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: a friar. For a couple of years, Bruno was on 73 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: the move, traveling around northern Italy. He said to have 74 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,679 Speaker 1: made his way by picking up odd jobs like teaching 75 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: Latin or basic astronomy to students and interested adults. Then 76 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: in fifteen seventy eight he left Italy and went to Geneva, Switzerland. 77 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: For a while, he survived there taking copy, editing and 78 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: proofing work. But though he had been branded a heretic 79 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,480 Speaker 1: by the Catholic Church and had left his life in 80 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: the Naples clergy, he still really sought a religious haven 81 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: for himself. He briefly thought he might have found it 82 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 1: in Calvinism. So for context, John Calvin had been born 83 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: just a little less than forty years before Bruno, and 84 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: he had died fourteen years before the former Dominican found 85 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: himself in Geneva. Bruno saw so much potential in the 86 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: reformist ideas of Calvin's book, Institute of the Christian Religion, 87 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: which had first been published in the mid fifteen thirties 88 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: and had been reissued already many times in the intervening decades. 89 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: So Gjordano Bruno converted to Calvinism while he was in Switzerland, 90 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: but he continued to have a questioning nature, and he 91 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: got into trouble with the Calvinist Church just as he 92 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: had the Catholic Church. He wanted to examine doctrine rather 93 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: than follow it, and while he had believed that approach 94 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 1: would be more welcomed in his new church, he was 95 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: ultimately incorrect. The final straw was a pamphlet he published 96 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: which openly criticized a prominent Calvinist. Soon he was arrested 97 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: and excommunicated. He retracted the writing which had caused the 98 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: rift with the church to get out of any serious repercussions, 99 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: but once again he was a man with no religious affiliation. 100 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: After that, strife with the Calvinist Church in Geneva was 101 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: more or less resolved. Bruno moved on once again, and 102 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: this time he headed to France. While spending time first 103 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: and to lose, he continued to be troubled by his 104 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: rift with the Catholic Church, and to rectify the situation, 105 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: he formally requested absolution. He wanted to make amends with 106 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: the church and offer penance in the hopes of being 107 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 1: officially forgiven, but he was denied, despite the fact though 108 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: that he was still considered a heretic, which of course 109 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: had considerable weight. In the fifteen seventies, Giordano Brune was 110 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: able to find work teaching philosophy and to lose, and 111 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: that was something that he did for roughly two years. 112 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: In fifteen eighty one, Bruno moved on to Paris after 113 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: escalating tensions between Huguenos and Catholics Interlus made that city 114 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: too dangerous to stay in. This ultimately led to the 115 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty two riots of to Lose, But Jordano Bruno 116 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: was long gone by the time that happened, and those 117 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: issues and to Lose were reflective of a bigger issue 118 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: in France. In the fifteen eighties, France was smack dab 119 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,559 Speaker 1: in the middle of its wars of religion. At this point, 120 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: it was actually sort of a perfect time for Bruno 121 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: to move to Paris. Though the Hugueno massacre at Vassi 122 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: and the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day were well in 123 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: the past, the Huguenots had been granted the freedom to 124 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: worship Henry the Third, who was one of Catherine de 125 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: Medici's sons and had been one of the conspirators, and 126 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: the St. Bartholome Use Day massacre, was king of France 127 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,239 Speaker 1: when Bruno moved to Paris, and Henry the Third really 128 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: liked Jordano Bruno so much so that he made him 129 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: a royal lecturer. Bruno had fallen in with the politiques, 130 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: that's the faction in the religious words that was Catholic 131 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: but moderate and wanted compromise in religious matters as a 132 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: means for unity for France, rather than the emergence of 133 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: any single religion as dominant in ruling. While in Paris, 134 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: Bruno wrote and published a great deal. He had finally 135 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: kind of found like where he might have belonged, at 136 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: least for a moment. He produced several works that were 137 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: rooted in his study and fascination with memory, which elaborated 138 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: far beyond the idea of recall and kind of focused 139 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: on how a person could use their memory to develop 140 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: a deeper understanding of reality. He wrote a comedy in 141 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: fifteen eighty two called The Candle Maker. This play, if stage, 142 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: would run at an estimated five hours, and the author 143 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: in the original is listed as Bruno the Nolan, the 144 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: academic of No Academy, nicknamed the Exasperated. His exasperation was 145 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 1: with society as a whole. He felt there was corruption 