WEBVTT 1 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:25.320 Hello, and welcome to Western Sieve Episode two hundred and sixty six Coupernicus, 2 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.559 Part three. Just like last time, I'm going to pick it up where 3 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:34.159 we left off. In fifteen thirty one, Copernicus was living as a church 4 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:39.320 canon and carefully watching the stars, But that year events in his personal life 5 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:45.119 started to interfere with astronomy. Up to this point, Copernicus's career had been 6 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:50.320 nothing less than exemplary. He had served his uncle faithfully. He was the 7 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:56.759 resident doctor for five years. He administered to the chapter important and productive lands 8 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:03.680 around the Oidston Castle. But one Copernicus's personal life began to come under closer 9 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:11.120 scrutiny. Frankly, had Copernicus lived in fourteen thirty one or even the year 10 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:17.359 fifteen hundred, I doubt anyone would have cared that he was living with a 11 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:23.719 woman. Technically, Copernicus was a minor member of the clergy and was supposed 12 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:29.760 to be celibate. But the problem is Copernicus didn't live in fourteen thirty one 13 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:34.280 or fifteen hundred. He was living with a woman, which was against the 14 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:38.680 rules, and he lived in fifteen thirty one and in fifteen seventeen. Martin 15 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:48.000 Luther had started the Protestant Reformation. Luther had effectively opened the floodgates. Centuries 16 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:55.480 of criticism and complaints against the Roman Catholic Church came pouring out of seemingly every 17 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:01.079 parish in Europe. For the bishop, clergy and citizens of Warmia, the 18 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:07.680 Reformation manifested itself early after the hostilities between the Teutonic Knights and Warmia, allied 19 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:13.400 with Poland, ended, but while the piece was very fragile, the Grand 20 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:19.159 Master of the Teutonic Order traveled to Nuremberg in fifteen twenty two. While there 21 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:25.199 he met Andreas Osiander, a Lutheran reformer who will actually later on play a 22 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:31.280 very different role in Copernicus's story. Osiander was a zealot for the Lutheran cause, 23 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:38.240 and he converted the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order to Lutheranism, though 24 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:43.000 the conversion would not be official for a few years. The Grand Master then 25 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:47.039 returned to his castle and reluctantly decided he could not afford a resumption of hostilities 26 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:53.280 against Warmia and Poland. Thus he sought a final piece. The Treaty of 27 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:59.319 Krakaha was signed in fifteen twenty five. The agreement forced the Teutonic order and 28 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.520 its knights to come more firmly under the control of Poland, which was certainly 29 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:09.639 welcome news everywhere across Warmia and especially in still smoldering Frombrook. Just four months 30 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:15.439 later, though, the grand Master announced he was a Lutheran. In December, 31 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:21.199 he issued a church ordinance that converted his entire principality to Lutheranism, and 32 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:29.800 this was not welcome news in Warmian towns. Teutonic Prussia now became a dukedom 33 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:36.080 Ducal Prussia, and grand Master, whose name was Albert, was now Albert 34 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:44.280 the Duke of Prussia. This meant Warmia's longtime nemesis, a territory that basically 35 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:49.759 surrounded the small bishopric, was the first government larger than a city itself to 36 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:58.360 declare itself officially Lutheran. Now. Fortunately for the citizens of Warmia, Copernicus 37 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:03.840 included, Ducal Prussia was so impoverished that it never seriously threatened the bishopric again. 38 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:12.439 That being said, the conversion of a reasonably sized kingdom was alarming news 39 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:18.600 for the bishop and also for the super Catholic King of Poland. Now, 40 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:25.399 the events in Ducal Prussia did not go unnoticed in Warmia. The Bishop Ferber 41 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.480 issued an order expelling all Lutherans from Warmia in fifteen twenty six, trying to 42 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:36.360 get ahead of matters. Things didn't get better. By fifteen thirty one, 43 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:43.720 the growing Protestant movement in Germany founded the Schmaccauldic League, an alliance that made 44 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:50.920 religious war a definite possibility. Suddenly everyone was very nervous again. Should religious 45 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:58.879 war breakout, Warmia seemed like an obvious first target. For his part, 46 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:04.240 Copernicus tried to remain aloof his personality to an extent, made that easy. 47 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:11.519 Copernicus seems to have been a loner. He seems to have genuinely enjoyed isolation. 