A scientist burned by the Italian Inquisition. School encyclopedia
Subordination of the thinking process strict rules, which allows one to get rid of all kinds of prejudices and misconceptions, becomes one of the central themes in the writings of outstanding philosophers of the 17th century - Francis Bacon (Francis Bacon, 1561–1626), Galileo Galilei, René Descartes, Benedict Spinoza (Benedictus Spinoza, 1632–1677). Bruno was moving in a different direction. He created a completely special world - a gigantic, endless theater of memory, in which a person is constantly not equal to himself and is simply doomed to “cut through the crystals of heaven and rush into infinity,” as Nolanets wrote in one of his sonnets. Exclusively important role Bruno's cosmological ideas played a role in the creation of such a world.
Nowadays we often hear that Bruno was not a scientist - when turning to astronomy and mathematics, he made gross mistakes; his works are full of absurdities and ambiguities. This is partly true, although a lot serious mistakes and absurdities can be found in the works of any scientist-founder of modern science - from Galileo to Newton. Bruno was indeed neither an astronomer, nor a mathematician, nor a logical philosopher in the spirit of Descartes or Spinoza. Its importance for modern science is different.
At the beginning of 1583, with letters of recommendation from Henry III, he came to England, where he became close with enlightened aristocrats from the circle of Philip Sidney (Sir Philip Sidney, 1554–1586). His stay in England, which lasted until the end of 1585, became the happiest and most fruitful period in Bruno’s life. He gave lectures, conducted public debates in defense of the teachings of Copernicus, and in 1584–1585 published in London in Italian the philosophical dialogues “A Feast on the Ashes”, “On the Cause, the Beginning and the One”, “On Infinity, the Universe and the Worlds”. They built a cosmological theory that for the first time united the ideas of the plurality of worlds, the infinity of the Universe and heliocentrism.
It is important to emphasize that neither the doctrine of the plurality of worlds, which arose in antiquity, nor the theory of Copernicus, nor the idea of the infinity of the Universe, which can be found in Nicholas of Cusa and Leonardo da Vinci, were invented by Giordano Bruno, and the Catholic Church did not consider them heretical. What new and dangerous for the church did Bruno introduce into these concepts?
In ancient and medieval philosophy, our Universe was viewed as a closed and finite world, in the center of which is the Earth, surrounded by celestial bodies. It was believed that other worlds, if they exist, are located outside our Universe and are similar (closed and finite) universes, in the center of which there is also some kind of solid earth, surrounded by certain celestial bodies. Before Bruno, the stars and planets we see were not considered as separate worlds.Bruno showed that the daily rotation of the Earth in itself explains the synchronicity of the movement of the “fixed stars,” and this makes the idea of the “firmament” redundant. Our Universe turned out to be open, in the same space with other worlds. The Earth moving in this space was now completely deprived of its status as the center of the Universe. However, in the Universe, according to Bruno, there was no center at all: one of its points was not fundamentally different from another. As for the existence of other worlds similar to the earth’s, this problem from a purely speculative one (one could only guess about the existence of universes located outside our Universe) turned into a technical one, almost no different from the search for new continents. Later, answering questions from investigators about the essence of his teaching, Bruno explained:
In general, my views are as follows. There is an infinite Universe, created by the infinite divine power, for I consider it unworthy of the goodness and power of the deity to think that he, having the ability to create, in addition to this world, another and other infinite worlds, created a finite world.
So, I proclaim the existence of countless worlds like the world of this Earth. Together with Pythagoras, I consider her a luminary, like the Moon, other planets, other stars, the number of which is infinite. All these bodies constitute countless worlds. They form an infinite Universe in infinite space.
In Bruno’s proud declaration, it is important to pay attention to the words about the infinite divine power: it was this thesis, and not the new cosmology, that played a fatal role in the fate of the thinker. The fact is that Bruno considered the Christian God too mundane and too limited to correspond to the Universe that opened up to his philosophical vision. And conversely, the infinite Universe, filled with countless worlds, was supposed to become the basis for the search for a true deity, adequate to the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries and grandiose achievements in science, technology and art.