146 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: all around and that people claiming morality were often lax 147 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: and upholding it. It was essentially a protest play. We 148 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: should point out Bruno was kind of exasperated with a 149 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: lot of people. A lot of the time, if you 150 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: thought somebody was foolish or frivolous or pompous, he did 151 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: not hesitate to write scathing critiques of them. Now, he's 152 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: a little bit of a firebrand in this regard, and 153 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: I think he kind of liked the conflict like it. 154 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: It fueled him. That's my speculation. When we come back, 155 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: we're going to talk a little bit more about political 156 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 1: and religious strife in France, as well as Bruno's time 157 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 1: in England. But first we are going to pause for 158 00:09:50,880 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. In four, Henry the Third's brother, 159 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: Francis Dudanjou died, and this made Henry of Navarre air 160 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: presumptive to the throne of France, and that catalyzed a 161 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: new rise in the conflict among France's religious factions, in 162 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 1: what became known as the War of the Three Henry's. 163 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: But Bruno was lucky enough to have left the country 164 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: before that happened. In three he had moved from Paris 165 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: to London, and King Henry the Third had sent along 166 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,679 Speaker 1: with him a letter of recommendation, which Bruno took to 167 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,239 Speaker 1: Michele de Caston. Now the French ambassador to Queen Elizabeth 168 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 1: the First Court. For a while, Bruno went to Oxford 169 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: where he lectured on astronomy. But Bruno's views did not 170 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: go over well at Oxford, so he quickly returned to Court, 171 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: convinced that the alleged intellectuals of Oxford were beneath him. 172 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: That cracks me up. Returning to Elizabeth's Court connected him 173 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: to another recent podcast subject, that was Mary Sidney Herbert, 174 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: because Bruno became friends with her brother, Sir Philip Sidney. 175 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: He apparently did not thank Sir Philip Sidney was beneath him, 176 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: just the so called intellectuals of Oxford. Yeah, it was 177 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: basically like, um, you know, if you don't believe me, 178 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:20,839 Speaker 1: clearly you are a ding dong. Sydney, of course, had 179 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: a wide circle of intellectual acquaintances, and through them Bruno 180 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: was invited to speak once again with scholars from Oxford. 181 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 1: It once again did not go well. A fight actually 182 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: broke out in which Bruno called one of the men 183 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: that he had met with a pig. Bruno started writing 184 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: a comprehensive explanation of his thoughts on morality and cosmology 185 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 1: in the wake of the skirmish at Oxford. This resulted 186 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: in a six volume set that's referred to as the 187 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: Italian Dialogues. Three of the volumes, the Ash Wednesday Supper, 188 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: concerning the Cause Principle in one and on the Infinite 189 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: Universe and World's Examined the Universe and Our Understanding of It. 190 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 1: And the other three, which were The Expulsion of the 191 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 1: Triumphant Beast, Cabal of the Horse Pegasus, and the Heroic Frenzies, 192 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 1: work through Bruno's views on morality, often in a way 193 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 1: that's highly critical of society. Yeah, he was a critical 194 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: gent in the Ash Wednesday Supper. Bruno is a character 195 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: in the writing. He calls himself the Nolan, which we 196 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: had mentioned him using before that signified his birthplace of Nola, 197 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: and another character, tail Field, serves as the purveyor of 198 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: Bruno The writer's ideas, including the idea that there are 199 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,680 Speaker 1: innumerable worlds. He subscribed to the idea that the universe 200 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: was infinite and that there could be other solar systems 201 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: like ours. He wrote of the belief that space could 202 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: be finite. Quote supposed now that all space were created 203 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: finite if one were to run on to the end 204 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: to its furthest coasts and throw a flying dart. Would 205 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,720 Speaker 1: you have it that the dart hurled with might and 206 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: main goeth on whether it is sped flying afar, or 207 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: thank you that something can check and bar its way 208 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: for whether there be something to check it and bring 209 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 1: about that it arriveth not whether it was sped and 210 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: planteth not itself in the goal, or whether it fareth 211 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: forward yet it's set not forth From the end. He 212 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: continued his argument with quote, we cannot deny infinity merely 213 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,679 Speaker 1: because we do not sensibly perceive it. Ya. So in 214 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: case that um definitely uh older style of writing was 215 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: in any way confusing, and blessed Tracy for reading it. 216 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: He's basically like, if you go to the edge of 217 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 1: space and throw a dart, is it gonna doink back 218 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: and hit you? Like? What do you think happens? Because 219 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: the we've never found that. So all of this meant 220 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: that Bruno so supported helio centrism. Now that idea was 221 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: of course not new in the sixteenth century. As early 222 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: as the fifth century b c. There were philosophers in 223 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: Greece that were suggesting that the earth might be revolving 224 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: around a central fire, but that concept and theories that 225 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: built on it had not become accepted, in part because 226 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: it was just so difficult to reconcile the idea of 227 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 1: the planet being in motion while we are also able 228 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: to see what appeared to be fixed objects in the 229 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: night sky, like star clusters that were observed night after night. 