Western Philosophy Renaissance philosophy
Name	Giordano Bruno
Birth	1548, Nola
Death	February 17, 1600 (aged 52), Rome
School/tradition	?
Main interests	Philosophy & Cosmology
Influenced by	Nicolaus Copernicus, Nicolaus Cusanus, Marsilo Ficino, Ramon Llull, Pico della Mirandola, Giulio Camillo
Influenced	Nicola Antonio Stigliola, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Baruch Spinoza, James Joyce, Umberto Eco, Giorgio Agamben, Hans Blumenberg

Giordano Bruno (1548, Nola – February 17, 1600, Rome) was an Italian philosopher, priest, cosmologist, and occultist. Renaissance philosophy was the period of the History of philosophy in Europe that falls roughly between the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment Nola is a city of Campania, Italy, in the Province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Marsilio Ficino ( Latin name Marsilius Ficinus; October 19 1433 - October 1 1499) was one of the most influential humanist Ramon Llull (1232 &ndash June 29, 1315) (sometimes Raymond Lully, Raymond Lull, in Latin Raimundus or Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola ( February 24, 1463 - November 17, 1494) was an Italian Renaissance Philosopher. Nicola Antonio Stigliola (Also Colantonio Stelliola (1546 Nola &ndash 1623 Naples) was an Italian Philosopher, printer, Architect Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza (ברוך שפינוזה Bento de Espinosa Benedictus de Spinoza ( November 24, 1632 – February 21, James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the Umberto Eco (born 5 January 1932 is an Italian Medievalist, semiotician, Philosopher, literary critic and Novelist, best Giorgio Agamben (born 1942 in Rome) is an Italian philosopher who teaches at the Università IUAV di Venezia. Hans Blumenberg was born on July 13, 1920 in Lübeck, Germany. Nola is a city of Campania, Italy, in the Province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Physical cosmology, as a branch of Astronomy, is the study of the large-scale structure of the Universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" Bruno is known for his use and development of the art of memory, a mnemonic system based upon organized knowledge. The Art of Memory or Ars Memorativa ("art of memory" in Latin is a general term used to designate a loosely associated group of mnemonic principles and techniques A mnemonic device (nəˈmɒnɪk is a Memory aid Commonly met mnemonics are often verbal something such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge He was also an early proponent of the idea of an infinite and homogeneous universe. Burnt at the stake as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition, Bruno is seen by some as the first "martyr ^[1] for science. Execution by burning has a long history as a method of Punishment for Crimes such as Treason, Heresy and Witchcraft Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox The Roman Inquisition was a system of Tribunals developed by the Holy See during the second half of the 16th century responsible for prosecuting individuals accused The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom "

Early years

Born in Nola (in Campania, then part of the Kingdom of Naples) in 1548, he was originally named Filippo Bruno. Nola is a city of Campania, Italy, in the Province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. Campania is a region of Southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5 The Kingdom of Naples was an informal name of the Polity officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily which existed on the mainland of the southern Italian His father was Giovanni Bruno, a soldier. At the age of eleven he traveled to Naples to study the Trivium. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the In medieval universities, the trivium comprised the three subjects taught first Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. At 15, Bruno entered the Dominican Order, taking the name of Giordano from Giordano Crispo, his metaphysics tutor. The Order of Preachers ( Latin: Ordo Praedicatorum) after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is He continued his studies, completing his novitiate, and becoming an ordained priest in 1572. Novitiate, alt noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Novice (or prospective) monastic or member A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities

He was interested in philosophy, and was an expert on the art of memory; he wrote books on mnemonic technique, which Frances Yates contends may have been disguised Hermetic tracts. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The Art of Memory or Ars Memorativa ("art of memory" in Latin is a general term used to designate a loosely associated group of mnemonic principles and techniques A mnemonic device (nəˈmɒnɪk is a Memory aid Commonly met mnemonics are often verbal something such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE ( November 28 1899 &ndash September 29 1981) was a noted British historian Hermeticism is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a The writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus had played an important role in the Renaissance Neoplatonic revival. Hermes Trismegistus ( Greek:, "thrice-great Hermes" Latin: Mercurius ter Maximus) is the Syncretism of the Greek god The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by At that time they were thought to date uniformly to the earliest days of ancient Egypt and to encode a form of "pristine wisdom" ("prisca philosophia"). This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. They are now believed to date mostly from about 300 A. D. and are associated with Neoplatonism. Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by