Developing his cosmology, Bruno believed that it would become a prologue for a new religious-mystical teaching - the “philosophy of the dawn”, which would replace Christianity, mired in strife between Catholics and Protestants. Along with works on cosmology, he published in London in Italian the dialogues “The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast” and “The Secret of Pegasus” - a malicious satire on Christian doctrine. These publications aroused disapproval from the philosopher's English friends and patrons. At the end of 1585, Bruno returned to Paris, but soon left due to a conflict with theologians. For the Italian, years of wandering began again.
In 1591, Bruno, having received an invitation from the Venetian nobleman Giovanni Mocenigo to become his home teacher, returned to Italy. However, a year later, Mocenigo handed Bruno over to the Venetian Inquisition, accusing his teacher of anti-Christian views, and in 1593, the Roman Inquisition secured the extradition of the arrested philosopher to it.In Rome, investigators gradually realized the danger to Christianity that Bruno's ideas, combined into a holistic and powerful teaching, posed. Unfortunately, we will never know what the investigators argued with Bruno for several years: most of the investigation materials were lost as a result of Napoleon’s attempt to take the Vatican archives to Paris. Nevertheless, from the surviving documents it is clear that Bruno was not a simple heretic for the church. This is indicated by the long-term investigation, interspersed with theological disputes (they didn’t bother with ordinary heretics), and the high rank of the tribunal that passed the verdict (9 cardinals led by Pope Clement VIII (Clement VIII, 1536–1592), and the atmosphere of strict secrecy during the announcement verdict (we still don’t know what exactly, except common words Bruno was accused of apostasy). Even three centuries later, passions have not subsided. In 1886 it was discovered " Summary investigation file of Giordano Bruno,” compiled in 1597–1598 and, apparently, became the basis for the formulation of the indictment. But Pope Leo XIII (Leo XIII, 1810–1903) ordered to hide this document in his personal archive, and it was found again only in 1940.
Now it is difficult to say with certainty how serious a threat Bruno’s teachings posed to the church. It is possible that under certain conditions it would play the role of Luther’s theses, or even some “newest” testament with which hotheads could try to supplement New Testament. One thing is clear: it was after Bruno’s trial that the Catholic Church began to be suspicious and wary of ideological innovations. However, the scientists themselves now, at every opportunity, made it clear to the church that they could solve issues related to the Creator and Creation just as well as theologians. Thus, on both sides there are always people ready to fan the sparks from the fire on which Giordano Bruno died.
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Giordano Bruno. Engraving from 1830 based on an early 18th century original Wellcome Library, London
“...The scientist was sentenced to be burned.
When Giordano went up to the fire,
The Supreme Nuncio in front of him lowered his gaze...
- I see how afraid you are of me,
Not being able to refute science.
But the truth is always stronger than fire!
I don’t renounce and I don’t regret.”
Italy of the Renaissance did not know, perhaps, a figure more large-scale and at the same time complex and contradictory than Giordano Bruno, also known as Bruno Nolan (from his place of birth - Nola, a city in Italy). A Dominican monk, a famous wanderer, one of the most scandalous people of his time, an ardent supporter of the heliocentric system, the creator of a sect called “new philosophy” - all this is one person. Tragic death Nolanza, burned in Rome in 1600, became one of the darkest pages in the history of the Inquisition. Bruno's execution has been repeatedly interpreted as an attempt by the Catholic Church to stop the spread of the Copernican heliocentric system, which Nolanets advocated. Over time, this became a completely commonplace (see poetic epigraph). Here is a typical passage from school assignments for an 11th grade social studies lesson: “At that time they taught that the Earth is the center of the Universe, and the Sun and all the planets revolve around it. The clergy persecuted everyone who disagreed with this, and especially those who were stubborn were destroyed... Bruno angrily ridiculed the priests and the church, calling on people to penetrate the mysteries of the Earth and the sky... His fame spread to many universities in Europe. But the churchmen did not want to put up with the daring scientist. They found a traitor who pretended to be Bruno's friend and lured him into the trap of the Inquisition."
However, the documents of the inquisitorial trial of Giordano Bruno completely refute this point of view: Nolan died not because of science, but because he denied the fundamental tenets of Christianity.
In 1591, at the invitation of the Venetian aristocrat Giovanni Mocenigo, Bruno secretly returned to Italy. The reason why he decided to do this remained a mystery for a long time: he had once left Italy due to persecution; appearing in Venice or other cities could have threatened Bruno with serious consequences. Soon Bruno's relationship with Mocenigo, to whom he taught the art of memory, deteriorated. Apparently, the reason was that Bruno decided not to limit himself to teaching one subject, but outlined his own “new philosophy” to Mocenigo. Apparently, this also prompted him to cross the border of Italy: Bruno planned to present a new, harmonious and holistic religious teaching in Rome and other cities of Italy.