230 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: By the time Bruno was writing about helio centrism, it 231 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: had come once again to the forefront of cosmological discussion. 232 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: In the mid fifteenth century, the German religious scholar Nicholas 233 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 1: of Cusa had worked on an idea that Earth was 234 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 1: influential in the movement of the universe, but that it 235 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: was not the center around which other things revolved. Copernicus 236 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: had published six books can earning the Revolutions of the 237 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: Heavenly Orbs, just a few years before Bruno's birth. It's 238 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: really when heliocentrism started gaining a foothold in cosmological circles. 239 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: So though Bruno's writing was just supporting what other intellectuals 240 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: at the time were already espousing, he was definitely doing so. 241 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: When the idea was far from a settled matter, it 242 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: was still really controversial to put it in context on 243 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: the historical timeline. Galileo was put on trial by the 244 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: Inquisition over his support of the Copernical heliocentric theory, almost 245 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: fifty years after Bruno wrote in support of it. But 246 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: Bruno's writing integrates this idea of an infinite universe with 247 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: the idea of a God that held dominion over infinity. 248 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 1: This was absolutely not a rejection of Christian beliefs. For him. 249 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: Bruno wrote in on the Infinite Universe and World quote, 250 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: so great is God's excellence that it is manifested in 251 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: the greatness of his empire. It is not glorified in 252 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: one but in innumerable suns, not in one earth, one world, 253 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,600 Speaker 1: but in ten hundred thousand, I say, in infinite. A 254 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: very controversial view that Bruno held and included in the 255 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: Italian Dialogues is his case that the Bible is great 256 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: as a guide for a moral life, but it's not 257 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: a text that should be used as the basis of 258 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: astronomical information. He made lots of assertions about there being 259 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 1: other worlds in the cosmos which would probably support life, 260 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: none of which had ever been mentioned in biblical writing. 261 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: He got a lot of things wrong in his guesses 262 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: about how things might work, but he was able to 263 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: grasp the idea that the Earth might not be all 264 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: that singular in the vastness of space. For these ideas 265 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: and others, Bruno knew the Italian Dialogues would not be 266 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: welcomed in Italy, so he published them outside of his 267 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: home country. Yeah, there's some cute additional on that where 268 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: he kind of still wanted to make it seem like 269 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: they were published in Italy that we could talk about 270 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: in the behind the scenes um. In the fall of five, 271 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: Bruno decided to return to France. But in that short 272 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: time he had been away, that conflict among the Henry's 273 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: had started, and he did not find himself in a 274 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,919 Speaker 1: group of moderates as he had before. His moderate friends 275 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,719 Speaker 1: had gotten a little more hardline in their beliefs, Henry 276 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: the Third had taken a stronger stance against all non Catholics. Uh, 277 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:34,400 Speaker 1: it would have been smart on Bruno's part to kind 278 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: of keep his head down and maybe dial back his 279 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: constant critiques of just about everyone in an environment like this, 280 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: But instead he got in a very public argument with 281 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 1: Fabrizio mor Dente, an Italian mathematician who was also Catholic 282 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 1: and well connected to Catholic political leaders in France at 283 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:56,639 Speaker 1: the time. Bruno also made a focused attack on the 284 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: work of Aristotle in six with the writing of twenty 285 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: articles on nature and the World against the Peripatetics. Because 286 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 1: of his ongoing strife with so many Catholics and his 287 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: increasingly unpopular views, the politics distanced themselves from Bruno. He 288 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,719 Speaker 1: next moved on to Germany. He taught and wrote as 289 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 1: he traveled the country, and produced the work A hundred 290 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: and sixty articles in fifty eight. In this he asserted 291 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: that all religions could coexist peacefully if they would stop 292 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 1: attacking one another and foster communication. In early fifteen eighty nine, 293 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,160 Speaker 1: Bruno was banished from yet another religious sect, this time 294 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: the Lutherans, who he tried to join up with briefly. 