48 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:17.399 He was quiet and introspective. In fact, one of his friends openly 49 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:24.560 worried that Copernicus would die alone. Why he was like that remains a matter 50 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:30.800 of some debate. Certainly, he suffered through a series of personal losses that 51 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.120 might have given anyone a reason to cut ties with the outside world. His 52 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:41.240 uncle and benefactor had died in fifteen twelve. His older brother died in fifteen 53 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:46.120 eighteen. Andreas had only been two years older than Nicholas, and by all 54 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:53.800 accounts the two were extremely close. Whether these deaths made Copernicus a recluse, 55 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:59.920 or simply added fuel to the fire. We will probably never know. Certain 56 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:08.000 these deaths seemed to have darkened Nicholas's demeanor. Ironically, just as Copernicus was 57 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:13.480 pulling away, the fifteen thirties brought a certain amount of recognition to his astronomical 58 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:17.519 work. In fifteen thirty three, a friend of Copernicus wrote to a man 59 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:24.399 in Verona, claiming to include with his letter an almanac written by doctor Nicolas 60 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:30.839 Copernicus. This is not likely. We don't think Kapernicus actually wrote an almanac. 61 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:38.160 More likely was that the letter contained a printed table of planetary positions written 62 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:45.839 by Copernicus. These were oftentimes used for calendars and for astrology. Regardless, 63 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:53.319 this is one of the first written confirmations of Copernicus's continued work. Later letters 64 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:59.560 illustrate that Copernicus's work was in the mid fifteen thirties being debated as far away 65 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.279 as wrong, and that by fifteen thirty six, frankly, he had largely 66 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:11.079 completed his major work on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies. In fifteen thirty 67 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:16.639 seven, Maurice Ferber, the Bishop of Warmia, passed away on July the 68 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:24.319 first, fifteen thirty seven, the Cathedral canon issued the following announcement. Quote. 69 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:29.439 The Chapter of Warmia notifies, through a mandate to the bishop's officeholders that 70 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:33.040 because of the death of Maurice Ferber, Bishop of Warmia on July the first, 71 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:39.720 fifteen thirty seven, it has taken over complete authority for the Warmian lands 72 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:46.519 until the election of his successor. It has delegated to Lidzbark as its plenipotentiary 73 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:54.279 administrators and legal advisers, Nicholas Copernicus and Felix Reich Cannons of Warmia, to 74 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:59.079 prepare there a list of the late bishop's things and things belonging to the bishopric, 75 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:03.279 and for them to take care of the affairs of the castles, towns, 76 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:09.160 officeholders and subjects of the Bishop. The Chapter calls for the manifestation of 77 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:16.199 obedience to its delegates end quote. So Copernicus suddenly found himself a little bit 78 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:22.199 busier with non star related activities, as he was by and large in charge 79 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:26.160 of most of the accounting purposes after the death of the bishop. Now there 80 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:31.680 wasn't any reason to suspect initially that a change at the top would be problematic 81 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:39.399 for Nicholas Copernicus. The new bishop was a man named Johannes Danticus. Danticus 82 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:43.840 was a staunch conservative who, as we will see, didn't want to give 83 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:50.639 the local Protestants anything to criticize. And here's where Luther becomes important in Copernicus's 84 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:56.679 story. Had the Protestant Reformation not taken place, it's not particularly likely that 85 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:01.440 anybody would have found cause to HiCon and Copernicus for living with a woman. 86 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:07.080 A lot of clergy members did. He was a low level clergy officer, 87 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:11.799 simply a member of the cannon. In other words, he wasn't going to 88 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:16.519 be applying for pope at anytime soon. But the reality was the Protestant Reformation 89 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:22.080 did change things. Suddenly, the Catholic Church found itself the subject of tons 90 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:26.679 of criticism, and it became and many of its officials, including Danticus, 91 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:35.000 became really really focused, in fact, almost hyper focused on making sure there 92 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.360 weren't any moral issues that the Protestants could point out, which means he's going 93 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:45.440 to have to come down hard on Copernicus. By the summer of fifteen thirty 94 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:50.039 eight, Danticus was effectively in command, and the transition of power was complete 95 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:56.159 almost precisely one year after he boarded his coach to make the solemn journey to 96 00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:01.279 Lidzbark to click the body of the deceased Maurice Ferber. Previous Bishop Copernicus, 97 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:05.720 accompanied again by Felix Reich, was returning to Litzburg, but this time to 98 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:13.480 celebrate. Johannes Dantikus was prepared to perform the final ritual required to seal his 99 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:18.679 ascension to the bishopric of Warmia, an official tour of a select number of 100 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:22.799 