By the early 1590s, he increasingly saw himself as a religious preacher and apostle of reformed religion and science. This doctrine was based on extreme Neoplatonism Neoplatonism- a movement in ancient philosophy that developed from the 3rd century. until the beginning of the 6th century. n. e. While remaining followers of Plato, representatives of this teaching developed their own philosophical concepts. Among the most prominent Neoplatonists are Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus, and Damascus. Late Neoplatonism, especially Iamblichus and Proclus, was imbued with magical elements. The legacy of Neoplatonism had a great influence on Christian theology and European culture during the Renaissance . , Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism- a religious and philosophical doctrine that arose in Ancient Greece and named after its ancestor Pythagoras. It was based on the idea of the harmonious structure of the universe, subject to numerical laws. Pythagoras did not leave a written statement of his teachings. As a result of subsequent interpretations, it acquired a pronounced esoteric character. The Pythagorean magic of number and symbol had a great influence on the Kabbalistic tradition., ancient materialism in the spirit of Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus(c. 99 - c. 55 BC) - author of the famous poem “On the Nature of Things”, follower of Epicurus. An adherent of the philosophy of atomism, according to which sensory objects consist of material, bodily particles - atoms. He rejected death and the afterlife and believed that the matter underlying the universe is eternal and infinite. and Hermetic philosophy Hermetic philosophy- a mystical teaching that arose in the era of Hellenism and late Antiquity. According to legend, Hermes Trismegistus (“thrice greatest”) gave texts containing mystical revelation to his followers and students. The teaching was of a pronounced esoteric nature, combining elements of magic, astrology and alchemy.. At the same time, one thing must not be forgotten: Bruno was never an atheist; Despite the radicalism of the opinions he expressed, he remained a deeply religious man. For Bruno, Copernicanism was by no means a goal, but a convenient and important mathematical tool that made it possible to substantiate and supplement his religious and philosophical concepts. This once again casts doubt on the thesis about Bruno as a “martyr of science.”
Bruno's ambitions probably contributed to his break with Mocenigo: for two months Bruno taught the Venetian aristocrat mnemonics at home, but after he announced his desire to leave Venice, Mocenigo, dissatisfied with teaching, decided to “snitch” on his teacher. In the denunciation that he sent to the Venetian inquisitors, Mocenigo emphasized that Bruno denies the fundamental tenets of Christian doctrine: the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, the virgin birth, and others. In total, Mocenigo wrote three denunciations, one after another: May 23, 25 and 29, 1592.
“I, Giovanni Mocenigo, son of the Most Serene Marco Antonio, report, out of conscience and by order of my confessor, that I heard many times from Giordano Bruno Nolanza, when I talked with him in his house, that when Catholics say that bread is transformed into body, then this is a great absurdity; that he is an enemy of mass, that he does not like any religion; that Christ was a deceiver and committed deceptions to seduce the people - and therefore could easily foresee that he would be hanged; that he does not see the difference of persons in the deity and this would mean the imperfection of God; that the world is eternal and there are infinite worlds... that Christ performed imaginary miracles and was a magician, like the apostles, and that he himself would have had the courage to do the same and even much more than them; that Christ did not die of his own free will and, as far as he could, tried to avoid death; that there is no retribution for sins; that souls created by nature pass from one living being to another; that, just as animals are born into depravity, people are born in the same way.
He talked about his intention to become the founder of a new sect called “new philosophy.” He said that the Virgin could not give birth and that our Catholic faith is filled with blasphemies against the greatness of God; that it is necessary to stop theological bickering and take away the income from the monks, for they are a disgrace to the world; that they are all donkeys; that all our opinions are the doctrine of asses; that we have no proof whether our faith has merit before God; that for a virtuous life it is completely enough not to do to others what you do not want for yourself... that he is surprised how God tolerates so many heresies of Catholics.”