295 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: So if you're keeping score, he had now been excommunicated 296 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: by the Catholics, the Calvinists, and the Lutherans, and after 297 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: his fallout with the Lutheran Church, Bruno worked on a 298 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 1: book about the connection between mathematics and magic, although that 299 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,879 Speaker 1: was not published In his lifetime, he also continued to 300 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,960 Speaker 1: reiterate his idea is from the Italian Dialogues in new 301 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: writings specifically three poems that he wrote in Latin, on 302 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: the threefold minimum and Measure, on the monad number and figure, 303 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: and on the Immeasurable and Innumerable. Bruno also included some 304 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: new ideas in these poems alongside the concepts that he 305 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: was echoing from his previous work, and one of these 306 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 1: new ideas was the concept of matter being made up 307 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 1: of tiny, tiny particles. This was essentially an early exploration 308 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,400 Speaker 1: of the idea of Adams. Although he was doing all 309 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: this writing, he couldn't publish any of it because of 310 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: all of his fallouts with basically everyone he knew. He 311 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: couldn't publish in Italy, so in fifteen ninety he asked 312 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: to be granted residency in Frankfurt, where he hoped to 313 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: publish his work, but that request was denied. He tried, 314 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: it seems, to get around that denial by moving into 315 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:56,200 Speaker 1: a Carmelite convent in Frankfurt. The head of the convent 316 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: didn't really seem to love that arrangement because he felt 317 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: that Bruno was actually religious at all and had become 318 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: vain and obsessed with quote novelties in his work. In Fife, 319 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: Bruno traveled once again to Italy, not to roam more Naples, 320 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 1: where he still would have certainly been an outcast, but 321 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: he was just traveling across northern Italy en route to 322 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 1: the Republic of Venice, which was not part of Italy 323 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: at this time. This was a move that was catalyzed 324 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: by being asked to come to Venice by a nobleman 325 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: of the city, and this might sound like a pretty 326 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: rash move to head back through a country where he 327 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 1: had been a wanted man for a long time at 328 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 1: this point for his heretical ideas, but the circumstances were 329 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: such that it probably didn't seem all that dangerous for Bruno. 330 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: Gregory had been pope when Bruno had become a fugitive 331 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: in the fifteen seventies. He had died in fifteen eighty 332 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 1: five and was replaced by Sixtus the Fifth, but six 333 00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: of the Fifth had died in fifteen ninety, and after 334 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: that there were three popes in rapid succession. Urban the 335 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,440 Speaker 1: seventh was pope for only twelve days, and then Gregory 336 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: the fourteenth had become pope in December off and while 337 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: Bruno couldn't have known it when he made his way 338 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: to Venice in late summer of Gregory the fourteenth also 339 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: would not be pope that much longer. He died in October, 340 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: he would be replaced by Innocent the ninth, who was 341 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: pope for only twelve months. We're mentioning all of this 342 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: because it probably would have seemed like any of the 343 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,439 Speaker 1: concerns about Bruno's heresy would have been lost in the 344 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:42,880 Speaker 1: shuffle of just so many rapid shifts in leadership. Additionally, 345 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: he was going to what was a fairly liberal state. Yeah, 346 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: Venice at this point was all about exploration and new ideas, 347 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 1: and so he thought, like, it'll be cool. I'll just 348 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: run across artern Italy be fine. And Bruno also had 349 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 1: his eyes on a job in this move, the University 350 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: of Padua, and he did ahead of their mathematics department, 351 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: and if he could secure it, the position would grant 352 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: him some stability and it would make it possible for 353 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: him to publish. So if you are familiar with this 354 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: time in European history and or with the work of Galileo, 355 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 1: you might already know that Bruno did not get the job, 356 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: because Galileo did. Bruno had really campaigned for it, though 357 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: he had even given a private lecture series on geometry 358 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: and other mathematical subjects in Padua to prove his abilities. 359 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: After the position went to Galileo, Bruno returned to the 360 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: city of Venice and to the nobleman who had invited 361 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:39,399 Speaker 1: him in the first place, which was Giovanni Mochanigo. This 362 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 1: is not the Giovanni Mochanigo who was the Doja of 363 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: Venice in the fifteenth century. This was a later member 364 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,879 Speaker 1: of the same family. Moenego had been the one to 365 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,880 Speaker 1: tell Bruno about the position in Padua and had hoped 366 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: that Bruno would instruct him in the art of memory. 