GIORDANO BRUNO: BIOGRAPHY, THEORIES, CONTRIBUTIONS AND WORKS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600) was a 16th century Italian philosopher, poet, mathematician, astronomer, and friar. His fame was born from his martyrdom for defending scientific ideas; among others, that of the infinite universe, which was ahead of the thinking of his contemporaries.

Bruno rejected geocentrism, an idea that prevailed at the time, and supported the theory that each star was a sun surrounded by planets, similar to ours. He considered that such statements could coexist with the religious doctrine of Catholicism, of which he had been a practitioner.

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During his time as a friar, he read from the writings of the Dutch Erasmus of Rotterdam. From there came much of his knowledge and his philosophical conception, but these texts were prohibited by the church at the time, which led to Bruno being related to the occult.

However, for the minds of the time an infinite and centerless universe was a destabilizing theory, which raised the alarms of the church. Giordano Bruno was tried by a court of the Inquisition that accused him of contravening the doctrine of Catholicism.

Eventually, at the trial against Bruno he was found guilty of the charges against him and sentenced to be burned as a heretic. Thus was born his legend as a martyr, who endured suffering in order to adhere to scientific principles.

In addition to his ideas about the constitution and size of the universe, the thought of an infinite, non-anthropomorphic God also contributed to the fateful fate of Giordano Bruno's life.

He was interested in the knowledge of the human mind, with special emphasis on memory. He conducted mnemonic studies and established them, that was one of his first writings, dated 1582.

Giordano Bruno also had an extensive list of publications on various topics, both poetry and science.

Early years

Filippo Bruno was born in 1548 in the city of Nola, which was then part of the kingdom of Naples, now Italy. He was the son of a military man who fought for Spain, named Giovanni Bruno, together with Fraulissa Savolino.

The boy received the first letters in his hometown, but at the age of 15 he moved to Naples, one of the great European settlements of the time, to then continue his instruction.

Bruno studied theology with the Augustinians; in addition, he attended classes in the humanities at the Estudium Generale, a predecessor institution of the university.

At 17 he decided to ordain himself as a Dominican in Naples. That's when he changed his name to Giordano. He also called himself Il Nolano, in reference to his birthplace.

At that time, Giordano Bruno continued his training and later developed a particular interest in the study of memory. That earned him a certain fame and in 1571 he presented a mnemonic system to Pope Pius V, to whom he dedicated his work called On Noah's Ark.

A year later, Bruno was ordained a priest and received the degree of doctor of theology.

Travels

First stage

While he was studying theological doctrine, Giordano Bruno aroused suspicions with the religious authorities, since he was dangerously in favor of intellectual freedom and that was not well seen at the time. He was very involved with the study of classics like Aristotle.

In addition, in his room of the convent he allowed only a crucifix as an ornament, disregarding any other image. At that time it was said that he defended Arianism, which established the dominion of God the father, thereby rejecting the Trinity.

In 1576 a procedure was initiated before the inquisitor court against Giordano Bruno. In February, he fled to Rome without waiting for the verdict that his accusations would receive.

Then a work by Erasmus of Rotterdam was found, banned by the church, which contained notes made by Bruno. That forced him to flee again.

During those years he toured all of northern Italy and began a career as a philosopher.

Geneva and France

Sources differ in raising the answer to the question of whether or not Giordano Bruno adopted the Calvinist faith while he was in the city of Geneva from 1579. One of his biographers, DW Singer, however, assures that it is most likely that have not.

For a time, Bruno worked at the prestigious University of Geneva. There the nolano published a text against one of the institution's professors. By that writing, Bruno was excommunicated. And after obtaining a pardon, he decided to leave Geneva and continue to France.

He arrived in Toulouse, the city where Bruno returned to the classroom as a professor of philosophy. At that time the Italian tried to return to Catholicism, but could not get the absolution from the church.

In 1581 he went to the French capital, where despite the disputes between Huguenots and Catholics, he managed to establish himself supported by Catholics who favored Henry III. He attracted the attention of the sovereign, who invited him to join the court and gave him his favor.

Again he continued on the path of education, as he taught at the University of Paris. Furthermore, at that time Giordano Bruno published several works.

England

In 1583 Giordano Bruno moved to the city of London. He was recommended by Henry III of France to his ambassador in England, Michel de Castelnau, who received the Italian as a guest. There he frequently met with personalities from the court of Isabel I.

In England, Bruno befriended Philip Sydney, as well as other intellectuals related to the mathematician and astronomer John Dee.