Woodcut illustration of one of Giordano Bruno's mnemonic devices: in the spandrels are the four classical elements: earth, air fire, water

While the Hermetic tradition was a major influence on Bruno, he also absorbed and developed the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus, though he claimed that his own mystical understanding of heliocentrism was far more important than Copernicus's understanding, which Bruno considered merely mathematical. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. Hermeticism is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a Other significant influences included Thomas Aquinas, whose works he had to study in depth as a novice and for whom he always expressed a curiously deep admiration ^[2], Averroes, whose idea of a universal mind resonates through Bruno's work, Duns Scotus, the Renaissance Neoplatonist Marsilio Ficino, the Spanish Ramon Llull and, last but certainly not least, Nicholas of Cusa's ideas on infinity and indeterminacy, particularly the idea of an infinite universe where the Earth is elevated to the divine status of a star. Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd (Arabicأبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد better known just as Ibn Rushd (ابن رشد and in European Marsilio Ficino ( Latin name Marsilius Ficinus; October 19 1433 - October 1 1499) was one of the most influential humanist Ramon Llull (1232 &ndash June 29, 1315) (sometimes Raymond Lully, Raymond Lull, in Latin Raimundus or Bruno developed a pantheistic hylozoistic system, essentially incompatible with orthodox Christian Trinitarian beliefs. Pantheism ( Greek: πάν ( 'pan') = all and θεός ( 'theos') = God it literally means " God is All Hylozoism is the philosophical conjecture that all or some material things possess life or that all life is inseparable from matter SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных

In 1576 he left Naples to avoid the attention of the Inquisition. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and He left Rome for the same reason and abandoned the Dominican order. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 He travelled to Geneva and briefly joined the Calvinists, before he was excommunicated, ostensibly for slandering the philosophy professor Antoine de la Faye. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community After Bruno apologized his excommunication was revoked, but in autumn 1579, deeply disappointed by Calvinist intolerance, he left for France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

He went first to Lyon, but he could not find work there and in late 1579 he arrived in Toulouse, at that time a Catholic stronghold, where he obtained a position as lecturer of philosophy. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest After the bitter experience in Geneva, he also tried to revert to mainstream Catholicism, but he was denied absolution by the Jesuit priest that he approached. After religious strife broke out in Toulouse in summer 1581, he moved to Paris, where first he held a cycle of thirty lectures on theological topics. Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city At this time, he also began to gain fame for his prodigious memory. Bruno's feats of memory were based, at least in part, on his elaborate system of mnemonics, but some of his contemporaries found it easier to attribute them to magical powers. His talents attracted the benevolent attention of the king Henry III, who supported a conciliatory, middle-of-the-road cultural policy between Catholic and Protestant extremism. Henry III of France (Henri III Henryk ( September 19 1551 – August 2, 1589)

In Paris he enjoyed the protection of his powerful French patrons. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city During this period, he published several works on mnemonics, a. o. "De umbris idearum" (The Shadows of Ideas, 1582), "Ars Memoriae" (The Art of Memory, 1582), "Cantus Circaeus" (Circe's Song, 1582), based on his model of organised knowledge, opposed to that of Petrus Ramus. Petrus Ramus, or Pierre de la Ramée (1515 &ndash August 26, 1572) French humanist, Logician, and educational reformer In 1582 Bruno also published a comedy summarizing some of his philosophical positions, titled "Il Candelaio" ("The Torchbearer").

Travel years

In April 1583, he went to England with letters of recommendation from Henry III, working for the French ambassador, Michel de Castelnau. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland There he became acquainted with the poet Philip Sidney and with the Hermetic circle around John Dee. Sir Philip Sidney ( November 30, 1554 &ndash October 17, 1586) became one of the Elizabethan Age's most prominent figures John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609 was a noted English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, occultist He also unsuccessfully sought a teaching position at Oxford, where however he held lectures. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the His views spurred controversy, notably with John Underhill, Rector of Lincoln College and from 1589 bishop of Oxford, and George Abbot, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury, who poked fun at Bruno for supporting “the opinion of Copernicus that the earth did go round, and the heavens did stand still; whereas in truth it was his own head which rather did run round, and his brains did not stand still. George Abbot or George Abbott may refer to George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury (1562-1633 English clergyman George Abbot ”^[3] and who reports accusations of plagiarising Ficino's work. Marsilio Ficino ( Latin name Marsilius Ficinus; October 19 1433 - October 1 1499) was one of the most influential humanist Still, the English period was a fruitful one. During that time Bruno completed and published some of his most important works, the "Italian Dialogues," including the cosmological tracts "La Cena de le Ceneri" (The Ash Wednesday Supper, 1584), "De la Causa, Principio et Uno" (On Cause, Prime Origin and the One, 1584), "De l'Infinito Universo et Mondi" (On the Infinite Universe and Worlds, 1584) as well as "Lo Spaccio de la Bestia Trionfante" (The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast, 1584) and "De gl' Heroici Furori" (On Heroic Frenzies, 1585). Some of the works that Bruno published in London, notably the "The Ash Wednesday Supper," appear to have given offense. It was not the first time, nor was it to be the last, that Bruno's controversial views coupled with his abrasive sarcasm lost him the support of his friends.