367 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: But these two had a falling out, and there are 368 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: a couple of different take on what exactly caused this rifted, 369 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 1: depending on what Sorcier reading. One version is that the 370 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:10,639 Speaker 1: Venetian Mochanigo was not satisfied with the lessons that he 371 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: had received from Bruno, and he was also irritated that 372 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: Bruno was talking about his intention to move back to 373 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: Frankfurt again, something that Mochenego apparently took as an insult. 374 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: Another version is that in teaching Mochenego about mnemonics and philosophy, 375 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: Bruno had maybe overshared his ideas and it troubled the 376 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: Venetian a great deal because those ideas were so at 377 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: odds with mores of society and especially the Church. Regardless 378 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: of the specific cause of the friction between the two 379 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,640 Speaker 1: of them, Motionenego turned his house guest into the Venetian 380 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: Inquisition in May of two via a letter. He included 381 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 1: a list of twenty one alleged instances in which Bruno 382 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:59,199 Speaker 1: had committed heresy, including accusations that Bruno had said that 383 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: the virgin Mary could not have been a mother and 384 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: that miracles ascribed to Christ were not miracles at all, 385 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: but magic tricks used to dupe the foolish. I can 386 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: see how this would have been upsetting. Yes, we're going 387 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: to talk about Bruno's trials for heresy. That was plural 388 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,479 Speaker 1: after we hear from some of the sponsors that keep 389 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in history class going. So, after Mochenego 390 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,440 Speaker 1: turned him in, Bruno was formally accused of heresy again 391 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,479 Speaker 1: and was arrested, and the trial that followed in Venice 392 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: actually went pretty well for him. Initially, he explained that 393 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:47,719 Speaker 1: he was always working from a philosophical viewpoint rather than 394 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 1: a religious one, and he did walk back some of 395 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,639 Speaker 1: the statements he had made about religion, clarifying that he 396 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: had said some things and error when he really meant 397 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: to talk about theoretical ideas and just examine them in 398 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: relation to religion. And the Venetian Inquisition sounds like it 399 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: was kind of initially receptive to this defense, but even 400 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: though there had been those several changes in popes, once 401 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: word reached the Vatican that Bruno was being tried in Venice, 402 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: it was demanded that he be extradited into Rome to 403 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: stand trial there for heresy. His charges were even more 404 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,919 Speaker 1: serious than heresy, though, because he was also accused of 405 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:33,359 Speaker 1: converting other Catholics into heretics as well, and total, he 406 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: was charged with more than four dozen different heresies by 407 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:42,159 Speaker 1: the Roman Inquisition, including speaking ill of Catholicism, having contempt 408 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:48,919 Speaker 1: for holy relics, practicing divination, apostasy, believing that souls could transmigrate, 409 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: asserting that there could be other worlds like Earth in 410 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:54,919 Speaker 1: the cosmos, and even eating meat on days that it 411 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: was prohibited. So many accusations of varying degrees of intensity. 412 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: He arrived in Rome on January and he spent the 413 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 1: rest of his life there. His trial spooled out over 414 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:12,280 Speaker 1: the next seven years, and while he went with the 415 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: same philosophy and theory approach to his defense against the 416 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,640 Speaker 1: heresy charges, that explanation was not as welcomed in Rome 417 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 1: as it may have been in Venice. What the inquisitors 418 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: of Rome wanted was a full retraction of everything he 419 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 1: had said about religion, full stop. Bruno, though thought he 420 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,840 Speaker 1: could maybe convince his accusers that really the things he 421 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,399 Speaker 1: had said were not in conflict with the teachings of 422 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:42,239 Speaker 1: the Catholic Church. He believed that in presenting himself as 423 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 1: a philosopher, he would have to be granted leeway to 424 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: conjecture about just about anything, but that was not appreciated. 425 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: Attempting to separate philosophy from theology for discussion was actually 426 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: considered heretical in its own right, according to some writings, 427 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: because it could lead anyone down the path to heresy, 428 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 1: and while Venice had not been quite so finicky on 429 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,159 Speaker 1: that point, Rome really dug in. This was also in 430 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: part because he could call himself a philosopher all he wanted, 431 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: but the inquisition viewed him as a friar who had strayed. 432 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: A retraction, as we said, was what the Church was after, 433 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: but Bruno was adamant that he didn't have anything to retract. 