1 00:00:02,490 --> 00:00:05,810 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Since Giordano Bruno was part of this week's 2 00:00:05,870 --> 00:00:09,110 Speaker 1: episode on Sarah Weiss and her journeys to Mars, we 3 00:00:09,150 --> 00:00:12,410 Speaker 1: are bringing out our episode on him as today's Saturday classic. 4 00:00:13,250 --> 00:00:21,479 Speaker 1: This episode originally came out March 23rd, 2022. Enjoy. Welcome 5 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:27,220 Speaker 1: to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. ¶ ¶ 6 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,659 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey. And 7 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,830 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So today's subject was a mathematician, 8 00:00:40,090 --> 00:00:43,729 Speaker 1: a philosopher, an astronomer, an occultist, and according to the 9 00:00:43,750 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: Catholic Church of the 16th century Italy, a heretic. He 10 00:00:48,460 --> 00:00:52,379 Speaker 1: was also really comfortable writing pretty scathing critiques of people 11 00:00:52,420 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: he disagreed with. We are going to talk about Giordano 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: Bruno today, who, spoiler alert, met a bad end because 13 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:03,260 Speaker 1: of his views. But there's actually been some debate over 14 00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: what exactly was the thing that caused him to be 15 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,260 Speaker 1: finally found officially to be a heretic. And we'll talk 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: about that a bit at the very end. He's an 17 00:01:13,860 --> 00:01:19,330 Speaker 1: interesting story because he has... the trajectory of starting out 18 00:01:20,209 --> 00:01:24,350 Speaker 1: in a religious career and then becoming a heretic. So 19 00:01:24,590 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: we're going to jump right into how Bruno went from 20 00:01:26,830 --> 00:01:33,179 Speaker 1: being a friar to his heretical life. Yeah, so Bruno 21 00:01:33,220 --> 00:01:38,060 Speaker 1: was born Filippo Bruno in 1548 in Nola, Italy. That's 22 00:01:38,100 --> 00:01:42,539 Speaker 1: about 30 kilometers east of Naples. His father was a soldier. 23 00:01:43,180 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: And at the age of 14, Bruno left Nola to 24 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,380 Speaker 1: travel to Naples for his studies. Among the many areas 25 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,660 Speaker 1: of education he had, focusing on humanities and dialectics, Bruno 26 00:01:54,700 --> 00:01:58,330 Speaker 1: was also exposed to the work of the Muslim philosopher 27 00:01:58,470 --> 00:02:03,670 Speaker 1: Ibn Rushd, more commonly known to European scholars as Averroes. 28 00:02:04,670 --> 00:02:07,450 Speaker 1: Averroes had lived in the 12th century and sought to 29 00:02:07,510 --> 00:02:10,910 Speaker 1: combine the work of Greek philosophers with the ideologies of 30 00:02:10,950 --> 00:02:14,390 Speaker 1: Islamic traditions. He had written extensively on the works of 31 00:02:14,450 --> 00:02:18,330 Speaker 1: Aristotle and Plato and was deeply influential for the philosophers 32 00:02:18,370 --> 00:02:22,829 Speaker 1: who came after him. Bruno also studied memory and recall 33 00:02:22,970 --> 00:02:26,100 Speaker 1: and the way humans can teach themselves to remember things 34 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: using mnemonic devices and other prompts. Yeah, all of this 35 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:32,900 Speaker 1: is interesting because he was exposed to it so early 36 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,380 Speaker 1: on in his life, and these kinds of ideas of, like, 37 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: combining science and religious ideology... His memory teaching to other 38 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,980 Speaker 1: people all comes back throughout his life and becomes really important. 39 00:02:46,780 --> 00:02:49,510 Speaker 1: So while he was studying in Naples, Bruno made an 40 00:02:49,570 --> 00:02:54,330 Speaker 1: impression on his teachers for his astonishing memory. In 1569, 41 00:02:54,330 --> 00:02:56,750 Speaker 1: he was sent to perform for the Pope, showing off 42 00:02:56,790 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: his recall ability. And then three years after moving to 43 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,820 Speaker 1: Naples for his education, Bruno joined the Dominican Order and 44 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: moved into the convent of San Domenico Maggiore. It was 45 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: at this point that he took the name Giordano. He 46 00:03:10,660 --> 00:03:14,410 Speaker 1: was ordained as a friar in 1572 after seven years 47 00:03:14,450 --> 00:03:17,790 Speaker 1: with the order. But he continued his studies in Naples, 48 00:03:17,889 --> 00:03:23,090 Speaker 1: finishing his religious scholarship program in 1575. Although Bruno had 49 00:03:23,130 --> 00:03:26,609 Speaker 1: been ordained and had been encouraged to continue his studies, 50 00:03:27,190 --> 00:03:29,670 Speaker 1: there had been, from the beginnings of his life with 51 00:03:29,690 --> 00:03:34,109 Speaker 1: the Dominican order, some concerns about his heretical leanings. And 52 00:03:34,169 --> 00:03:38,310 Speaker 1: he did want to discuss heretical ideas. One that was 53 00:03:38,370 --> 00:03:41,870 Speaker 1: of interest to him is what's known as the Arian heresy, 54 00:03:42,050 --> 00:03:45,990 Speaker 1: named for the third century priest from Alexandria named Arius. 55 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,020 Speaker 1: This heretical doctrine put forth the idea that Christ was 56 00:03:50,140 --> 00:03:55,060 Speaker 1: not divine, but was an instrument of the divine. Yeah. 57 00:03:55,100 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: We'll talk so much more about his thoughts and writings 58 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,890 Speaker 1: about Christ and why those upset people. And because Giordano 59 00:04:03,910 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: Bruno openly discussed this idea publicly, and others as worthy 60 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: of consideration. And of course, because questioning the Holy Trinity 61 00:04:11,740 --> 00:04:15,870 Speaker 1: was very dangerous, he found himself charged with heresy for 62 00:04:15,910 --> 00:04:18,990 Speaker 1: the first time by the Neapolitan leaders of the order 63 00:04:19,089 --> 00:04:23,270 Speaker 1: in early 1576. But rather than face a heresy trial, 64 00:04:23,790 --> 00:04:26,089 Speaker 1: Bruno decided he would just leave the city and he 65 00:04:26,150 --> 00:04:29,980 Speaker 1: headed to Rome. That only lasted a couple of months 66 00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: because when additional heretical texts were found among the things 67 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,580 Speaker 1: he left behind in Naples... including works of Erasmus, which 68 00:04:37,660 --> 00:04:40,860 