The volume of heretical theses was so great that the Venetian inquisitors sent Bruno to Rome. Here, for seven years, leading Roman theologians continued to interrogate Nolanz and, judging by the documents, sought to prove to him that his theses were full of contradictions and inconsistencies. However, Bruno firmly stood his ground - at times he seemed ready to make concessions, but at the last moment he changed his mind. It is quite possible that the reason for this was a sense of his own high mission. One of the cornerstones of the accusation was Bruno's sincere admission that he did not believe in the dogma of the Holy Trinity.
“Did he affirm, did he really recognize, or does he now recognize and believe in the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one in essence?..
He answered: “Speaking Christianly, according to theology and everything that every true Christian and Catholic should believe, I really doubted the name of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit... for, according to St. Augustine, this term is not ancient, but a new one that arose in his time. I have held this view from the age of eighteen to the present day."From the materials of the investigation of the Venetian Inquisition
After seven years of unsuccessful attempts to convince Bruno, the inquisitorial tribunal declared him a heretic and handed him over to the secular authorities. Bruno, as we know, resolutely refused to repent of heresies, this is, in particular, evidenced by the report of the congregation of inquisitors dated January 20, 1600: “On instructions from his serene Highnesses, Brother Hippolyte Maria, together with the Procurator General of the Order of Friars Preachers, talked with this brother Giordano, exhorting him to confess to heretical provisions contained in his writings and presented to him during the trial, and renounce them. He did not consent to this, claiming that he had never expressed heretical propositions and that they were maliciously extracted by the servants of the holy service.”
Bruno's death sentence that has come down to us does not mention the heliocentric system or science in general. The only specific accusation is: “You, brother Giordano Bruno... eight years ago were brought before the court of the Holy Office of Venice for declaring the greatest absurdity to say that bread was transformed into the body, etc.”, that is, Bruno was charged with I blame the denial of church dogmas. Mentioned below are "reports... that you were recognized as an atheist while you were in England."
The verdict mentions certain eight heretical provisions in which Bruno persisted, but they are not specified, which gave some historians, including the Soviet school, reason to assume that part of the document detailing the accusations of the Inquisition was lost. However, a letter has been preserved from the Jesuit Kaspar Schoppe, who, apparently, was present when the full verdict was announced and later briefly recounted its provisions in a letter:
“He taught the most monstrous and senseless things, for example, that the worlds are countless, that the soul moves from one body to another and even to another world, that one soul can be in two bodies, that magic is a good and permitted thing, that the Holy Spirit is nothing other than the soul of the world, and that this is exactly what Moses meant when he said that the waters are subject to him and the world is eternal. Moses performed his miracles through magic and succeeded in it more than the rest of the Egyptians, that Moses invented his laws, that the Holy Scriptures are a ghost, that the devil will be saved. From Adam and Eve he derives the genealogy of Jews only. The rest of the people come from the two whom God created the day before. Christ is not God, he was a famous magician... and for this he was deservedly hanged, and not crucified. The prophets and apostles were worthless people, magicians, and many of them were hanged. To express it in one word, he defended every heresy without exception that was ever preached.”
It is not difficult to see that in this retelling (the reliability of which is a matter of separate scientific discussion) the heliocentric system is not mentioned, although the idea of innumerable worlds is mentioned, and the list of heresies that were attributed to Bruno are related specifically to issues of faith.
In mid-February, at Campo dei Fiori in Rome, the “punishment without shedding of blood” was carried out. In 1889, a monument was erected on this site, the inscription on the pedestal of which reads: “Giordano Bruno - from the century that he foresaw, on the spot where the fire was lit.”
Sources
- Yates F. Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic tradition.
- Rozhitsyn V. S. Giordano Bruno and the Inquisition.
- Giordano Bruno. Documents. Le procès. Ed. L. Firpo et A.-Ph. Segonds.
Paris, Les belles lettres, 2000.
- L. Firpo. Il processo di Giordano Bruno.
Roma, Salerno, 1993.
- Favole, metafore, story. Seminario su Giordano Bruno, a cura di M. Ciliberto.
Pisa: Edizioni della Normale, 2007.
- Enciclopedia bruniana e campanelliana, dir. da E. Canone and G. Ernst.
Pisa: Istituti editoriali e poligrafici internazionali, 2006.
- Giordano Bruno. Parole, concetti, immagini, 3 vols, direzione scientifica di M. Ciliberto.
Pisa: Edizioni della Normale, 2014.