towns in the realm. At each stop, the merchants and artisans, burghers 101 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:28.320 and gentry, the various town officials, and the peasants from the surrounding countryside 102 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:33.240 were to display their respect for the new sovereign by solemnly reciting an oath of 103 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:39.679 allegiance. Remember, the bishop in Warmia was effectively both the religious and secular 104 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:46.759 leader. Two cannons from the chapter had already formally elected him the previous September, 105 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:50.080 and they were to accompany him. Copernicus and Reich had been chosen, 106 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:54.960 probably for the same reason that they were dispatched to secure it the body of 107 00:10:56.039 --> 00:11:00.240 Ferber and all of the church property the year before. They were the two 108 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:05.519 most senior canons in the chapter and thus its most visible representatives. The two 109 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:11.960 aging Cannons joined Danticus at the palace at Litzburg toward the end of July fifteen 110 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:18.240 thirty eight. The oh Allegiance Tour started there before effectively circling back. While 111 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:24.399 his incredible promotion should have left Danticus elated, it did not. Far from 112 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:30.519 it. Danticus was actually convinced the world was about to end. More realistically, 113 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.759 he was convinced that the Roman Catholic Church was about to lose its grip 114 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:41.840 on northern Poland. If Luther's followers dominated Armia, then how could his isolated 115 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:48.600 bishop ric survive. This is the context within which we need to understand the 116 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:56.639 Copernicus story from here. At some point in the prior year so fifteen thirty 117 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:03.759 seven, Ish Copernicus let his are down and confirmed to a friend what everyone, 118 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:09.679 frankly already knew he had a mistress. More than that he had had 119 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:16.720 a mistress since fifteen thirty one. We do not know exactly when, but 120 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:24.279 by fifteen thirty eight this information reached Danticus. Danticus had turned over a new 121 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:31.840 leaf after becoming bishop, and now intended to enforce clerical celibacy seriously, with 122 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:37.039 the Lutherans vigorously accusing the Catholics of corruption. Any flounting of the rules could 123 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:45.360 not be tolerated. Danticus told Copernicus he had to end the relationship immediately. 124 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:54.360 The woman's name was Anna Schilling. Despite Danticus's clear order, Kapernicus did not 125 00:12:54.480 --> 00:13:00.240 remove her from his house that August, so in November fifteen thirty eight, 126 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:07.240 Danticus wrote again to Copernicus reminding him of his duty. Six weeks later, 127 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:13.000 Copernicus wrote to Danticus that he had dealt with the issue. He had not. 128 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:20.279 Copernicus instead had lied to his bishop. Danticus filled this out, and 129 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:24.440 then he tried to put pressure on the head of the chapter to confront Copernicus 130 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:28.600 at a chapter meeting about the woman. To his face. His goal seems 131 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:35.879 to have been to embarrass Kapernicus into compliance, but the chapter head was presently 132 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:43.440 well dying and he knew it. Moreover, he was good friends with Copernicus, 133 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:52.159 so he deliberately avoided embarrassing his colleague. Oddly, with everything Danticus head 134 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:56.919 on his plate, by the summer of fifteen thirty nine, Anna Schilling and 135 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:01.759 her relationship with Copernicus had become a priority for him. At this point, 136 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:09.720 Copernicus's headache was of his own doing, But by late fifteen thirty nine things 137 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:16.240 started to spiral out of control rather quickly. The bishop rick was surrounded by 138 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:22.000 Lutherans. Old timers like Copernicus and Danticus must have been stunned by the swiftness 139 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:28.159 with which the world they grew up in had changed. If Lutheranism swept over 140 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.320 Varmia, as it had every other area around them, the bishop and the 141 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:37.559 Cannons would lose everything, certainly their posts and possessions, and perhaps even their 142 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:43.759 lives. From his correspondence, Danticus was clearly apprehensive about the threat to Catholicism 143 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:50.679 all over Europe, but especially in his bishop rick. He was also concerned 144 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:54.440 about the risk of hostilities between the countries and kingdoms on either side of the 145 00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:01.799 religious line. So on March the twenty first, fifteen thirty nine, Danticus 146 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:07.320 renewed Ferber's order from thirteen years earlier, and he outlawed all Protestants and their 147 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:15.679 publications from Varmia. Then, in April fifteen forty, the King of Poland 148 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:22.360 declared Lutheranism illegal. Anyone found practicing it or expressing public sympathy for it was 149 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:30.279 subject to prison and the confiscation of property. Now we don't know Copernicus's attitude 150 