Speaker 1: questioned the powers of the papacy and the entire structure 69 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: of the Catholic Church, which Bruno had notated himself in 70 00:04:44,420 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 1: the margins so they knew he had read it. The 71 00:04:47,140 --> 00:04:51,110 Speaker 1: search for the heretical fugitive intensified, and Rome was no 72 00:04:51,150 --> 00:04:53,650 Speaker 1: longer safe, so Bruno was once again on the run. 73 00:04:54,470 --> 00:04:56,990 Speaker 1: This time, he left behind all of his ties to 74 00:04:57,010 --> 00:05:00,370 Speaker 1: the Catholic Church and his life as a friar. For 75 00:05:00,390 --> 00:05:02,909 Speaker 1: a couple of years, Bruno was on the move, traveling 76 00:05:02,950 --> 00:05:06,210 Speaker 1: around northern Italy. He's said to have made his way 77 00:05:06,290 --> 00:05:09,609 Speaker 1: by picking up odd jobs like teaching Latin or basic 78 00:05:09,670 --> 00:05:14,390 Speaker 1: astronomy to students and interested adults. Then in 1578, he 79 00:05:14,510 --> 00:05:18,370 Speaker 1: left Italy and went to Geneva, Switzerland. For a while, 80 00:05:18,430 --> 00:05:22,810 Speaker 1: he survived there taking copy editing and proofing work. But 81 00:05:22,930 --> 00:05:25,589 Speaker 1: though he had been branded a heretic by the Catholic 82 00:05:25,650 --> 00:05:29,219 Speaker 1: Church and had left his life in the Naples clergy, 83 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:34,030 Speaker 1: he still really sought a religious haven for himself. He 84 00:05:34,110 --> 00:05:38,010 Speaker 1: briefly thought he might have found it in Calvinism. So 85 00:05:38,050 --> 00:05:41,130 Speaker 1: for context, John Calvin had been born just a little 86 00:05:41,150 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: less than 40 years before Bruno, and he had died 87 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:48,020 Speaker 1: 14 years before the former Dominican found himself in Geneva. 88 00:05:48,980 --> 00:05:52,820 Speaker 1: Bruno saw so much potential in the reformist ideas of 89 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: Calvin's book, Institute of the Christian Religion, which had first 90 00:05:56,540 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 1: been published in the mid-1530s and had been reissued already 91 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,770 Speaker 1: many times in the intervening decades. So Giordano Bruno converted 92 00:06:04,830 --> 00:06:09,150 Speaker 1: to Calvinism while he was in Switzerland. But he continued 93 00:06:09,170 --> 00:06:12,110 Speaker 1: to have a questioning nature, and he got into trouble 94 00:06:12,150 --> 00:06:15,190 Speaker 1: with the Calvinist church just as he had the Catholic church. 95 00:06:15,990 --> 00:06:19,540 Speaker 1: He wanted to examine doctrine rather than follow it, and 96 00:06:19,660 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: while he had believed that approach would be more welcomed 97 00:06:22,820 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: in his new church, he was ultimately incorrect. The final 98 00:06:26,820 --> 00:06:30,460 Speaker 1: straw was a pamphlet he published which openly criticized a 99 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:36,150 Speaker 1: prominent Calvinist Soon he was arrested and excommunicated. He retracted 100 00:06:36,190 --> 00:06:38,670 Speaker 1: the writing, which had caused the rift with the church 101 00:06:38,770 --> 00:06:41,930 Speaker 1: to get out of any serious repercussions, but once again 102 00:06:42,010 --> 00:06:46,100 Speaker 1: he was a man with no religious affiliation. After that 103 00:06:46,250 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: strife with the Calvinist church in Geneva was more or 104 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: less resolved, Bruno moved on once again, and this time 105 00:06:52,339 --> 00:06:55,940 Speaker 1: he headed to France. While spending time first in Toulouse, 106 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,260 Speaker 1: he continued to be troubled by his rift with the 107 00:06:58,300 --> 00:07:03,690 Speaker 1: Catholic church. And to rectify the situation, he formally requested absolution. 108 00:07:04,230 --> 00:07:06,570 Speaker 1: He wanted to make amends with the church and offer 109 00:07:06,650 --> 00:07:10,350 Speaker 1: penance in the hopes of being officially forgiven. But he 110 00:07:10,390 --> 00:07:14,030 Speaker 1: was denied. Despite the fact, though, that he was still 111 00:07:14,090 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: considered a heretic, which, of course, had considerable weight in 112 00:07:17,500 --> 00:07:21,580 Speaker 1: the 1570s, Giordano Bruno was able to find work teaching 113 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: philosophy in Toulouse, and that was something that he did 114 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: for roughly two years. In 1581, Bruno moved on to 115 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: Paris after escalating tensions between Huguenots and Catholics in Toulouse 116 00:07:33,260 --> 00:07:37,130 Speaker 1: made that city too dangerous to stay in. This ultimately 117 00:07:37,170 --> 00:07:41,650 Speaker 1: led to the 1562 Riots of Toulouse, but Giordano Bruno 118 00:07:41,690 --> 00:07:44,710 Speaker 1: was long gone by the time that happened. And those 119 00:07:44,930 --> 00:07:48,980 Speaker 1: issues in Toulouse were reflective of a bigger issue in France. 120 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: In the 1580s, France was smack dab in the middle 121 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: of its wars of religion. At this point, it was 122 00:07:55,700 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: actually sort of a perfect time for Bruno to move 123 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,380 Speaker 1: to Paris, though. The Huguenot massacre at Vassy and the 124 00:08:02,500 --> 00:08:05,870 Speaker 1: massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day were well in the past. 125 00:08:06,470 --> 00:08:11,350 Speaker 1: The Huguenots had been granted the freedom to worship. Henry III, 126 00:08:11,410 --> 00:08:14,210 Speaker 1: who was one of Catherine de' Medici's sons and had 127 00:08:14,270 --> 00:08:17,690 Speaker 1: been one of the conspirators in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, 128 00:08:18,150 --> 00:08:21,860 Speaker 1: was king of France when Bruno moved to Paris. And 129 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: Henry III really liked Giordano Bruno, so much so that 130 00:08:25,660 --> 00:08:29,580 Speaker 1: he made him a royal lecturer. Bruno had fallen in 131 00:08:29,620 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: with the politiques, that's the faction in the religious wars 132 00:08:33,140 --> 00:08:37,370 Speaker 1: that was Catholic but moderate, and wanted compromise in religious 133 00:08:37,450 --> 00:08:40,230 Speaker 1: matters as a means for unity for France, rather than 134 00:08:40,270 --> 00:08:44,130 Speaker 1: the emergence of any single religion as dominant and ruling. 