On July 21, 1542, Pope Paul III established the central tribunal of the Inquisition, whose rights were not limited, by the bull “Licet ab inicio” (“Follows from the beginning”). Bonfires have been burning throughout Christian Europe for several centuries, but now the fight against heretics has reached an unprecedented scale. Witch trials, a huge staff of spies who reported on heretics and received generous rewards for this, secret prisons - the Inquisition system in Rome was very similar to the Spanish one. The instruments of torture used by the inquisitors amaze the imagination with their cruelty.
The Inquisition did not spare scientists, military leaders and preachers who dared to challenge the tenets of Catholicism. Read about its most famous victims, as well as those who managed to escape from the hands of the Inquisition, in our material.
Jan Hus (1369−1415)
The ideologist of the Czech Reformation gave lectures in which he criticized the feudal lords and the Catholic Church (in particular, the system of indulgences). At that time this was unheard of audacity. In addition, Jan Hus changed the rules of Czech spelling and composed several songs that became very popular among the people. Huss's influence grew. In 1409, the Pope issued a bull directed against a Czech priest. His sermons were banned, but Jan Hus was in no hurry to give up and continued his activities. In 1414, he was summoned to the city of Constance for the XVI Ecumenical Council, while guaranteeing complete safety. However, soon after his arrival, the thinker was arrested and accused of heresy.
He did not renounce his beliefs. On July 6, 1415, Jan Hus was burned at the stake. After his death, the Hussite wars broke out on the territory of the modern Czech Republic, in which the preacher's followers and Catholics fought each other.
Joan of Arc (1412−1431)
The Frenchwoman, who inspired thousands of soldiers to feat of arms, did not escape persecution by the Inquisition. She was tried on charges of heresy, but she was kept in prison under the guard of the British as a prisoner of war. For Joan of Arc, the judges set cunning traps to reach a verdict as quickly as possible. For example, during a meeting she was asked to read a prayer. Meanwhile, the slightest hesitation or error in reading would be interpreted as an admission of heresy. The girl insisted on saying a prayer during confession.
At one of the meetings, Jeanne named the names of the saints whose voices she heard, described her visions and predicted the military defeat of the British. Charges were quickly fabricated from her testimony. Frightened of being extradited to the British, Jeanne renounced her testimony and promised to return to the bosom of the church. In this case, burning at the stake was replaced by life imprisonment. However, while in custody, the girl again put on a man's suit. Jeanne was excommunicated from the church. The judges decided to hand over D'Arc to secular justice, and on May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake.
A colleague was later executed Maid of Orleans- French Marshal Gilles de Rais.
Giordano Bruno (1548−1600)
The Italian philosopher was denounced by an aristocrat from Venice, Giovanni Mocenigo, to whom Bruno gave lessons. These denunciations said that the scientist called Jesus a magician and denied basic Christian dogmas. At first, the philosopher was imprisoned in Venice, but the local Inquisition did not dare to complete the process on their own - his fame was too great. Then he was transported to Rome: here Giordano spent 6 years in captivity. Nothing made him give up his beliefs.
On February 9, 1600, the inquisitorial tribunal declared the scientist a heretic. On February 17, he was burned in one of the central squares of Rome. Several thousand people watched the execution. It should be noted that in Bruno’s death sentence there is no mention of the heliocentric system of the world he defended. The scientist was executed, first of all, for heretical statements that refuted Christian dogmas.
Galileo Galilei (1564−1642)
Galileo's contribution to science is difficult to overestimate. He founded experimental physics and also laid the foundation for classical mechanics. Alas, the scientist’s views on the structure of the world led him into the hands of the Inquisition. “Well-wishers” reported to the Pope about Galileo’s book “Dialogue of Two major systems world - Ptolemaic and Copernican." Pope Urban VIII recognized himself in one of the heroes, and this infuriated him. The scientist was summoned to Rome for trial: despite his advanced age and poor health, his requests to postpone the hearing were refused.
In prison, Galileo lost his sight. Historians still debate whether he was subjected to torture. After a trial that lasted 3 months, he renounced his beliefs, which saved his life. Until his death he was under house arrest and the vigilant supervision of the Inquisition.