Giordano Bruno tried to take a professorship at Oxford, but his support for Copernicus's theories was not well received at the institution. However, in London Bruno published much of his astronomical work.

In 1585 he returned to Paris and there he ridiculed one of the mathematicians protected by the same circle of Catholics who gave him help in his exile, for which they withdrew his help. From France Bruno went to Germany, where he devoted himself to his intellectual work for a time.

Last years

Giordano Bruno returned to Italy at the request of Giovanni Mocenigo, an important Venetian who wanted to be personally instructed by the Nolano. It was then thought that the inquisitor court was already softened in its ways.

When he arrived in Padua, Bruno tried to obtain a position as a professor at the city's university, but that position was denied in early 1592. After that, Bruno proceeded with his journey to Venice, where he met Mocenigo.

After a few months, Bruno wanted to leave the city to go to Germany, where he would publish new works. But this last day could not materialize since Mocenigo, upon learning of his desire to leave, betrayed him and reported him to the inquisitor court of Venice.

The same man who prompted him to return was the one who later brought about the end of one of the great minds of Europe in the 16th century. The Holy Inquisition apprehended Giordano Bruno on May 22, 1592.

While the trial was being treated in Venice, everything indicated that Bruno would be successful in the charges brought against him. It was then that the Roman authorities requested the transfer to their jurisdiction to render a verdict there.

Judgment

Giordano Bruno arrived in Rome in September 1592. The process against him took 8 years to resolve and during all that time he was held captive. The case was led by Roberto Belarmino, who also participated in the trial against Galileo.

Later it was learned that the reason for Giovanni Mocenigo's discontent was Bruno's refusal to teach him how to control the minds of others.

Some of the charges against Giordano Bruno were those of contravening the Catholic Church itself and its ministers. Also to the dogmas related to the Trinity, with Christ and his incarnation in Jesus and with the virginity of Mary; as well as her objections to the sacrament of the Mass.

Furthermore, he was accused of practicing witchcraft, believing in the reincarnation of the spirit, and claiming that there are multiple worlds.

Bruno was offered the opportunity to retract his theological, philosophical and scientific statements, which contradicted what was established by religion. Despite that, he refused to do so.

On January 20, 1600, he was sentenced to death by the Roman inquisitor court and his writings were burned in a public square.

Execution

Giordano Bruno died on February 17, 1600 in the Campo de 'Fiori, in Rome. There his sentence was served, first he was hung by his feet, naked and gagged. Finally, he was burned at the stake.

Theories and philosophy

Giordano Bruno's worldview was based on the fact that the universe was infinite, because it came from the power of God. In addition, it assured that each star that could be observed was a body equivalent to the sun and that all of them had their own planetary systems orbiting them, similar to ours.

In this way, Bruno adhered to the heliocentric proposal of Nicolás Copernicus. He defended this theory when he assured that there is relativity in the perceived movement, since this can be measured with reference systems and not in absolute terms.

The example he used was that of throwing a stone at a ship that is in motion. Although the ship is moving, the stone will fall in a certain space. That is, although the Earth is always moving, it will not necessarily be perceived by humans.

During his stay in Germany, Giordano Bruno proposed, among other theories, that being and matter are two indivisible things, shared by everything that exists in the world.

Religion

Regarding religion and philosophy, Bruno went so far as to ensure that the former is a method of domination over the ignorant, while the latter is what those who exercise power over others use.

He considered that religion worked for men as a moral guide, but it should not be considered as a book with scientific realities regarding astronomy.

Other contributions

The greatest contribution that Giordano Bruno made to humanity was the defense of free thought. His condemnation by the church for not renouncing his ideals served as an inspiration to many others after him, especially in the field of science.

It is said that it was one of the pillars for the scientific revolution that would take place years later throughout the European continent. His liberal vision was also used as the banner of movements such as il Risorgimento, which culminated in the unification of Italy into one nation.

Plays

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1612

Unknown date

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Giordano Bruno. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Aquilecchia, G. (2019). Giordano Bruno - Biography, Death, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Da Silveira, E. (2019). Who was Giordano Bruno, the "visionary" mystic burned at the stake 418 years ago. BBC News World. Available at: bbc.com.
4. Ventriglia, F. (2019). Giordano Bruno, passionate hunter of the truth. THE COUNTRY. Available at: elpais.com.
5. National Geographic (2013). Philosopher and heretic. Available at: nationalgeographic.com.es.