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:35.840 toward the Reformation. He never wrote about it, or if he did, 151 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:45.320 it doesn't survive. Most historians agree Copernicus was probably sympathetic toward the positions reformers 152 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:52.360 were pushing, but did not endorse breaking away from the established Church. But 153 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:58.039 his personal life was under attack, and with everyone seemingly obsessed with the Reformation, 154 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:04.120 must have seemed as the calendar turned from fifteen thirty nine to fifteen forty 155 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:11.080 like there was no way Copernicus would ever publish on the revolutions of the Heavenly 156 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:22.080 Bodies. Yet hundreds of miles away events would conspire to change the course of 157 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:40.360 Western history. A few weeks after the August fifteen thirty eight tour of Armia, 158 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:45.679 during which Danticus first learned about Copernicus's mistress and ordered him to break off 159 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:49.879 the relationship, Copernicus was back in Fromburg trying to figure out what to do 160 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:56.559 about Anna's shilling. One day, during this anxious period for Copernicus, another 161 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:03.840 mathematician sat three hundred miles away in a whitewashed, deliberately plain foyer of a 162 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:12.960 spacious new house, anticipating an uncomfortable conversation with his superior. This conversation would 163 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:21.319 begin a chain of events that would change Western culture forever. The other mathematician 164 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:27.480 was named George Joachin Redicus. He was only twenty four years old, yet 165 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:36.079 already a mathematics professor at the University of Wittenberg, one of the premier universities 166 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:41.599 in Europe, and of course, the heart of the Lutheran movement. He 167 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:45.759 was actually there waiting to meet with the head of the university, manned by 168 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:51.920 the name of Philip Melancthon, who we all know. While the Reformation had 169 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:59.200 made significant progress by fifteen thirty eight, affairs remained tenuous. There was a 170 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:04.000 growing fear in fifteen thirty eight and fifteen thirty nine that war between Protestant and 171 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:11.039 Catholic Europe was imminent. But it wasn't geopolitics that prompted Melanthon to call on 172 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:18.000 Rheticus that September. It was a personal matter. Melanthon informed Rheticus that, 173 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:23.799 as rector of the university, he was giving him his youngest professor a leave 174 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:29.720 of absence from his teaching duties. He was to depart from Wittenberg immediately. 175 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:34.960 Specifically, Malangthan was sending Rheticus off to study with several of the most learned 176 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:41.079 scholars in Europe. Philip had made arrangements for Rehedicus to begin his leave in 177 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:47.880 Nuremberg, where he would study with a close and talented friend, Johann Schooner. 178 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:55.279 Schooner would then introduce him to others. That Rheticus had come so far 179 00:18:55.400 --> 00:19:00.440 at such a young age was remarkable. When he was only fourteen teen years 180 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:06.559 old, his father had been executed in his hometown. Rhedicus's father, a 181 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:11.799 man named George Isserin, had been the doctor of the previous fifteen years for 182 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:15.480 the small town of Feldric in the province of Vorrelberg, part of the Holy 183 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:22.359 Roman Empire, which today is in western Austria. His father was a town 184 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:26.559 leader, serving on several civic boards, and he had treated nearly every citizen 185 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:33.640 at one time or another. Yet something happened in fifteen twenty eight. The 186 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:38.519 court records are confusing. He was condemned for something either sorcery or theft, 187 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:44.759 and those two generally don't have anything to do with one another. What is 188 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:51.839 not obscure is what happened on the day the executioner came to Feldric in Vollenberg. 189 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:57.279 The method of execution in the sixteenth century was beheading by sword. Rhedicus's 190 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:03.119 father was unceremoni let up several steps to a raised wooden platform, and then 191 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:11.640 forced to kneel with no fanfare. The experienced executioner raised his sword and let 192 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:18.519 fly a vicious swing, severing Rheticus's father's head from his body in one blow. 193 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:26.480 The teenage Rheticus probably didn't witness the horror, but he certainly lived through 194 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:33.319 the shock of his father's arrest and then public humiliation following the execution. Following 195 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:38.480 his father's death, the young Rhdicus had to change his last name, an 196 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:45.400 act required of the family members of executed prisoners. He eventually chose van Lauken, 197 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:52.400 Rheticus, van Lauken being a German version of his mother's maiden name and 198 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:56.839 Rheticus being a Latinized form of the ancient name of the region that housed the 199 00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:03.480 town he lived in, which is called Rhetia. After the decapitation of his 200 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:08.160 father, Rheticus, his mother and his sister were allowed to remain in Felled 201 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.440 Kirk. It does not appear that they were prevented from taking part in the 202 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:18.079 social conventions of the town. They weren't ostracized, and they definitely had access 203 00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:25.480 to money. Rheticus himself was able to shake off the memories of that terrible 204 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:30.960 day and return to his studies and thrive. It always showed an aptitude from 205 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:33.079 mathematics, even going back to the time when his father was his tutor. 