In October 1585, after the French embassy in London was attacked by a mob, he returned to Paris with Castelnau, finding a tense political situation. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Moreover, his 120 theses against Aristotelian natural science and his pamphlets against the mathematician Fabrizio Mordente soon put him in ill favor. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. In 1586, following a violent quarrel about Mordente's invention, "the differential compass," he left France for Germany. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

Woodcut from "Articuli centum et sexaginta adversus huius tempestatis mathematicos atque philosophos," Prague 1588

In Germany he failed to obtain a teaching position at Marburg, but was granted permission to teach at Wittenberg, where he lectured on Aristotle for two years. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. Marburg is a city in Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a Town in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. However, with a change of intellectual climate there, he was no longer welcome, and went in 1588 to Prague, where he obtained 300 taler from Rudolf II, but no teaching position. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. The Thaler (or Taler or Tolar) was a Silver Coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred Years Its name lives on Rudolf II ( July 18, 1552, Vienna, Austria - January 20, 1612, Prague, Bohemia, now part of He went on to serve briefly as a professor in Helmstedt, but had to flee again when he was excommunicated by the Lutherans, continuing the pattern of Bruno's gaining favor from lay authorities before falling foul of the ecclesiastics of whatever hue. The University of Helmstedt, official Latin name Academia Julia ("Julius University" was a University in Helmstedt, Brunswick-Lüneburg Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer

The year 1591 found him in Frankfurt. Apparently, during the Frankfurt Book Fair, he received an invitation to Venice from the patrician Giovanni Mocenigo, who wished to be instructed in the art of memory, and also heard of a vacant chair in mathematics at the University of Padua. Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse is the world's largest Trade fair for Books, based on the number of publishing companies represented Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the The Mocenigo family was a Venetian family Many of its members were doges, Statesmen, and Soldiers Notable Mocenigos include The University of Padua ( Italian Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) located in Padua, Italy, was founded in 1222 Apparently believing that the Inquisition might have lost some of its impetus, he returned to Italy. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest

He went first to Padua, where he taught briefly, and applied unsuccessfully for the chair of mathematics, which was assigned instead to Galileo Galilei one year later. Padua ( Padova 'padova Latin: Patavium, Padoa) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher Bruno accepted Mocenigo's invitation and moved to Venice in March 1592. The Mocenigo family was a Venetian family Many of its members were doges, Statesmen, and Soldiers Notable Mocenigos include For about two months he functioned as an in-house tutor to Mocenigo. The Mocenigo family was a Venetian family Many of its members were doges, Statesmen, and Soldiers Notable Mocenigos include When Bruno announced his plan to leave Venice to his host, the latter, who was unhappy with the teachings he had received and had apparently developed a personal rancour towards Bruno, denounced him to the Venetian Inquisition, which had Bruno arrested on May 22, 1592. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Among the numerous charges of blasphemy and heresy brought against him in Venice, based on Mocenigo's denunciation, was his belief in the plurality of worlds, as well as accusations of personal misconduct. Blasphemy is the disrespectful use of the name of one or more gods. Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief The Mocenigo family was a Venetian family Many of its members were doges, Statesmen, and Soldiers Notable Mocenigos include The plenitude principle or principle of plenitude asserts that everything that can happen will happen Bruno defended himself skillfully, stressing the philosophical character of some of his positions, denying others and admitting that he had had doubts on some matters of dogma. The Roman Inquisition, however, asked for his transferral to Rome. After several months and some quibbling the Venetian authorities reluctantly consented and Bruno was sent to Rome in February 1593. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2

The monument to Bruno in the place he was executed, Campo de' Fiori in Rome. Campo dei Fiori is a rectangular Piazza near Piazza Navona in Rome, on the border of rione Parione and rione Regola

Close-up of the statue.