135 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,220 Speaker 1: While in Paris, Bruno wrote and published a great deal. 136 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: He had finally kind of found, like, where he might 137 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,140 Speaker 1: have belonged, at least for a moment. He produced several 138 00:08:54,179 --> 00:08:57,699 Speaker 1: works that were rooted in his study and fascination with memory, 139 00:08:57,820 --> 00:09:01,210 Speaker 1: which elaborated far beyond the idea of recall and kind 140 00:09:01,250 --> 00:09:03,770 Speaker 1: of focused on how a person could use their memory 141 00:09:03,870 --> 00:09:07,550 Speaker 1: to develop a deeper understanding of reality. He wrote a 142 00:09:07,590 --> 00:09:13,239 Speaker 1: comedy in 1582 called The Candle Maker. This play, if staged, 143 00:09:13,300 --> 00:09:17,580 Speaker 1: would run at an estimated five hours, and the author 144 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: in the original is listed as Bruno the Nolan, the 145 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: academic of no academy, nicknamed the Exasperated. His exasperation was 146 00:09:26,850 --> 00:09:30,490 Speaker 1: with society as a whole. He felt there was corruption 147 00:09:30,630 --> 00:09:34,370 Speaker 1: all around, and that people claiming morality were often lax 148 00:09:34,490 --> 00:09:38,580 Speaker 1: in upholding it. It was essentially a protest play. We 149 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,300 Speaker 1: should point out Bruno was kind of exasperated with a 150 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 1: lot of people a lot of the time. If he 151 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: thought somebody was foolish or frivolous or pompous, he did 152 00:09:48,179 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: not hesitate to write scathing critiques of them. Now, he's 153 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,540 Speaker 1: a little bit of a firebrand in this regard, and 154 00:09:55,540 --> 00:09:58,329 Speaker 1: I think he kind of liked the conflict. Like, it 155 00:09:58,330 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: it fueled him that's my speculation when we come back 156 00:10:02,460 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: we are going to talk a little bit more about 157 00:10:04,340 --> 00:10:07,820 Speaker 1: political and religious strife in france as well as bruno's 158 00:10:07,860 --> 00:10:10,500 Speaker 1: time in england but first we are going to pause 159 00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: for a quick sponsor break In 1584, Henry III's brother, Francis, 160 00:10:24,780 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: Duc d'Anjou, died. And this made Henry of Navarre heir 161 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,679 Speaker 1: presumptive to the throne of France, and that catalyzed a 162 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,750 Speaker 1: new rise in the conflict among France's religious factions in 163 00:10:35,770 --> 00:10:38,210 Speaker 1: what became known as the War of the Three Henrys. 164 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,439 Speaker 1: But Bruno was lucky enough to have left the country 165 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,420 Speaker 1: before that happened. In 1583, he had moved from Paris 166 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: to London, and King Henry III had sent along with 167 00:10:48,740 --> 00:10:51,900 Speaker 1: him a letter of recommendation, which Bruno took to Michel 168 00:10:51,950 --> 00:10:55,929 Speaker 1: de Castelnau, the French ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I's court. 169 00:10:56,690 --> 00:10:59,630 Speaker 1: For a while, Bruno went to Oxford, where he lectured 170 00:10:59,770 --> 00:11:04,030 Speaker 1: on astronomy. But Bruno's views did not go over well 171 00:11:04,070 --> 00:11:07,859 Speaker 1: at Oxford, so he quickly returned to court, convinced that 172 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:13,140 Speaker 1: the alleged intellectuals of Oxford were beneath him. That cracks 173 00:11:13,179 --> 00:11:16,590 Speaker 1: me up. Returning to Elizabeth's court connected him to another 174 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,630 Speaker 1: recent podcast subject. That was Mary Sidney Herbert, because Bruno 175 00:11:20,690 --> 00:11:24,390 Speaker 1: became friends with her brother, Sir Philip Sidney. He apparently 176 00:11:24,429 --> 00:11:27,270 Speaker 1: did not think Sir Philip Sidney was beneath him, just 177 00:11:27,429 --> 00:11:32,610 Speaker 1: the so-called intellectuals of Oxford. Yeah, it was basically like, 178 00:11:33,170 --> 00:11:36,250 Speaker 1: you know, If you don't believe me, clearly you are 179 00:11:36,290 --> 00:11:41,550 Speaker 1: a ding-dong. Sydney, of course, had a wide circle of 180 00:11:41,630 --> 00:11:46,219 Speaker 1: intellectual acquaintances, and through them, Bruno was invited to speak 181 00:11:46,429 --> 00:11:50,219 Speaker 1: once again with scholars from Oxford. It once again did 182 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: not go well. A fight actually broke out in which 183 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: Bruno called one of the men that he had met 184 00:11:55,559 --> 00:12:00,369 Speaker 1: with a pig. Bruno started writing a comprehensive explanation of 185 00:12:00,450 --> 00:12:03,589 Speaker 1: his thoughts on morality and cosmology in the wake of 186 00:12:03,630 --> 00:12:08,210 Speaker 1: the skirmish at Oxford. This resulted in a six-volume set 187 00:12:08,250 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: that's referred to as the Italian Dialogues. Three of the 188 00:12:12,580 --> 00:12:17,140 Speaker 1: volumes— the Ash Wednesday Supper, Concerning the Cause, Principle, and One— 189 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,709 Speaker 1: and On the Infinite Universe and Worlds examined the universe 190 00:12:21,890 --> 00:12:25,510 Speaker 1: and our understanding of it. And the other three, which 191 00:12:25,590 --> 00:12:29,070 Speaker 1: were The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast, Cabal of the 192 00:12:29,150 --> 00:12:33,660 Speaker 1: Horse Pegasus, and The Heroic Frenzies, work through Bruno's views 193 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: on morality, often in a way that's highly critical of society. Yeah, 194 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,190 Speaker 1: he was a critical gent. In The Ash Wednesday Supper, 195 00:12:42,309 --> 00:12:45,510 Speaker 1: Bruno is a character in the writing. He calls himself 196 00:12:45,570 --> 00:12:48,650 Speaker 1: the Nolan, which we had mentioned him using before. That 197 00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: signified his birthplace of Nola. And another character, Teofil, serves 198 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:57,620 Speaker 1: as the purveyor of Bruno the writer's ideas, including the 199 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:02,100 Speaker 1: idea that there are innumerable worlds. He subscribed to the 200 00:13:02,179 --> 00:13:05,350 Speaker 1: idea that the universe was infinite and that there could 201 00:13:05,370 --> 00:13:08,300 Speaker 1: be other solar systems like ours. He wrote of the 202 00:13:08,340 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: belief that space could be finite, quote, suppose now that 203 00:13:11,860 --> 00:13:15,699 Speaker 1: all space were created finite. If one were to run 204 00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:19,220 Speaker 1: on to the end, to its furthest coasts, and throw 205 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,100 Speaker 1: a flying dart, would you have it that the dart, 206 00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: hurled with might and main, goeth on, whither it is sped, 207 00:13:27,059 --> 00:13:31,740 Speaker 1: flying afar? Or think you that something can check and 208 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,630 Speaker 1: bar its way? For whether there be something to check it, 209 00:13:35,910 --> 00:13:39,189 Speaker 1: and bring about that it arriveth not whether it was sped, 210 00:13:39,330 --> 00:13:42,890 Speaker 1: and planteth not itself in the gull, or whether it 211 00:13:42,970 --> 00:13:46,700 Speaker 1: fareth forward, yet it set not forth from the end. 212 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: He continued his argument with, quote, We cannot deny infinity 213 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: merely because we do not sensibly perceive it. Yeah, so 214 00:13:55,360 --> 00:14:01,730 Speaker 1: in case that definitely older style of writing was in 215 00:14:01,870 --> 00:14:05,390 Speaker 1: any way confusing, and bless Tracy for reading it, he's 216 00:14:05,429 --> 00:14:07,860 Speaker 1: basically like, if you go to the edge of space 217 00:14:07,910 --> 00:14:09,860 Speaker 1: and throw a dart, is it going to doink back 218 00:14:09,940 --> 00:14:14,140 Speaker 1: and hit you? Like, what do you think happens? Because 219 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,140 Speaker 1: we've never found that. So all of this meant that 220 00:14:19,180 --> 00:14:23,450 Speaker 1: Bruno also supported heliocentrism. Now that idea was of course 221 00:14:23,510 --> 00:14:26,050 Speaker 1: not new in the 16th century. As early as the 222 00:14:26,110 --> 00:14:29,970 Speaker 1: fifth century BCE, there were philosophers in Greece that were 223 00:14:30,010 --> 00:14:33,470 Speaker 1: suggesting that the earth might be revolving around a central fire. 224 00:14:34,450 --> 00:14:37,310 Speaker 1: But that concept and theories that built on it had 225 00:14:37,390 --> 00:14:40,150 Speaker 1: not become accepted, in part because it was just so 226 00:14:40,230 --> 00:14:43,890 Speaker 1: difficult to reconcile the idea of the planet being in motion, 227 00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: while we are also able to see what appear to 228 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: be fixed objects in the night sky, like star clusters 229 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: that were observed night after night. By the time Bruno 230 00:14:53,740 --> 00:14:57,780 Speaker 1: was writing about heliocentrism, it had come once again to 231 00:14:57,820 --> 00:15:02,650 Speaker 1: the forefront of cosmological discussion. In the mid-15th century, the 232 00:15:02,710 --> 00:15:06,510 Speaker 1: German religious scholar Nicholas of Cusa had worked on an 233 00:15:06,630 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: idea that Earth was influential in the movement of the universe, 234 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,220 Speaker 1: but that it was not the center around which other 235 00:15:15,340 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: things revolved. Copernicus had published six books concerning the revolutions 236 00:15:20,870 --> 00:15:23,990 Speaker 1: of the heavenly orbs just a few years before Bruno's birth. 237 00:15:24,650 --> 00:15:29,310 Speaker 1: It's really when heliocentrism started gaining a foothold in cosmological circles. So, 238 00:15:29,900 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 1: Though Bruno's writing was just supporting what other intellectuals at 239 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: the time were already espousing, he was definitely doing so 240 00:15:37,220 --> 00:15:40,340 Speaker 1: when the idea was far from a settled matter. It 241 00:15:40,380 --> 00:15:43,900 Speaker 1: was still really controversial. To put it in context on 242 00:15:43,940 --> 00:15:47,810 Speaker 1: the historical timeline, Galileo was put on trial by the 243 00:15:47,890 --> 00:15:52,410 Speaker 1: Inquisition over his support of the Copernical heliocentric theory almost 244 00:15:52,410 --> 00:15:56,970 Speaker 1: 50 years after Bruno wrote in support of it. But 245 00:15:57,030 --> 00:16:01,050 Speaker 1: Bruno's writing integrates this idea of an infinite universe with 246 00:16:01,090 --> 00:16:04,470 Speaker 1: the idea of a God that held dominion over infinity. 247 00:16:04,910 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: This was absolutely not a rejection of Christian beliefs for him. 248 00:16:09,380 --> 00:16:12,740 Speaker 1: Bruno wrote in On the Infinite Universe and Worlds, quote, 249 00:16:13,220 --> 00:16:16,660 Speaker 1: so great is God's excellence that it is manifested in 250 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,490 Speaker 1: the greatness of his empire. It is not glorified in one, 251 00:16:20,710 --> 00:16:24,630 Speaker 1: but in innumerable suns, not in one earth, one world. 252 00:16:25,030 --> 00:16:29,380 Speaker 1: but in ten hundred thousand, I say in infinite. A 253 00:16:29,460 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 1: very controversial view that Bruno held and included in the 254 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: Italian dialogues is his case that the Bible is great 255 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,630 Speaker 1: as a guide for a moral life, but it's not 256 00:16:40,690 --> 00:16:43,410 Speaker 1: a text that should be used as the basis of 257 00:16:43,650 --> 00:16:48,270 Speaker 1: astronomical information. He made lots of assertions about there being 258 00:16:48,490 --> 00:16:52,100 Speaker 1: other worlds in the cosmos which would probably support life, 259 00:16:52,220 --> 00:16:54,940 Speaker 1: none of which had ever been mentioned in biblical writing. 260 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:57,900 Speaker 1: He got a lot of things wrong in his guesses 261 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: about how things might work, but he was able to 262 00:17:01,300 --> 00:17:04,610 Speaker 1: grasp the idea that the Earth might not be all 263 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,790 Speaker 1: that singular in the vastness of space. For these ideas 264 00:17:08,850 --> 00:17:12,670 Speaker 1: and others, Bruno knew the Italian dialogues would not be 265 00:17:12,770 --> 00:17:15,869 Speaker 1: welcomed in Italy, so he published them outside of his 266 00:17:15,910 --> 00:17:21,070 Speaker 1: home country. Yeah, there's some cute additional on that where 267 00:17:21,090 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: he kind of still wanted to make it seem like 268 00:17:23,340 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: they were published in Italy that we could talk about 269 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: in the behind the scenes. in the fall of 1585, 270 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: Bruno decided to return to France. But in that short 271 00:17:34,580 --> 00:17:37,370 Speaker 1: time he had been away, that conflict among the Henrys 272 00:17:37,420 --> 00:17:40,230 Speaker 1: had started, and he did not find himself in a 273 00:17:40,270 --> 00:17:43,670 Speaker 1: group of moderates as he had before. His moderate friends 274 00:17:43,750 --> 