Giordano Bruno, born Filippo Bruno in February 1548 and died 17 February 1600, was an Italian philosopher, Dominican friar and priest, poet, alchemist, astronomer, cosmological theorist and esotericist, known for cosmological theories that conceptually extended the then novel Copernican model. He proposed that the stars were distant suns surrounded by their own planets, raising the possibility that these planets might foster life of their own, a position known as cosmic pluralism, and he insisted that the universe is infinite and can have no centre. Bruno was tried for heresy by the Roman Inquisition on charges including denial of eternal damnation, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the virginity of Mary and transubstantiation, found guilty, and burned at the stake in Rome's Campo de' Fiori in 1600; after his death he gained considerable fame, particularly among nineteenth and early twentieth century commentators who regarded him as a martyr for science, though some historians hold his trial responded more to his views on religion and the afterlife than to his cosmology. In addition to cosmology, Bruno wrote extensively on the art of memory, a group of mnemonic techniques and principles, and other studies of his work have focused on his qualitative approach to mathematics and his application of the spatial concepts of geometry to language.
Facts
Birth YearSourced to the subject's own accountOnly the month (February, per the lead section) is recorded; no specific day survives in the sources consulted, so birth-date is left unfilled. Defining MomentSourced to the subject's own accountArgued the universe is infinite with no center, populated by countless stars each potentially its own sun with planets (cosmic pluralism) 1 Notable PublicationSourced to the subject's own accountDe l'infinito, universo et mondi (On the Infinite, Universe and Worlds, 1584) 1 Death YearSourced to the subject's own account Death DateSourced to the subject's own account BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountNola, Kingdom of Naples (Southern Italy) 1 Death PlaceSourced to the subject's own accountRome, Papal States (burned at the stake in the Campo de' Fiori) 1 TraditionSourced to the subject's own accountRenaissance philosophy; Hermeticism, cosmic pluralism and the doctrine of an infinite universe 1 Classification
NationalitySourced to the subject's own account Connections
Influenced By
Source Giordano Bruno (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Italy, originated there.
Sources
1. Giordano Bruno (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)Lead section, first sentence
Giordano Bruno ( jor-DAH-noh BROO-noh; Italian: [dʒorˈdaːno ˈbruːno]; Latin: Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno; February 1548-17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, Dominican friar and priest, poet, alchemist, astronomer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist.
Lead section, second paragraph
The Inquisition found him guilty, and he was burned at the stake in Rome's Campo de' Fiori in 1600.
Lead section, first paragraph
He proposed that the stars were distant suns surrounded by their own planets (exoplanets), and he raised the possibility that these planets might foster life of their own, a cosmological position known as cosmic pluralism.
Life, in England 1583-1585 subsection
Nevertheless, his stay in England was fruitful. During that time Bruno completed and published some of his most important works, the six "Italian Dialogues", including the cosmological tracts La cena de le ceneri (The Ash Wednesday Supper, 1584), De la causa, principio et uno (On Cause, Principle and Unity, 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 gli eroici furori (On the Heroic Frenzies, 1585).
Life, Early years 1548-1576 subsection
Born Filippo Bruno in Nola (a comune in the modern-day Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Southern Italian region of Campania, then part of the Kingdom of Naples) in 1548, he was the son of Giovanni Bruno (1517, c. 1592), a soldier, and Fraulissa Savolino (1520, ?).
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