Trial and death

In Rome he was imprisoned for seven years during his lengthy trial, lastly in the Tower of Nona. The Tor di Nona &mdash now a small area in Rome 's Rione V called " Ponte " which lies in the heart of the city's historic center between Some important documents about the trial are lost, but others have been preserved, among them a summary of the proceedings that was rediscovered in 1940. ^[4] The numerous charges against Bruno, based on some of his books as well as on witness accounts, included blasphemy, immoral conduct, and heresy in matters of dogmatic theology, and involved some of the basic doctrines of his philosophy and cosmology. Luigi Firpo lists them as follows: ^[5]

1. Holding opinions contrary to the Catholic Faith and speaking against it and its ministers. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete".
2. Holding erroneous opinions about the Trinity, about Christ's divinity and Incarnation. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Incarnation which literally means embodied in flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human who is the
3. Holding erroneous opinions about Christ. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed "
4. Holding erroneous opinions about Transubstantiation and Mass. See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence.
5. Claiming the existence of a plurality of worlds and their eternity.
6. Believing in metempsychosis and in the transmigration of the human soul into brutes. Reincarnation Metempsychosis is a philosophical term in the Greek language referring to the belief of Transmigration of the soul, especially its Reincarnation
7. Dealing in magics and divination.
8. Denying the Virginity of Mary.

Bruno continued his Venetian defensive strategy, which consisted in bowing to the Church's dogmatic teachings, while trying to preserve the basis of his philosophy. In particular Bruno held firm to his belief in the plurality of worlds, although he was admonished to abandon it. His trial was overseen by the inquisitor Cardinal Bellarmine, who demanded a full recantation, which Bruno eventually refused. Robert Bellarmine ( Roberto Francesco Romolo Cardinale Bellarmino) (4 October 1542 Montepulciano, Siena, Italy – 17 September 1621 Instead he appealed in vain to Pope Clement VIII, hoping to save his life through a partial recantation. Not to be confused with Antipope Clement VIII. Pope Clement VIII ( February 24, 1536 &ndash March 3, 1605 The Pope expressed himself in favor of a guilty verdict. Consequently, Bruno was declared a heretic, handed over to secular authorities on February 8 1600. Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox At his trial he listened to the verdict on his knees, then stood up and said: "Perhaps you, my judges, pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it. " A month or so later he was brought to the Campo de' Fiori, a central Roman market square, his jaw clamped in an iron gag and an iron spike driven through his tongue. Campo dei Fiori is a rectangular Piazza near Piazza Navona in Rome, on the border of rione Parione and rione Regola A gag is usually a device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help He was tied to a pole naked and burned at the stake, on February 17, 1600. Execution by burning has a long history as a method of Punishment for Crimes such as Treason, Heresy and Witchcraft

Conflicts over execution

All his works were placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1603. The Index Librorum Prohibitorum ("List of Prohibited Books" was a list of publications prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church. Four hundred years after his execution, official expression of "profound sorrow" and acknowledgement of error at Bruno's condemnation to death was made, during the papacy of John Paul II. Pope Attempts were made by a group of professors in the Catholic Theological Faculty at Naples, led by the Nolan Domenico Sorrentino, to obtain a full rehabilitation from the Catholic authorities. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino (born 1948) is an Italian Catholic archbishop

In 1885 an international committee for a monument to Bruno on the site of his execution was formed,^[6] including Victor Hugo, Herbert Spencer, Ernest Renan, Ernst Haeckel, Henrik Ibsen and Ferdinand Gregorovius. Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist Herbert Spencer ( April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903) was an English Philosopher; prominent classical liberal Ernest Renan ( February 28, 1823 &ndash October 12, 1892) was a French Philosopher and writer deeply attached to his native Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel ( February 16, 1834 — August 9, 1919)also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German "Ibsen" redirects here For other people named Ibsen see Ibsen (disambiguation. Ferdinand Gregorovius ( January 19, 1821 &ndash May 1, 1891) was a German Historian who specialized in the Medieval ^[7][8] The monument was sharply opposed by the clerical party, but was finally erected by the Rome Municipality and inaugurated in 1889. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Some authors have characterized Bruno as a "martyr of science", making a parallel to the Galileo affair. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding The Galileo affair, in which Galileo Galilei came into conflict with the Catholic Church over his support of Copernican astronomy, is often considered a They assert that, even though Bruno's theological beliefs were an important factor in his heresy trial, his Copernicanism and cosmological beliefs also played a significant role for the outcome. Others oppose such views, and claim this alleged connection to be exaggerated, or outright false.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "…in 1600 there was no official Catholic position on the Copernican system, and it was certainly not a heresy. When…Bruno…was burned at the stake as a heretic, it had nothing to do with his writings in support of Copernican cosmology. "^[9]