00:17:47,430 Speaker 1: had gotten a little more hardline in their beliefs. Henry 275 00:17:47,530 --> 00:17:51,940 Speaker 1: III had taken a stronger stance against all non-Catholics. It 276 00:17:51,980 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 1: would have been smart on Bruno's part to kind of 277 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: keep his head down and maybe dial back his constant 278 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,870 Speaker 1: critiques of just about everyone in an environment like this. 279 00:18:00,950 --> 00:18:04,310 Speaker 1: But instead, he got in a very public argument with 280 00:18:04,369 --> 00:18:09,290 Speaker 1: Fabrizio Mordente, an Italian mathematician who was also Catholic and 281 00:18:09,350 --> 00:18:12,609 Speaker 1: well-connected to Catholic political leaders in France at the time. 282 00:18:13,770 --> 00:18:16,730 Speaker 1: Bruno also made a focused attack on the work of 283 00:18:16,810 --> 00:18:19,530 Speaker 1: Aristotle in 1586 with the writing of 120 articles on nature, 284 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,700 Speaker 1: and the world against the peripatetics. Because of his ongoing 285 00:18:25,740 --> 00:18:29,780 Speaker 1: strife with so many Catholics and his increasingly unpopular views, 286 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:35,199 Speaker 1: the politiques distanced themselves from Bruno. He next moved on 287 00:18:35,260 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 1: to Germany. He taught and wrote as he traveled the 288 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:43,750 Speaker 1: country and produced the work 160 Articles in 1588. In this, 289 00:18:43,850 --> 00:18:47,290 Speaker 1: he asserted that all religions could coexist peacefully if they 290 00:18:47,310 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 1: would stop attacking one another and foster communication. In early 1589, 291 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 1: Bruno was banished from yet another religious sect, this time 292 00:18:56,940 --> 00:19:00,040 Speaker 1: the Lutherans, who he tried to join up with briefly. 293 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: So if you're keeping score, he had now been excommunicated 294 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,890 Speaker 1: by the Catholics, the Calvinists, and the Lutherans. And after 295 00:19:08,930 --> 00:19:11,690 Speaker 1: his fallout with the Lutheran Church, Bruno worked on a 296 00:19:11,710 --> 00:19:15,010 Speaker 1: book about the connection between mathematics and magic, although that 297 00:19:15,050 --> 00:19:18,629 Speaker 1: was not published in his lifetime. He also continued to 298 00:19:18,690 --> 00:19:22,250 Speaker 1: reiterate his ideas from the Italian dialogues in new writings, 299 00:19:22,369 --> 00:19:25,490 Speaker 1: specifically three poems that he wrote in Latin, on the 300 00:19:25,550 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 1: threefold minimum and measure, on the monad, number and figure, 301 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:35,140 Speaker 1: and on the immeasurable and innumerable. Bruno also included some 302 00:19:35,220 --> 00:19:38,510 Speaker 1: new ideas in these poems alongside the concepts that he 303 00:19:38,530 --> 00:19:41,030 Speaker 1: was echoing from his previous work. And one of these 304 00:19:41,090 --> 00:19:43,909 Speaker 1: new ideas was the concept of matter being made up 305 00:19:43,950 --> 00:19:47,660 Speaker 1: of tiny, tiny particles. This was essentially an early exploration 306 00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:51,160 Speaker 1: of the idea of atoms. Although he was doing all 307 00:19:51,220 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: this writing, he couldn't publish any of it because of 308 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,340 Speaker 1: all of his fallouts with basically everyone. He knew he 309 00:19:58,380 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: couldn't publish in Italy, so in 1590 he asked to 310 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,119 Speaker 1: be granted residency in Frankfurt where he hoped to publish 311 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:09,230 Speaker 1: his work, but that request was denied. He tried, it seems, 312 00:20:09,330 --> 00:20:12,510 Speaker 1: to get around that denial by moving into a Carmelite 313 00:20:12,590 --> 00:20:16,850 Speaker 1: convent in Frankfurt. The head of the convent didn't really 314 00:20:16,910 --> 00:20:19,460 Speaker 1: seem to love that arrangement because he felt that Bruno 315 00:20:19,540 --> 00:20:23,460 Speaker 1: wasn't actually religious at all and had become vain and 316 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:29,360 Speaker 1: obsessed with, quote, novelties in his work. In 1591, Bruno 317 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: traveled once again to Italy, not to Rome or Naples, 318 00:20:33,340 --> 00:20:36,260 Speaker 1: where he still would have certainly been an outcast, but 319 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: he was just traveling across northern Italy en route to 320 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,380 Speaker 1: the Republic of Venice, which was not part of Italy 321 00:20:42,420 --> 00:20:45,700 Speaker 1: at this time. This was a move that was catalyzed 322 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: by being asked to come to Venice by a nobleman 323 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,660 Speaker 1: of the city. And this might sound like a pretty 324 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: rash move to head back through a country where he 325 00:20:54,140 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 1: had been a wanted man for a long time at 326 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,450 Speaker 1: this point for his heretical ideas, but the circumstances were 327 00:21:00,490 --> 00:21:04,330 Speaker 1: such that it probably didn't seem all that dangerous for Bruno. 328 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: Gregory XIII had been pope when Bruno had become a 329 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: fugitive in the 1570s. He had died in 1585 and 330 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: was replaced by Sixtus V, but Sixtus V had died 331 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: in 1590, and after that there were three popes in 332 00:21:21,900 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: rapid succession. Urban VII was pope for only 12 days, 333 00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:32,010 Speaker 1: and then Gregory XIV had become pope in December of 1590. 