Alessandro Cagliostro (1743−1795)
The famous mystic spent most of his life searching for the elixir of immortality. He introduced himself to his acquaintances as nothing other than “ great person", and spread incredible rumors about himself. In London and Paris it was rumored that Cagliostro was able to turn lead into gold and speak with the souls of the dead. In addition, Alessandro allegedly knew how to heal seriously ill patients. He also visited St. Petersburg as a healer, but mysticism was not held in high esteem by the nobles at that time.
Cagliostro wandered throughout Europe until he returned to Rome in 1789. Almost immediately upon arrival he was arrested on charges of Freemasonry. During the trial, all of Cagliostro's fraudulent affairs came to light. By the way, his wife testified against him. The “Great Alchemist” was sentenced to be burned, but after repentance the capital punishment was replaced with life imprisonment. After four years in prison, Alessandro died.
In 1542, Pope Paul III established a special body to combat heretics.
On July 21, 1542, Pope Paul III and monitored their implementation - the Congregation of the Holy Office. From then on, the Congregation was subject to local inquisitions. It legitimized all methods of combating heretics, in particular the witch hunt, which in just 200 years claimed the lives of about 50 thousand people.
In particular, talented scientists and all those who did not satisfy the Catholic Church with their actions were subjected to merciless persecution.
TSN.ua I decided to remember a few of the most known victims Inquisition.
THE MAID OF ORLEANS
National heroine of France, saint
Joan of Arc was burned in Rouen on May 30, 1431, 100 years before the appearance of the Congregation. The girl who led the victorious war of the French army against the English was convicted of witchcraft. Joan was charged with seventy counts, in particular for witchcraft, fortune telling, evocation of spirits and witchcraft, as well as heresy. for a long time refused to admit her “guilt”.
However, Bishop Pierre Cauchon, who led the indictment process, cunningly forced the girl to admit her guilt. Just before the fire was lit, they promised to transfer her from an English prison to a church prison and provide good care, if she signs a paper about obedience to the Church and renunciation of heresies.
However, what was read to the illiterate girl was replaced with a text about complete renunciation of all her “misconceptions,” where Zhanna signed a cross.
For this the girl was sent to the old prison. Moreover, they took away from the warrior women's clothing, which she began to wear after signing the paper, because before that Zhanna wore exclusively men’s outfits that were comfortable in battle. The fact that the girl was forced to dress like a man again became the reason for her execution.
After the death of the “Maid of Orleans” on July 7, 1456, the court convened by King Charles VII completely acquitted the deceased. In 1909, Pope Pius X declared Joan blessed, and on May 16, 1920, Pope Benedict XV canonized her.
NICHOLAS COPERNIUS
The Polish astronomer, the creator of the heliocentric system of the world, made a revolution in natural science, abandoning the doctrine of the central position of the Earth, which had been accepted for many centuries. He explained the visible movements of the celestial bodies by the rotation of the Earth around its axis and the rotation of the planets around the Sun (heliocentrism).
The Inquisition's persecution of Copernicus was not fatal, but no less tragic.
Ideas regarding the true position of the Earth and the wrong position of man in the world, which Copernicus outlined in his main work"About rotation celestial spheres", were received with hostility by both the Catholic Church and representatives of Protestantism.
It was the danger of persecution and persecution from the church that forced the scientist to postpone the publication of his life’s work until last year of his death.
For some time his work was distributed among scientists. But when Copernicus gained followers, his teaching was declared heresy. The book was included in"Index" banned books for 212 years (from 1616 to 1828).
GIORDANO BRUNO
Italian philosopher, follower of Copernicus
Giordano Bruno, who was a priest, was an active popularizer of the ideas of Copernicus. He developed the heliocentric system of his “teacher” and put forward a theory about the plurality of worlds. Moreover, despite his provocative scientific views, Bruno categorically rejected the idea of an afterlife and criticized most Christian dogma.
It was for this that in 1592 the scientist was captured by the Italian Inquisition, and in 1593 the man was taken to Rome. There they demanded that he renounce his views, and after his refusal, in 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned at a stake in Rome as a heretic and violator of the Manche vow.
Only in 1865 was a monument erected to the scientist in Naples, and on June 9, 1889, another monument in honor of Bruno was erected in Campo dei Fiori, where the scientific revolutionary died.
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GALILEO GALILEI
Italian physicist, astronomer, philosopher and mathematician, founder of experimental physics, laid the foundation of classical mechanics
In 1633, the trial of 70-year-old physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei began in Rome. The scientist was accused of publicly supporting the heliocentric system of the world proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus. This model was then recognized as heretical.