Similarly, the Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) asserts that "Bruno was not condemned for his defence of the Copernican system of astronomy, nor for his doctrine of the plurality of inhabited worlds, but for his theological errors, among which were the following: that Christ was not God but merely an unusually skilful magician, that the Holy Ghost is the soul of the world, that the Devil will be saved, etc. "^[10]

However, the webpage of the Vatican Secret Archives about Bruno's trial differs in perspective: "In the same rooms where Giordano Bruno was questioned, for the same important reasons of the relationship between science and faith, at the dawning of the new astronomy and at the decline of Aristotle’s philosophy, sixteen years later, Cardinal Bellarmino, who then contested Bruno’s heretical theses, summoned Galileo Galilei, who also faced a famous inquisitorial trial, which, luckily for him, ended with a simple abjuration. "^[11]

A statue designed by Alexander Polzin depecting Bruno's death at the stake was placed in Potsdamer Platz station in Berlin on March 2, 2008. ( English Potsdam Square, is an important Public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin, Germany, lying about one kilometre Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[12]

Cosmology before Bruno

According to Aristotle and Plato, the universe was a finite sphere. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece "Globose" redirects here See also Globose nucleus. A sphere (from Greek σφαίρα - sphaira, "globe Its ultimate limit was the primum mobile, whose diurnal rotation was conferred upon it by a transcendental God, not part of the universe, a motionless prime mover and first cause. In Religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Primum movens (Latin First cause) is a term used in philosophical and theological Arguments for the existence of God in connection The fixed stars were part of this celestial sphere, all at the same fixed distance from the immobile earth at the center of the sphere. A star is a massive luminous ball of plasma. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the Energy on Earth Ptolemy had numbered these at 1,022, grouped into 48 constellations. Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca In common usage a constellation is a group of celestial bodies that are connected together in some arrangement typically stars to form a visible figure or picture The planets were each fixed to a transparent sphere. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is

In the first half of the 15th century Nicolaus Cusanus reissued the ideas formulated in Antiquity by Democritus and Lucretius and dropped the Aristotelean cosmos. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean Democritus ( Greek:) was a pre-Socratic Greek Materialist Philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace ca Titus Lucretius Carus (ca 99 BC- ca 55 BC was a Roman Poet and Philosopher. In its most general sense a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system He envisioned an infinite universe, whose center was everywhere and circumference nowhere, with countless rotating stars, the Earth being one of them, of equal importance. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 He also considered neither the rotation orbits were circular, nor the movement was uniform.

In the second half of the 16th century, the theories of Copernicus began diffusing through Europe. Copernicus conserved the idea of planets fixed to solid spheres, but considered the apparent motion of the stars to be an illusion caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis; he also preserved the notion of an immobile center, but it was the Sun rather than the Earth. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Copernicus also argued the Earth was a planet orbiting the Sun once every year. However he maintained the Ptolemaic hypothesis that the orbits of the planets were composed of perfect circles—deferents and epicycles—and that the stars were fixed on a stationary outer sphere. In Astronomy, the geocentric model of the Universe is the superseded theory that the Earth is the center of the universe and other In the Ptolemaic system of Astronomy, the epicycle (literally on the circle in Greek) was a geometric model used to explain the variations in In the Ptolemaic system of Astronomy, the epicycle (literally on the circle in Greek) was a geometric model used to explain the variations in

Few astronomers of Bruno's time accepted Copernicus's heliocentric model. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study In Astronomy, heliocentrism is the theory that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System. Among those who did were the Germans Michael Maestlin (1550-1631), Christoph Rothmann, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), the Englishman Thomas Digges, author of A Perfit Description of the Caelestial Orbes, and the Italian Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Michael Maestlin (also Mästlin Möstlin or Moestlin ( 30 September 1550 in Göppingen, Germany - 20 October 1631) was a Christoph Rothmann (born between 1550 and 1560 in Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt; died probably after 1600 in Bernburg was a German mathematician and one of the few well-known Johannes Kepler (ˈkɛplɚ ( December 27 1571 &ndash November 15 1630) was a German Mathematician, Astronomer England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Thomas Digges (1546 &ndash 24 August 1595) was an English Astronomer, son of Leonard Digges, and great populariser of Science Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher

Bruno's cosmology

Bruno believed, as is now universally accepted, that the Earth revolves and that the apparent diurnal rotation of the heavens is an illusion caused by the rotation of the Earth around its axis. A rotation is a movement of an object in a circular motion A two- Dimensional object rotates around a center (or point) of rotation He also saw no reason to believe that the stellar region was finite, or that all stars were equidistant from a single center of the universe. Center of the Universe is a Television series on CBS, which ran from October 27, 2004, until January 19, 2005

In 1584, Bruno published two important philosophical dialogues, in which he argued against the planetary spheres. (Two years later, Rothmann did the same in 1586, as did Tycho Brahe in 1587. Tycho Brahe, born Tyge Ottesen Brahe ( December 14 1546 &ndash October 24 1601) was a Danish nobleman ) Bruno's infinite universe was filled with a substance -- a "pure air," aether, or spiritus -- that offered no resistance to the heavenly bodies which, in Bruno's view, rather than being fixed, moved under their own impetus. Most dramatically, he completely abandoned the idea of a hierarchical universe. @@@ main@@@ - title Hierarchy@@@ keywords structure; sociology; information@@@ review@@@ - The Earth was just one more heavenly body, as was the Sun. God had no particular relation to one part of the infinite universe more than any other. God, according to Bruno, was as present on Earth as in the Heavens, an immanent God, the One subsuming in itself the multiplicity of existence, rather than a remote heavenly deity. Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere "to remain within" refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind

Bruno also affirmed that the universe was homogeneous, made up everywhere of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), rather than having the stars be composed of a separate quintessence. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. Essentially, the same physical laws would operate everywhere, although the use of that term is anachronistic. A physical law or scientific law is a Scientific generalization based on empirical Observations of physical behavior (i Space and time were both conceived as infinite. Space is the extent within which Matter is physically extended and objects and Events have positions relative to one another For other uses see Time (disambiguation Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events to compare the durations of There was no room in his stable and permanent universe for the Christian notions of divine Creation and Last Judgement. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived

Under this model, the Sun was simply one more star, and the stars all suns, each with its own planets. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Bruno saw a solar system of a sun/star with planets as the fundamental unit of the universe. The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by Gravity. According to Bruno, infinite God necessarily created an infinite universe, formed of an infinite number of solar systems, separated by vast regions full of Aether, because empty space could not exist. (Bruno did not arrive at the concept of a galaxy. A galaxy is a massive gravitationally bound system consisting of Stars an Interstellar medium of gas and dust, and Dark matter ) Comets were part of a synodus ex mundis of stars, and not -- as other authors sustained at the time -- ephemeral creations, divine instruments, or heavenly messengers. A comet is a small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and when close enough to the Sun exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere or a tail — Each comet was a world, a permanent celestial body, formed of the four elements.

Bruno's cosmology is marked by infinitude, homogeneity, and isotropy, with planetary systems distributed evenly throughout. Isotropy is uniformity in all directions Precise definitions depend on the subject area Matter follows an active animistic principle: it is intelligent and discontinuous in structure, made up of discrete atoms. Matter is commonly defined as being anything that has mass and that takes up space. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals Intelligence (also called intellect) is an Umbrella term used to describe a property of the Mind that encompasses many related abilities such as the capacities History See also Atomic theory, Atomism The concept that matter is composed of discrete units and cannot be divided into arbitrarily tiny This animism (and a corresponding disdain for mathematics as a means to understanding) is the most dramatic respect in which Bruno's cosmology differs from what today passes for a common-sense picture of the universe.

During the later 16th century, and throughout the 17th century, Bruno's ideas were held up for ridicule, debate, or inspiration. Margaret Cavendish, for example, wrote an entire series of poems against "atoms" and "infinite worlds" in Poems and Fancies in 1664. See Margaret Cavendish (1661-1717 for the later Duchess of Newcastle of this name Bruno's true, if partial, rehabilitation would have to wait for the implications of Newtonian cosmology. Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (ˈnjuːtən 4 January 1643 31 March 1727) Biography Early years See also Isaac Newton's early life and achievements

Bruno's overall contribution to the birth of modern science is still controversial. Some scholars follow Frances Yates stressing the importance of Bruno's ideas about the universe being infinite and lacking structure as a crucial crosspoint between the old and the new. Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE ( November 28 1899 &ndash September 29 1981) was a noted British historian Others disagree. Others yet see in Bruno's idea of multiple worlds instantiating the infinite possibilities of a pristine, indivisible One a forerunner of Everett's Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Hugh Everett III ( November 11, 1930 – July 19, 1982) was an American physicist who first proposed the Many-worlds interpretation The many-worlds interpretation or MWI (also known as relative state formulation, theory of the universal wavefunction, parallel universes, ^[13]