434 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,399 Speaker 1: He said he didn't even understand what they wanted because, 435 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,879 Speaker 1: in his opinion, he had done nothing wrong, but the 436 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,960 Speaker 1: latest Pope, Clement the Eighth, did not concur Bruno was 437 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: found guilty of heresy on February four in a proclamation 438 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 1: which read quote, our most Holy Lord decrees and ordains 439 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: that it be intimated to the Apostate brothers Giordano Bruno 440 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: of Nola, by the Theologian fathers, namely Father Bellarmine and 441 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: the Father Commissary, that these propositions are heretical, and not 442 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 1: only heretical as now declared, but by the most ancient 443 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,919 Speaker 1: fathers of the Church and the Apostolic See. There was 444 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,199 Speaker 1: apparently a list of eight heretical points for which he 445 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: was absolutely found guilty, but that list has been lost, 446 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: so we don't know what of the many dozens of 447 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 1: accusations were really the ones. But he was given several 448 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,880 Speaker 1: weeks to recant, like they kind of gave him an out, 449 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: but he didn't. The inquisitors extended that opportunity to recant 450 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: several times, but Bruno consistently denied that his work was 451 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: in any way heretical. Bruno received his death sentence on 452 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: February eight, six hundred. The inquisitors also condemned all of 453 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: his writings, and his books were added to the index 454 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 1: of forbidden books. While it's often reported that his last 455 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: words before execution were quote, perhaps you who pronounced my 456 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: sentence are in greater fear than I who received it, 457 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 1: that was actually his reaction to the sentencing. Nine days later, 458 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 1: on February seventeen, sixteen hundred, Bruno was taken to the 459 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: public square known as Camp Defjure in Rome, gagged and 460 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: burned alive. Okay, we have talked about Bruno's philosophy and 461 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: religious views in regard to his being judged a heretic, 462 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: and you will also see accounts of his life that 463 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: say he was actually executed for believing that there were 464 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: other solar systems and that ours was not really the 465 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 1: center of the universe. Sometimes this is also as like 466 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: the sun is a star or the sun is one 467 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: of many stars, and the disparity of whether this was 468 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:31,479 Speaker 1: a cosmological issue or a philosophical one has been a 469 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 1: matter of debate among historians and scholars for quite a while. 470 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,680 Speaker 1: In the second half of the twentieth century, most scholars 471 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,480 Speaker 1: had landed at the conclusion that, yes, issues of cosmology 472 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: were part of the heresy of Giordano Bruno, but they're 473 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: really The biggest problem in his work was his assertion 474 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: that Christ was not divine. You can see with the 475 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: Church sure would dislike that. But in recent years there 476 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: has been a deeper look at Bruno's trial that adds 477 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,880 Speaker 1: a little more nuance and brings the cosmology back into focus, 478 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 1: and an article published in Annals of Science in historian 479 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: Alberto A. Martinez made the case that a many worlds 480 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: cosmology had been well established as heretical going back through 481 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: the centuries leading up to Bruno's trial. For example, he 482 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: notes that the laster who was the Bishop of Brescia, 483 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: Italy in the fourth century made this very clear, writing 484 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,720 Speaker 1: quote Another heresy is to say that worlds are infinite 485 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:34,400 Speaker 1: and innumerable, following the Assinine opinion of the philosophers, whereas 486 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: scriptures say that the world is one and it teaches 487 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: us that it is one. Martinez also points out that 488 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: closer to the time of Bruno's trial, in the mid 489 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: sixteenth century, there was a move to define heresy but 490 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:54,320 Speaker 1: also debate about it. Long lists of heretical offenses that 491 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 1: were punishable by death were published, and the idea of 492 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 1: innumerable world was one of them. And in fifteen eighty two, 493 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 1: Pope Gregory, for whom the Gregorian Calendar is named and 494 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: who was Pope when Bruno was first accused of heresy, 495 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:15,080 Speaker 1: had an updated edition of Corpus of canon Law published, 496 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: and appearing in that updated edition was the following heresy quote, 497 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: having the opinion of innumerable worlds. From the beginning of 498 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: Bruno's heresy trial in Venice, his belief in the idea 499 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:32,200 Speaker 1: of infinite worlds was part of his accusations that had 500 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,800 Speaker 1: been on the list that Machnego had sent the inquisition, 501 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 1: and unlike some of the other accusations, Bruno never denied 502 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 1: this one. In fact, he asserted it's verity repeatedly, telling 503 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: inquisitors quote, I affirm an infinite universe, which is the 504 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 1: consequence of the infinite divine power, because I regard it 505 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: as unworthy of the divine goodness and power that being 506 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,120 Speaker 1: able to produce, in addition to our world, another and 507 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: infinitely many others, to produce one finite world. Yes, I 508 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: have asserted infinite particular world similar to the Earth, which 509 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: with Pythagoras, I consider a star similar to which is 510 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: the Moon, other planets and other stars, which are infinite, 511 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:21,040 Speaker 1: and that all these bodies are worlds and numberless, which 512 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: thus constitute the infinite universality in an infinite space, and 513 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:31,440 Speaker 1: this is called the infinite universe, and which are innumerable worlds. 