334 00:21:32,010 --> 00:21:35,090 Speaker 1: And while Bruno couldn't have known it when he made 335 00:21:35,130 --> 00:21:39,070 Speaker 1: his way to Venice in late summer of 1591, Gregory 336 00:21:39,170 --> 00:21:41,790 Speaker 1: XIV also would not be Pope that much longer. He 337 00:21:41,850 --> 00:21:46,330 Speaker 1: died in October. He would be replaced by Innocent IX, 338 00:21:46,410 --> 00:21:49,900 Speaker 1: who was Pope for only 12 months. We're mentioning all 339 00:21:49,940 --> 00:21:53,380 Speaker 1: of this because it probably would have seemed like any 340 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,979 Speaker 1: of the concerns about Bruno's heresy would have been lost 341 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,300 Speaker 1: in the shuffle of just so many rapid shifts in 342 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,959 Speaker 1: leadership Additionally, he was going to what was a fairly 343 00:22:04,090 --> 00:22:07,389 Speaker 1: liberal state. Yeah, Venice at this point was all about 344 00:22:08,369 --> 00:22:11,430 Speaker 1: exploration and new ideas. And so he thought, like, it'll 345 00:22:11,450 --> 00:22:14,090 Speaker 1: be cool. I'll just run across northern Italy. It'll be fine. 346 00:22:14,990 --> 00:22:17,429 Speaker 1: And Bruno also had his eyes on a job in 347 00:22:17,450 --> 00:22:20,430 Speaker 1: this move. The University of Padua needed a head of 348 00:22:20,470 --> 00:22:23,609 Speaker 1: their mathematics department. And if he could secure it, the 349 00:22:23,650 --> 00:22:26,610 Speaker 1: position would grant him some stability and it would make 350 00:22:26,650 --> 00:22:29,540 Speaker 1: it possible for him to publish. So if you are 351 00:22:29,580 --> 00:22:32,620 Speaker 1: familiar with this time in European history and or with 352 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,460 Speaker 1: the work of Galileo, you might already know that Bruno 353 00:22:35,510 --> 00:22:38,850 Speaker 1: did not get the job because Galileo did. Bruno had 354 00:22:38,950 --> 00:22:41,310 Speaker 1: really campaigned for it, though. He had even given a 355 00:22:41,369 --> 00:22:45,729 Speaker 1: private lecture series on geometry and other mathematical subjects in 356 00:22:45,790 --> 00:22:50,270 Speaker 1: Padua to prove his abilities. After the position went to Galileo, 357 00:22:50,550 --> 00:22:53,410 Speaker 1: Bruno returned to the city of Venice and to the 358 00:22:53,530 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: nobleman who had invited him in the first place, which 359 00:22:56,119 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: was Giovanni Mocenigo. This is not the Giovanni Mochenigo who 360 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,239 Speaker 1: was the Doge of Venice in the 15th century. This 361 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: was a later member of the same family. Mochenigo had 362 00:23:07,619 --> 00:23:10,699 Speaker 1: been the one to tell Bruno about the position in 363 00:23:10,770 --> 00:23:14,050 Speaker 1: Padua and had hoped that Bruno would instruct him in 364 00:23:14,090 --> 00:23:17,330 Speaker 1: the art of memory, but these two had a falling out. 365 00:23:17,910 --> 00:23:20,210 Speaker 1: And there are a couple of different takes on what 366 00:23:20,250 --> 00:23:24,189 Speaker 1: exactly caused this rift, depending on what source you're reading. 367 00:23:25,380 --> 00:23:29,380 Speaker 1: One version is that the Venetian, Mochenigo, was not satisfied 368 00:23:29,420 --> 00:23:32,100 Speaker 1: with the lessons that he had received from Bruno. And 369 00:23:32,140 --> 00:23:34,889 Speaker 1: he was also irritated that Bruno was talking about his 370 00:23:34,930 --> 00:23:38,909 Speaker 1: intention to move back to Frankfurt again, something that Mochenigo 371 00:23:38,950 --> 00:23:42,770 Speaker 1: apparently took as an insult. Another version is that in 372 00:23:42,869 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: teaching Mochenigo about mnemonics and philosophy, Bruno had maybe overshared 373 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,580 Speaker 1: his ideas and it troubled the Venetian a great deal 374 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 1: because those ideas were so at odds with mores of 375 00:23:55,040 --> 00:24:00,430 Speaker 1: society and especially the church. Regardless of the specific cause 376 00:24:00,490 --> 00:24:03,510 Speaker 1: of the friction between the two of them, Mochenego turned 377 00:24:03,570 --> 00:24:08,260 Speaker 1: his houseguest into the Venetian Inquisition in May of 1592 378 00:24:08,260 --> 00:24:12,460 Speaker 1: via a letter. He included a list of 21 alleged 379 00:24:12,660 --> 00:24:17,659 Speaker 1: instances in which Bruno had committed heresy, including accusations that 380 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: Bruno had said that the Virgin Mary could not have 381 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,420 Speaker 1: been a mother and that miracles ascribed to Christ were 382 00:24:23,460 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 1: not miracles at all but magic tricks Used to dupe 383 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 1: the foolish. I can see how this would have been upsetting. Yes. 384 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,419 Speaker 1: We are going to talk about Bruno's trials for heresy, 385 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,270 Speaker 1: that was plural, after we hear from some of the 386 00:24:39,310 --> 00:24:41,990 Speaker 1: sponsors that keep Stuff You Missed in History class going. 387 00:24:42,010 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: So So after Mochenego turned him in, Bruno was formally 388 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: accused of heresy again and was arrested. And the trial 389 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,500 Speaker 1: that followed in Venice actually went pretty well for him initially. 390 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,440 Speaker 1: He explained that he was always working from a philosophical 391 00:25:06,510 --> 00:25:09,609 Speaker 1: viewpoint rather than a religious one. And he did walk 392 00:25:09,710 --> 00:25:12,169 Speaker 1: back some of the statements he had made about religion, 393 00:25:12,430 --> 00:25:15,730 Speaker 1: clarifying that he had said some things in error when 394 00:25:15,770 --> 00:25:18,490 Speaker 1: he really meant to talk about theoretical ideas and just 395 00:25:18,670 --> 00:25:22,949 Speaker 1: examine them in relation to religion. And the Venetian Inquisition 396 00:25:23,030 --> 00:25:26,669 Speaker 1: sounds like it was kind of initially receptive to this defense. 397 00:25:27,770 --> 00:25:31,350 Speaker 1: But even though there had been those several changes in popes, 398 00:25:32,150 --> 00:25:35,350 Speaker 1: once word reached the Vatican that Bruno was being tried 399 00:25:35,410 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: in Venice, it was demanded that he be extradited to 400 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:43,850 Speaker 1: Rome to stand trial there for heresy. His charges were 401 00:25:43,970 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: even more serious than heresy, though, because he was also 402 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: accused of converting other Catholics into heretics as well. In total, 403 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,590 Speaker 1: he was charged with more than four dozen different heresies 404 00:25:56,660 --> 00:26:01,290 Speaker 1: by the Roman Inquisition, including speaking ill of Catholicism, having 405 00:26:01,369 --> 00:26:07,580 Speaker 1: contempt for holy relics, practicing divination, apostasy, believing that souls 406 00:26:07,670 --> 00:26:11,530 Speaker 1: could transmigrate, asserting that there could be other worlds like 407 00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:14,390 Speaker 1: Earth and the cosmos, and even eating meat on days 408 00:26:14,430 --> 00:26:18,570 Speaker 1: that it was prohibited. So many accusations of varying degrees 409 00:26:18,609 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: of intensity. He arrived in Rome on January 27th, 1593, 410 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 1: and he spent the rest of his life there. His 411 00:26:26,340 --> 00:26:30,979 Speaker 1: trial spooled out over the next seven years. And while 412 00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: he went with the same philosophy and theory approach to 413 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: his defense against the heresy charges... That explanation was not 414 00:26:39,060 --> 00:26:41,810 Speaker 1: as welcomed in Rome as it may have been in Venice. 