In popular culture

• A statue of Giordano Bruno created by Ettore Ferrari was erected at Campo de' Fiori in Rome in 1889 on the day of the Holy Spirit. The Statue of Giordano Bruno, created by Ettore Ferrari, was erected at Campo de' Fiori in Rome, Italy, in 1889. Ettore Ferrari ( Rome, 1848 - 1929 was an Italian sculptor Biography Born to an artistic family (his father was also a painter Ferrari was one of the Campo dei Fiori is a rectangular Piazza near Piazza Navona in Rome, on the border of rione Parione and rione Regola Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It looks in the direction of the Vatican.
• Ægypt, a four-volume novel by John Crowley, includes a major storyline following the adventures of Giordano Bruno, positing among other things two meetings between Bruno and Dr. Ægypt is a sequence of four novels by John Crowley detailing the work and life of Pierce Moffett who prepares a manuscript for publication even as it prepares John Crowley (born December 1, 1942) is an American author of Fantasy, Science fiction and mainstream fiction John Dee. John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609 was a noted English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, occultist
• More Light (1987), a play by British playwright Snoo Wilson, has Giordano Bruno as its protagonist and includes Queen Elizabeth I of England and a female Shakespeare among its characters. Snoo Wilson (born Andrew James Wilson August 2, 1948) is a Dramatist and Theater director. William Shakespeare ( baptised
• The Last Confession by Australian author Morris West (The Devil's Advocate, The Shoes of the Fisherman, The Ambassador) is a fictional account of Giordano Bruno's imprisonment before he is convicted of heresy and burned at the stake during the Inquisition in 1600. The Last Confession is a stage play by Roger Crane based around the election and death of Pope John Paul I. Morris Langlo West (26 April 1916 - 9 October 1999 was an Australian Novelist and playwright best known for his novels The Devil's Advocate (1959
• Czesław Miłosz's poem "Campo di Fiori" interweaves the Italian masses indifference to the burning of Giordano Bruno with the Poles' indifference to the Germans' suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Czesław Miłosz; ( June 30, 1911 — August 14, 2004) was a Polish Poet, prose writer and Translator The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (German "Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto", Polish "Powstanie w getcie warszawskim") was the Jewish
• James Joyce mentions Bruno the Nolan towards the end of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and has a passage largely about his trial and execution in Finnegans Wake. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical Novel by James Joyce, first serialized in The Egoist Finnegans Wake is a fictional work by James Joyce, published in 1939 ^[14]
• Margaret Gabrielle Long, writing as Marjorie Bowen, used a fictionalized version of Bruno ("Brother Felipe Bruno") as the protagonist of the novel The Triumphant Beast (1934). Marjorie Bowen (pseudonym of' Mrs Gabrielle Margaret V Long née Campbell') ( 1 November 1885 on Hayling Island, Hampshire
• The Romanian-born Israeli writer and poet Yotam Reuveni recounted that during his youth at the city of Iaşi, Moldavia, pupils at the local highschool greatly venerated Giordano Bruno and had the habit of putting a finger inside the flame of a burning candle, as an act of solidarity with their burnt hero. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Iaşi (pronunciation in Romanian: /jaʃʲ/ or Jassy, is a city and municipality in north-eastern Romania. Moldavia (Moldova is a geographic and historical region and former Principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between Eastern Carpathians ("האש של ג'ורדנו ברונו" Hebrew: "Giordano Bruno's Fire", article published in Haaretz on March 3, 2000, marking the 400th anniversary of his execution). (הארץ "The land" referring to the Land of Israel) founded in 1918 is Israel 's oldest Daily newspaper.
• Russian poet Vladimir Kostrov and composer Lora Kvint wrote the musical 'Giordano' (1988), which was staged at Moscow and Leningrad 29 times. Vladimir Andreyevich Kostrov ( Владимир Андреевич Костров) (born September 21, 1935) is a Russian poet Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River
• The Age of False Innocence, a song by Blind Guardian is based on Bruno's life. Blind Guardian is a German heavy metal band which is often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in Power metal and Speed metal