Galileo's trial lasted only two months. Some researchers believe that the inquisitors used torture against him.
Even despite agreeing to renounce Copernicanism and repent, Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment. There is an unconfirmed legend that after the trial the physicist said: “And yet it spins!” It is interesting that Galileo was not recognized as a heretic, but as someone suspected of heresy. Yes, he managed to avoid death penalty. And soon the sentence was replaced by house arrest. Galileo returned home to Arcetri, where he spent the rest of his life under constant surveillance by the Inquisition. Galileo's detention regime was no different from prison, and he was constantly threatened with transfer to prison for the slightest violation of the regime.
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DANTE ALIGHIERI
Italian poet, thinker, theologian, one of the founders of the literary Italian language, politician, author of The Divine Comedy"
Although Dante Alighieri was a Catholic and respected the highest justice, he still became a victim of the Inquisition, in particular because of his poem The Divine Comedy. It was not physically destroyed, but one of the author's most famous works was banned by Catholic censorship.
In The Divine Comedy, the author feels too sorry for gluttons and pagans, and sympathizes with the fate of Francesca da Rimini, who ended up in Hell because of love. In addition, the poet describes a journey to Purgatory, which completely outraged the Church, because at that time the dogma of Purgatory did not even exist. It was introduced into Catholicism in 1439, which means that what Dante wrote was heresy.
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Left only the crucifix
One of the most common myths about Bruno is that he passed away at a young age. This is due to two surviving portraits where he actually looks young. All other images of him were destroyed by decision of the Catholic Church.
But Giordano Bruno was born in 1548 and was 52 years old before his execution. In Europe at that time, such an age was considered advanced. So we can assume that the scientist’s life was long.
At birth, the boy received the name Filippo; he was born in the town of Nola near Naples. His father served as a simple soldier, earning 60 ducats a year (the average city official received (200-300 ducats). Despite the fact that the boy showed himself well at the local school, it was clear that due to lack of money, the path to university was closed to him. The only option to continue scientific activity a career as a priest was imagined - since in church institutions they taught for free.
In 1559, when Filippo was 11 years old, his parents sent him to the school at the monastery of St. Dominic, located in Naples. The teenager studied logic, theology, astronomy and many other sciences. In 1565, he was tonsured a monk and began to bear the name Giordano, the Italian name for the sacred Jordan River, in whose waters Jesus was baptized.
Seven years later, Bruno received the priesthood. And then denunciations from other Dominicans began to arrive at the monastery’s leadership. Giordano was accused of reading heretical books, and also of removing all the icons from his cell and leaving only the crucifix there. But the main sin was doubts about the unshakable postulates of the Christian Church - for example, about the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary. The authorities of the monastery began to investigate the activities of the heretic, but Bruno did not wait for the obvious solution and in 1576 fled first to Rome and then abroad.
Stubborn Shakespeare
Another myth is the claim that Giordano Bruno was not a scientist. Modern researchers like to emphasize that his works contain absolutely no mathematical calculations. Yes, he talks about the boundlessness of the Universe and the multiplicity of its planets, but rather as a publicist. And most of his works are comedies and poems. That is, he should be considered not a scientist, but a writer.
However long period travels abroad proves that Giordano Bruno was perceived by the people of his time as a man of science. During his years of wandering around Europe, he taught at major universities - including the Sorbonne and Oxford. Giordano defended two doctoral dissertations. Several of his works are devoted to the development of memory. Bruno himself, thanks to his personal memorization technique, knew by heart more than a thousand books, including the Bible and the works of Arab philosophers.
In 1581, King Henry III of France attended one of Giordano’s lectures, who was literally amazed by the scientist’s memory. The monarch invited him to his court and even gave him a good allowance. But the calm life did not last long - Giordano quarreled with scientists of the French Academy over the works of Aristotle and was forced to say goodbye to hospitable Paris. Henry II! advised him to go to England and gave letters of recommendation for the trip.
In London, Bruno lectured on the truth of Copernicus's ideas, according to which it is not the Earth, but the Sun that is at the center of our planetary system. He held discussions on this matter with the most prominent people of the country - the writer William Shakespeare, the philosopher Francis Bacon, and the physicist William Gilbert. Shakespeare and Bacon could not be convinced; they remained faithful to the beliefs of Aristotle and Claudius Ptolemy that the Sun is a planet and revolves around the Earth. But Gilbert not only became imbued with Bruno’s ideas, but also developed them, establishing some physical laws of the heliocentric system.