415 00:26:42,430 --> 00:26:45,530 Speaker 1: What the inquisitors of Rome wanted was a full retraction 416 00:26:45,710 --> 00:26:51,260 Speaker 1: of everything he had said about religion. Full stop. Bruno, though, 417 00:26:51,940 --> 00:26:55,060 Speaker 1: thought he could maybe convince his accusers that really the 418 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 1: things he had said were not in conflict with the 419 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,400 Speaker 1: teachings of the Catholic Church. He believed that in presenting 420 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,389 Speaker 1: himself as a philosopher, he would have to be granted 421 00:27:04,490 --> 00:27:09,409 Speaker 1: leeway to conjecture about just about anything. But that was 422 00:27:09,470 --> 00:27:14,430 Speaker 1: not appreciated. Attempting to separate philosophy from theology for discussion 423 00:27:14,490 --> 00:27:17,909 Speaker 1: was actually considered heretical in its own right, according to 424 00:27:17,950 --> 00:27:20,530 Speaker 1: some writings, because it could lead anyone down the path 425 00:27:20,570 --> 00:27:23,890 Speaker 1: to heresy. And while Venice had not been quite so 426 00:27:23,970 --> 00:27:27,439 Speaker 1: finicky on that point, Rome really dug in This was 427 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: also in part because he could call himself a philosopher 428 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,460 Speaker 1: all he wanted, but the Inquisition viewed him as a 429 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: friar who had strayed. A retraction, as we said, was 430 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,969 Speaker 1: what the church was after. But Bruno was adamant that 431 00:27:41,010 --> 00:27:43,330 Speaker 1: he didn't have anything to retract. He said he didn't 432 00:27:43,350 --> 00:27:46,250 Speaker 1: even understand what they wanted, because in his opinion, he 433 00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:50,450 Speaker 1: had done nothing wrong. But the latest pope, Clement VIII, 434 00:27:50,530 --> 00:27:54,100 Speaker 1: did not concur. Bruno was found guilty of heresy on 435 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,890 Speaker 1: February 4, 1599, in a proclamation which read, our most 436 00:27:58,970 --> 00:28:02,389 Speaker 1: holy Lord decrees and ordains that it be intimated to 437 00:28:02,410 --> 00:28:06,870 Speaker 1: the apostate brother Giordano Bruno of Nola by the theologian fathers, 438 00:28:06,990 --> 00:28:11,420 Speaker 1: namely Father Bellarmine and the Father Commissary, that these propositions 439 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: are heretical, and not only heretical as now declared, but 440 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,179 Speaker 1: by the most ancient fathers of the church and the 441 00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:23,090 Speaker 1: apostolic see. There was apparently a list of eight heretical 442 00:28:23,150 --> 00:28:26,410 Speaker 1: points for which he was absolutely found guilty. But that 443 00:28:26,470 --> 00:28:28,889 Speaker 1: list has been lost, so we don't know what of 444 00:28:28,930 --> 00:28:32,940 Speaker 1: the many dozens of accusations were really the ones. But 445 00:28:33,020 --> 00:28:35,740 Speaker 1: he was given several weeks to recant, like they kind 446 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,300 Speaker 1: of gave him an out. But he didn't. The Inquisitors 447 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:44,350 Speaker 1: extended that opportunity to recant several times, but Bruno consistently 448 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:48,070 Speaker 1: denied that his work was in any way heretical. Bruno 449 00:28:48,130 --> 00:28:53,260 Speaker 1: received his death sentence on February 8, 1600. The Inquisitors 450 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: also condemned all of his writings, and his books were 451 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:00,030 Speaker 1: added to the Index of Forbidden Books. While it's often 452 00:29:00,070 --> 00:29:03,810 Speaker 1: reported that his last words before execution were, quote, perhaps 453 00:29:03,990 --> 00:29:06,850 Speaker 1: you who pronounce my sentence are in greater fear than 454 00:29:07,210 --> 00:29:10,670 Speaker 1: I who receive it, that was actually his reaction to 455 00:29:10,710 --> 00:29:16,180 Speaker 1: the sentencing. Nine days later, on February 17th, 1600, Bruno 456 00:29:16,220 --> 00:29:18,980 Speaker 1: was taken to the public square known as Camp de 457 00:29:19,020 --> 00:29:24,330 Speaker 1: Fiore in Rome, gagged, and burned alive. Okay, we have 458 00:29:24,380 --> 00:29:28,010 Speaker 1: talked about Bruno's philosophy and religious views in regard to 459 00:29:28,050 --> 00:29:31,250 Speaker 1: his being judged a heretic. And you will also see 460 00:29:31,290 --> 00:29:34,250 Speaker 1: accounts of his life that say he was actually executed 461 00:29:34,330 --> 00:29:37,250 Speaker 1: for believing that there were other solar systems and that 462 00:29:37,310 --> 00:29:39,870 Speaker 1: ours was not really the center of the universe. Sometimes 463 00:29:39,890 --> 00:29:42,580 Speaker 1: it's is also as like the sun is a star 464 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,110 Speaker 1: or the sun is one of many stars. And the 465 00:29:45,150 --> 00:29:49,050 Speaker 1: disparity of whether this was a cosmological issue or a 466 00:29:49,090 --> 00:29:53,150 Speaker 1: philosophical one has been a matter of debate among historians 467 00:29:53,210 --> 00:29:56,350 Speaker 1: and scholars for quite a while. In the second half 468 00:29:56,410 --> 00:29:59,080 Speaker 1: of the 20th century, most scholars had landed at the 469 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 1: conclusion that, yes, issues of cosmology were part of the 470 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:06,900 Speaker 1: heresy of Giordano Bruno, but really the biggest problem in 471 00:30:06,940 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: his work was his assertion that Christ was not divine. 