514 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 1: Thus the fortune that is double from the infinitude and 515 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: greatness of the universe and the multitude of worlds, but 516 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,480 Speaker 1: without indirectly meaning to reject the truth according to the faith. 517 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: Some of that is so poetic, and I know that's 518 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: a translation, but I love it. According to Martinez's research, 519 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:52,959 Speaker 1: at least five witnesses who testified against Bruno and Venice 520 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,920 Speaker 1: mentioned specifically his cosmological beliefs in multiple worlds as part 521 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:02,200 Speaker 1: of his heresy. Four of the five repeated this testimony 522 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: at the trial in Rome, and when tallied up, it 523 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: is the accusation of this belief in many worlds that 524 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: appears most frequently in Bruno's trial Summarine, and the summary 525 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: also reflects that he was specifically ordered to abandon his 526 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 1: quote delusions regarding many worlds. Additionally, a witness to his 527 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,960 Speaker 1: execution recounted that one of the heresies read aloud before 528 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 1: Bruno was killed was his belief that quote, worlds are innumerable. 529 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: So it does seem that the idea of this sort 530 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 1: of plurality of worlds was a significant part of the 531 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:40,680 Speaker 1: accusations that led to Bruno's fate and execution. In his time, 532 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:45,480 Speaker 1: Bruno became infamous, denounced by philosopher Marin Marcin twenty four 533 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,560 Speaker 1: years after his death as quote, one of the most 534 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 1: evil men that the earth has ever borne. But Bruno's 535 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,880 Speaker 1: expansive view of the cosmos and religion, and his efforts 536 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: to create a philosophy that combined the two also fascinated 537 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:06,680 Speaker 1: scholars and later philosophers and scientists built on various ideas 538 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,600 Speaker 1: that he had put forward. Yeah, I mean we talked 539 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: about many things that are that we're pretty ahead of 540 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:17,919 Speaker 1: their time when he was saying them, but unfortunately, very 541 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 1: angering to the church. The inquisition did not appreciate. He's 542 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: another figure that I love, despite the fact that I 543 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 1: think I wouldn't enjoy hanging out with him at all. 544 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:33,839 Speaker 1: I have a much more delightful listener. Mail from our 545 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 1: listener Francis uh it's kind of a long e and 546 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: Francis even says all the things I've been meaning to 547 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:43,399 Speaker 1: tell you as the subject line, which starts off with, 548 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:46,000 Speaker 1: first off, thank you so much for all your work 549 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,200 Speaker 1: on the podcast, I mean, my friends over the years. 550 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:52,040 Speaker 1: I started listening to podcast back in Tleven, Uh, and 551 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,320 Speaker 1: the podcast helped me through some stuff. I'm I'm paraphrasing 552 00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:57,320 Speaker 1: because I don't want to give up her personal information. 553 00:34:57,760 --> 00:34:59,439 Speaker 1: Stuff he missed in history was one of the first 554 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:01,400 Speaker 1: I found. And I've loved how the show has evolved 555 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,440 Speaker 1: over the years. Y'all have brought so much nuance to 556 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,200 Speaker 1: the show and have been so intentional about representation, and 557 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:09,359 Speaker 1: I appreciate it so much. The next thing is, I've 558 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,840 Speaker 1: been meaning to write since the episode on the Possession 559 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,000 Speaker 1: Case of Roland Doe. Not because I'm into horror movies, 560 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,120 Speaker 1: I'm a big baby, but because I live in the 561 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,759 Speaker 1: city of Mount Rainier. She fixes my pronunciation there. You 562 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,360 Speaker 1: can tell that I grew up for a time in 563 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:26,200 Speaker 1: the Pacific Northwest because I say Rainier, but it's apparently 564 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:30,440 Speaker 1: rainier when you're over in the eastern side where this 565 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: story took place. And there is a duplicate name shred 566 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:36,480 Speaker 1: says a story we're all familiar with in the area, 567 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:38,840 Speaker 1: and there's a bit of friendly rivalry between all the 568 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,280 Speaker 1: tiny cities that claimed to be the place where it happened. 569 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 1: One of the most read stories in our regional newspaper 570 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,439 Speaker 1: in was about a couple getting a really good deal 571 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:49,919 Speaker 1: on a house that is purported to be the house 572 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 1: where it happened. Honestly, with the housing market in the area, 573 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:54,800 Speaker 1: I might have snapped up a deal like this in 574 00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:58,560 Speaker 1: a potentially haunted house to uh. She also mentioned that 575 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,200 Speaker 1: her family is hosting in a Alion exchange student for 576 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:03,560 Speaker 1: the year. She went for a walk through town to 577 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,520 Speaker 1: find Satan's lot and explore it. She said it was 578 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:10,439 Speaker 1: kind of fun to be there. This also brings this 579 00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:14,520 Speaker 1: email to the story of Feta Cheeni Alfredo Srates. When 580 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,360 Speaker 1: our exchange student first arrived, I took her to the 581 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:18,319 Speaker 1: grocery store to see what she'd like to buy, and 582 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: because an American grocery store is quite the cultural experience. 