Here, in England, Giordano published his main scientific work, “On Infinity, the Universe and Worlds,” where he argued that there are necessarily other habitable creatures in outer space.
planets. Among the evidence was the following: God created our world in a week, didn’t he really want to try to do something else during the rest of the time? In total, Bruno wrote more than 30 scientific papers.
Great Heretic
For 16 years, Giordano Bruno traveled around Europe, lecturing at universities and promoting his views. In 1591, he returned to Italy as a personal teacher to the Venetian aristocrat Giovanni Mocenigo. However, the relationship between teacher and student quickly deteriorated. A year later, Mocenigo wrote the first denunciation against the scientist. In a letter to the Venetian inquisitor, he said that Giordano Bruno is a heretic because he claims that other worlds exist, that Christ did not die of his own free will and tried to avoid death, that human souls, after the death of the body, pass from one living being to another, etc. . The first denunciation was followed by two more. As a result, the scientist was arrested and placed in prison. But Bruno's personality and influence were too large for provincial Venice - and in February 1593 he was transported to Rome, where he was tortured for seven years, forcing him to renounce his views.
The third and main myth about Giordano Bruno: he was executed for advanced scientific ideas - in particular, for the doctrine of the infinity of worlds and the heliocentric theory of the structure of our planetary system. But at the end of the 16th century, similar views were expressed by many. The Inquisition had not yet sentenced the followers of Copernicus to death. Only 16 years after Bruno was burned at the stake, Pope Paul V declared that Copernicus' theory contradicted Holy Scripture, and only in 1633 Galileo was forced to renounce the opinion that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Paradoxical but true: all the works of Giordano Bruno were declared heretical only three years after his death. Then why was he sent to the stake?
Court documents in Rome indicate that Bruno was killed for denying the fundamental tenets of Christianity. The great scientist, in fact, created his own teaching, which threatened to undermine the influence of the Vatican. He called on everyone to doubt the sanctity of church books and argued that it was necessary to completely reconsider many provisions of Catholicism and create a different religion.
For more than seven years, the inquisitors tried through torture and persuasion to persuade Bruno to renounce these views - but they could not break the will of the convinced heretic. And releasing such an authoritative person meant subjecting the Catholic Church to tests in the fight against new religious teachings.
Execute, cannot be pardoned
On February 9, 1600, the tribunal of the Holy Inquisition declared Giordano Bruno “an unrepentant, stubborn and inflexible heretic.” He was deprived of his priesthood and excommunicated from the church. After which the Vatican authorities pretended to withdraw: the sinner was transferred to the court of the governor of Rome with a hypocritical request to impose a “merciful” punishment that does not shed blood. In reality, this meant a painful execution - burning alive at the stake.
The full text of the verdict of the secular court has not been preserved. From the passages that have survived to this day, it is known that it dealt with eight heretical statements - but more or less specifically we can talk about only one: the denial that bread can turn into the body of Christ, that is, the church dogma about holy communion.
According to legend, Giordano, after hearing the verdict, said:
- Burning does not mean disproving!
The execution took place on February 17, 1600 in the Piazza des Flowers in Rome. According to evidence, the verdict was deliberately read out so vaguely that the people did not understand who was being set on fire and for what.
Another myth about the great heretic is that the Roman Catholic Church today forgave him and condemned the then actions of the Inquisition. But, unlike Galileo, whom Pope John Paul II completely rehabilitated in 1992, Giordano Bruno has still not been acquitted. Moreover, in 2000, when the 400th anniversary of the scientist’s execution was celebrated, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, acting as an official representative of the Vatican, although he called the actions of the inquisitors a “sad episode,” but emphasized that these people did everything to save the heretic’s life. There was no talk of any forgiveness - so for Bruno the death sentence is still considered justified by the Church.
And despite the fact that back in 1889 a monument to Giordano Bruno was erected on the Square of Flowers, the already mentioned John Paul II, famous for his progressive views, meeting with a group of scientists, when asked why Bruno had not yet been rehabilitated, sharply answered:
- When you find aliens, then we’ll talk.