Legacy

• The 20-km diameter crater Giordano Bruno, named in Bruno's honor, is located on the moon at 103° east lunar longitude, 36° north lunar latitude. In the broadest sense the term impact crater can be applied to any depression natural or manmade resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with larger body Giordano Bruno is a small lunar Impact crater on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the northeastern limb Longitude (ˈlɒndʒɪˌtjuːd or ˈlɒŋgɪˌtjuːd symbolized by the Greek character Lambda (λ is the east-west Geographic coordinate measurement Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the It is believed to have been created by a meteorite impact in 1178, witnessed by five English monks, as related in Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Carl Edward Sagan ( November 9 1934 &ndash December 20 1996) was an American Astronomer, astrochemist, author Cosmos (1980 published by Random House, is a book by Carl Sagan based on his TV series Cosmos A Personal Voyage.
• In 1926 the Theosophical Broadcasting Station Pty Ltd, owned by interests associated with the local branch of Theosophical Society Adyar, was granted a radio broadcasting licence in Sydney, Australia. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Theosophy Society - Adyar is the main remnant of the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The station's call sign, "2GB" was chosen to honour the Italian philosopher who was much admired by Theosophists. 2GB is a commercial Radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting on 873 KHz, AM. Although the ownership of the station subsequently passed to strictly commercial interests, the call sign is retained.

Notes

References

• The Acentric Labyrinth. Giordano Bruno's Prelude to Contemporary Cosmology, Ramon G. Mendoza PhD, 1995, ISBN 1-85230-640-8
• Cause, Principle and Unity : And Essays on Magic by Giordano Bruno, ISBN 0-521-59658-0
• The Cabala of Pegasus by Giordano Bruno, ISBN 0-300-09217-2
• "Writings of Giordano Bruno"
• The Pope & the Heretic, Michael White, 2002, ISBN 0-06-018626-7.
• Giordano Bruno, J. Lewis McIntyre.
• Giordano Bruno and Renaissance Science, Hilary Gatti, 2002, ISBN 0-8014-8785-4
• Giordano Bruno: His Life and Thought, With Annotated Translation of His Work -On the Infinite Universe and Worlds,Dorethea Singer,1950.
• Giordano Bruno: The Forgotten Philosopher, John Kessler.
• Giordano Bruno, Paul Oskar Kristeller, Collier's Encyclopedia, Vol 4, 1987 ed. , pg. 634
• Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Frances Yates, ISBN 0-226-95007-7
• Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, Ioan P. Couliano, ISBN 0-226-12315-4. Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition is a 1964 Non-fiction book by British historian Frances A Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE ( November 28 1899 &ndash September 29 1981) was a noted British historian Ioan Petru Culianu or Couliano ( January 5 1950 &ndash May 21 1991) was a Romanian historian of religion,
• Il processo di Giordano Bruno, Luigi Firpo, 1993
• Giordano Bruno,Il primo libro della Clavis Magna, ovvero, Il trattato sull'intelligenza artificiale, a cura di Claudio D'Antonio, Di Renzo Editore.
• Giordano Bruno,Il secondo libro della Clavis Magna, ovvero, Il Sigillo dei Sigilli, a cura di Claudio D'Antonio, Di Renzo Editore.
• Giordano Bruno, Il terzo libro della Clavis Magna, ovvero, La logica per immagini, a cura di Claudio D'Antonio, Di Renzo Editore
• Giordano Bruno, Il quarto libro della Clavis Magna, ovvero, L'arte di inventare con Trenta Statue, a cura di Claudio D'Antonio, Di Renzo Editore
• Giordano Bruno L'incantesimo di Circe, a cura di Claudio D'Antonio, Di Renzo Editore
• Giordano Bruno, De Umbris Idearum, a cura di Claudio D'Antonio, Di Renzo Editore
• Guido Del Giudice, La coincidenza degli opposti, Di Renzo Editore, ISBN 8883231104 , 2005
• Giordano Bruno, Due Orazioni: Oratio Valedictoria - Oratio Consolatoria, a cura di Guido del Giudice, Di Renzo Editore, 2007

External links

• O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F. , “Giordano Bruno”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive 
• Bruno's works: text, concordances and frequency list
• Detailed biography of Giordano Bruno
• Latin text of Bruno's Ars Memoriae
• Collection of short excerpts about Giordano Bruno, from many authors throughout history
• Bruno's Latin and Italian works online: Biblioteca Ideale di Giordano Bruno
• Complete works of Bruno as well as main biographies and studies available for free download in PDF format from the Warburg Institute and the Centro Internazionale di Studi Bruniani Giovanni Aquilecchia