583 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,080 Speaker 1: We were walking through the Italian island when she saw 584 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:26,640 Speaker 1: jars of Alfredo sauce on Michelle. She pointed at them 585 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,239 Speaker 1: in horror and said, is that Italian? That's not Italian. 586 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,319 Speaker 1: Blew my mind when she told her classmates they were 587 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,600 Speaker 1: also shocked. Cut to me listening to the third eponymous 588 00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: food episode and starting out with feta chini alfredo. I 589 00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:43,440 Speaker 1: was so excited to finally understand everything that had been 590 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:46,759 Speaker 1: lost in translation. We talked about the Italian name for it, 591 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:48,840 Speaker 1: and she said that was something very common, but it 592 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,319 Speaker 1: was nothing like the American version that she had been 593 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:53,640 Speaker 1: served for school lunches, which, to be fair, is a 594 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:57,920 Speaker 1: school lunch, so that's not a good representation of anything. Uh. 595 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: And then this is really why I wanted to read this, 596 00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:04,000 Speaker 1: because she talks about my favorite charity. Uh. The third 597 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:05,800 Speaker 1: thing that forced me to fight my A d h 598 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:08,400 Speaker 1: D long enough to actually write an email I've been 599 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 1: writing in my brain the Behind the Seeds episode on 600 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,719 Speaker 1: Edgerton and Nico. When Holly compared Francis Edgerton's chef to 601 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 1: Jose Andres cooking for her cats, I laughed out loud. 602 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,960 Speaker 1: I agree so much with the assessments of his restaurants 603 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:24,040 Speaker 1: everything is delicious, and his work as a philanthropist and 604 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,560 Speaker 1: activist I'm Puerto Rican, and his work on the island 605 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,600 Speaker 1: after Hurricane Maria. Told me everything I needed to know 606 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 1: about the type of person he is. My family went 607 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 1: about six to eight months without electricity, and my aunt 608 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:38,719 Speaker 1: only had an electric stove. It was virtually impossible for 609 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,200 Speaker 1: her to get any healthy, hearty food during that time, 610 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:43,359 Speaker 1: and it gave me comfort to know he was out 611 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,520 Speaker 1: there working with local restaurateurs to provide food for so many. 612 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,359 Speaker 1: I'm also a teacher at a private school that's exclusively 613 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:53,719 Speaker 1: for low income students. Our students work at an entry level, 614 00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:55,759 Speaker 1: white collar job one day a week as part of 615 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:59,560 Speaker 1: a work study program that subsidizes their education and provides 616 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,440 Speaker 1: them with four years of work experience. That means that 617 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:06,280 Speaker 1: we are always raising funds. Last school year, jose Andres 618 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,560 Speaker 1: did a fundraiser for us. It was fantastic and he 619 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,759 Speaker 1: is now a supporter of our school. UM. I love 620 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,600 Speaker 1: this so much, and she mentions that he was connected 621 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,839 Speaker 1: to the school through an alum who has their own 622 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,200 Speaker 1: restaurant which a small tak area and they now have 623 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:24,120 Speaker 1: five restaurants and a few Michelin stars. Um, this is 624 00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:27,000 Speaker 1: so wonderful, she says. I didn't mean for this email 625 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,080 Speaker 1: to get so long, but that is what happens when 626 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,000 Speaker 1: you wait too long to write, I'm attaching a picture 627 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: of my adorable cats. Epo as in Hiccups in Spanish. 628 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:37,520 Speaker 1: That is a great name for a cat, by the way, uh, 629 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: and Julius as in Caesar. He is the regal striped boy. 630 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:42,640 Speaker 1: They are the most doglike cats of all time, which 631 00:38:42,719 --> 00:38:44,320 Speaker 1: means I've got the best of both worlds and my 632 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,160 Speaker 1: sweet boys. These cats are like I can't even They're 633 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:50,000 Speaker 1: cuddled up in a little heart shape. It's so sweet. Francis, 634 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,759 Speaker 1: thank you so much for this absolutely beautiful email. And 635 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:54,880 Speaker 1: I love when people save it up and give us 636 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,160 Speaker 1: a big, a big long list of fun things. Um, 637 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,000 Speaker 1: and I always, like I said, love to talk about 638 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:04,399 Speaker 1: Jose Andres because World Central Kitchen remains my favorite charity. Uh. 639 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:06,600 Speaker 1: You would like to email us, you can do that. 640 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,200 Speaker 1: It's easy as pie at History podcast at iHeart radio 641 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:12,360 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also find us on social media 642 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 1: as Missed in History and if you would like to subscribe, 643 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,680 Speaker 1: that is also super duper simple. You can do that 644 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,840 Speaker 1: on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you listen to 645 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:27,920 Speaker 1: your favorite podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 646 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from 647 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 648 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:36,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.