472 00:30:10,820 --> 00:30:12,900 Speaker 1: You can see where the church sure would dislike that. 473 00:30:13,420 --> 00:30:16,310 Speaker 1: But in recent years, there has been a deeper look 474 00:30:16,370 --> 00:30:19,270 Speaker 1: at Bruno's trial that adds a little more nuance and 475 00:30:19,310 --> 00:30:23,250 Speaker 1: brings the cosmology back into focus. In an article published 476 00:30:23,310 --> 00:30:27,570 Speaker 1: in Annals of Science in 2016, historian Alberto A. Martinez 477 00:30:27,650 --> 00:30:32,350 Speaker 1: made the case that a many-worlds cosmology had been well-established 478 00:30:32,630 --> 00:30:36,330 Speaker 1: as heretical. Going back through the centuries leading up to 479 00:30:36,370 --> 00:30:40,490 Speaker 1: Bruno's trial, For example, he notes that Philaster, who was 480 00:30:40,590 --> 00:30:43,580 Speaker 1: the bishop of Brescia, Italy in the fourth century, made 481 00:30:43,620 --> 00:30:47,660 Speaker 1: this very clear, writing, quote, another heresy is to say 482 00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:52,640 Speaker 1: that worlds are infinite and innumerable following the asinine opinion 483 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,900 Speaker 1: of the philosophers, whereas scriptures say that the world is 484 00:30:57,260 --> 00:31:01,590 Speaker 1: one and it teaches us that it is one. Martinez 485 00:31:01,670 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: also points out that Closer to the time of Bruno's 486 00:31:04,660 --> 00:31:07,940 Speaker 1: trial in the mid-16th century, there was a move to 487 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:12,540 Speaker 1: define heresy but also debate about it. Long lists of 488 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: heretical offenses that were punishable by death were published, and 489 00:31:17,260 --> 00:31:21,770 Speaker 1: the idea of innumerable worlds was one of them. And 490 00:31:22,070 --> 00:31:26,500 Speaker 1: in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII, for whom the Gregorian calendar 491 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: is named, and who was pope when Bruno was first 492 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,420 Speaker 1: accused of heresy, had an updated edition of Corpus of 493 00:31:33,500 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 1: Canon Law published. And appearing in that updated edition was 494 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:42,270 Speaker 1: the following heresy, quote, having the opinion of innumerable worlds. 495 00:31:42,990 --> 00:31:46,190 Speaker 1: From the beginning of Bruno's heresy trial in Venice, his 496 00:31:46,290 --> 00:31:49,710 Speaker 1: belief in the idea of infinite worlds was part of 497 00:31:49,750 --> 00:31:54,100 Speaker 1: his accusations. That had been on the list that Mochenego 498 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:58,710 Speaker 1: had sent the Inquisition. And unlike some of the other accusations, 499 00:31:58,790 --> 00:32:02,010 Speaker 1: Bruno never denied this one. In fact, he asserted its 500 00:32:02,150 --> 00:32:07,130 Speaker 1: verity repeatedly, telling Inquisitors, quote, I affirm an infinite universe, 501 00:32:07,210 --> 00:32:10,590 Speaker 1: which is the consequence of the infinite divine power, because 502 00:32:10,750 --> 00:32:14,170 Speaker 1: I regard it as unworthy of the divine goodness and 503 00:32:14,230 --> 00:32:19,660 Speaker 1: power that being able to produce, in addition to our world, another... 504 00:32:19,820 --> 00:32:24,810 Speaker 1: and infinitely many others to produce one finite world. Yes, 505 00:32:24,930 --> 00:32:28,630 Speaker 1: I have asserted infinite particular worlds similar to the earth, 506 00:32:28,790 --> 00:32:32,110 Speaker 1: which with Pythagoras I consider a star similar to which 507 00:32:32,610 --> 00:32:36,290 Speaker 1: is the moon, other planets and other stars which are infinite, 508 00:32:36,730 --> 00:32:40,710 Speaker 1: and that all these bodies are worlds and numberless, which 509 00:32:41,190 --> 00:32:46,130 Speaker 1: thus constitute the infinite universality in an infinite space. and 510 00:32:46,290 --> 00:32:51,140 Speaker 1: this is called the infinite universe, in which are innumerable worlds. 511 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,060 Speaker 1: Thus the fortune that is double from the infinitude and 512 00:32:55,140 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: greatness of the universe and the multitude of worlds, but 513 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:02,210 Speaker 1: without indirectly meaning to reject the truth according to the faith. 514 00:33:02,910 --> 00:33:04,690 Speaker 1: Some of that is so poetic, and I know that's 515 00:33:04,830 --> 00:33:08,970 Speaker 1: a translation, but I love it. According to Martinez's research, 516 00:33:09,090 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: at least five witnesses who testified against Bruno in Venice 517 00:33:12,500 --> 00:33:17,470 Speaker 1: testified mentioned specifically his cosmological beliefs in multiple worlds as 518 00:33:17,530 --> 00:33:21,310 Speaker 1: part of his heresy. Four of the five repeated this 519 00:33:21,370 --> 00:33:24,610 Speaker 1: testimony at the trial in Rome, and when tallied up, 520 00:33:24,770 --> 00:33:27,780 Speaker 1: it is the accusation of this belief in many worlds 521 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:32,000 Speaker 1: that appears most frequently in Bruno's trial summary. And the 522 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: summary also reflects that he was specifically ordered to abandon his, quote, 523 00:33:36,540 --> 00:33:42,960 Speaker 1: delusions regarding many worlds. Additionally, A witness to his execution 524 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,090 Speaker 1: recounted that one of the heresies read aloud before Bruno 525 00:33:46,130 --> 00:33:50,430 Speaker 1: was killed was his belief that, quote, worlds are innumerable. 526 00:33:50,910 --> 00:33:52,990 Speaker 1: So it does seem that the idea of this sort 527 00:33:53,010 --> 00:33:55,890 Speaker 1: of plurality of worlds was a significant part of the 528 00:33:55,950 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 1: accusations that led to Bruno's fate and execution. In his time, 529 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 1: Bruno became infamous, denounced by philosopher Marin Marcin 24 years 530 00:34:05,700 --> 00:34:08,900 Speaker 1: after his death as, quote, one of the most evil 531 00:34:08,980 --> 00:34:13,050 Speaker 1: men that the earth has ever born. But Bruno's expansive 532 00:34:13,190 --> 00:34:16,739 Speaker 1: view of the cosmos and religion and his efforts to 533 00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:21,620 Speaker 1: create a philosophy that combined the two also fascinated scholars 534 00:34:21,700 --> 00:34:26,660 Speaker 1: and later philosophers and scientists built on various ideas that 535 00:34:26,739 --> 00:34:29,580 Speaker 1: he had put forward. Yeah, I mean, we talked about 536 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:34,190 Speaker 1: many things that were pretty ahead of their time when 537 00:34:34,230 --> 00:34:39,850 Speaker 1: he was saying them, but unfortunately, very angering to the church. Yeah. 538 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:44,980 Speaker 1: The Inquisition did not appreciate. He's another figure that I love, 539 00:34:45,060 --> 00:34:47,020 Speaker 1: despite the fact that I think I wouldn't enjoy hanging 540 00:34:47,060 --> 00:34:54,350 Speaker 1: out with him at all. Thanks so much for joining 541 00:34:54,410 --> 00:34:56,969 Speaker 1: us on this Saturday. If you'd like to send us 542 00:34:57,030 --> 00:35:02,310 Speaker 1: a note, our email address is historypodcast at iheartradio.com. And 543 00:35:02,350 --> 00:35:04,939 Speaker 1: you can subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app, 544 00:35:05,100 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.