206 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:38.960 In fifteen thirty nine, Rheticus met another gentleman by the name of Achilles Gassar, 207 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:45.680 and it was Gasser who taught Rheticus the art of astrology. From this 208 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:52.480 point forward, astrology would dominate his intellectual purposes. For the next three years. 209 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:56.720 Fifteen thirty three to fifteen thirty six, Rheticus was a student at the 210 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:02.000 University of Wittenberg, the heart of the Reformation. He received his master's degree 211 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:04.559 at the end of his time there, and certainly, over the course of 212 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:11.640 three years and with only eight hundred total students enrolled at the University, Melangthan 213 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:17.359 had grown familiar with Rheticus. So it was by the time the students returned 214 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:22.079 to classes in the fall of fifteen thirty six, Rheticus, himself a student 215 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:27.559 only a few months prior, was the new lecturer in arithmetic and geometry. 216 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:33.200 Rheticus, from me Langthan's perspective, was the perfect scientist. He was talented, 217 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:40.480 He took basic science seriously, and he saw its main application as a 218 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:47.319 way to better understand God's message through the heavens. Because this was a matter 219 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:52.480 of the eternal soul, Melangthan figured that if Rheticus's skills could be improved, 220 00:22:53.319 --> 00:23:00.359 then they should be. That was part of why Melangthan was intent upon sending 221 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:07.920 Redicus to meet with Copernicus. The other part was well another scandal. In 222 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:11.759 early June fifteen thirty eight, a collection of epigrams was published in Wittenberg. 223 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:18.680 The author was Simon Leminus, who was from a town near bell Kirk, 224 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:25.920 where Redicus was from. Leminus was headstrong and cocky and not overly impressed with 225 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:32.640 the Reformation or its leaders. The epigrams were meant to be barely veiled attacks 226 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:38.680 on the main personalities of Wittenberg, including Martin Luther and members of the faculty. 227 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:45.480 The only ones who were not attacked were Melancthon, who had befriended the 228 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:53.039 various poets and the other poets, including Redicus. The printing of the volume 229 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:57.720 was halted immediately by Martin Luther, and the dozens that had come off the 230 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:04.000 press were ordered to be burned. Leminus left town under the cloak of darkness 231 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:10.880 just as he was ordered to stand trial. It was suspected that Melangthen assisted 232 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:17.039 his escape. Leminus found refuge in one of the various Catholic principalities. When 233 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:22.400 Leminus then continued his activities, Melangthan got into trouble for having supported him in 234 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:27.319 the first place. Malangthan was stood the immediate storm and knew he could eventually 235 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:33.599 gain Martin Luther's complete forgiveness. Luther could not stay upset with Melangthen for long, 236 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:41.640 but the same could not be said of Leminus's other compatriots, including Rheticus. 237 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:47.720 Melangthan thought it was prudent for Redicus to leave Wittenberg until the Leminist scandals 238 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:56.960 settled. Fortunately, a productive exile opportunity had presented itself, and so by 239 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:00.759 mid September fifteen thirty eight, Rhdicus was in Nurham, about two hundred miles 240 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:06.279 southwest of Wittenburg. Most of their journey would have looked like it sprang from 241 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:10.359 the pages of the Brothers Grimm. Than a few miles from Nuremberg, the 242 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:15.039 dense wood gave way to rolling open fields, and to a large extent, 243 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:18.279 especially when you got within a half a mile of the city. This was 244 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:23.279 intentional. The town government did want the armies sneaking up on Nuremberg. At 245 00:25:23.319 --> 00:25:29.359 the time, Nuremberg, the prior home of Reggia Montanus, retained its title 246 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:34.880 as the most important central European city for astronomy and astrology. Redicus would have 247 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:41.279 been keenly aware of this reality. There, Ridicus met Johann Schooner, the 248 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:45.319 man who seemed to be, for all practical purposes, Reggia Montanus's rightful heir. 249 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:51.960 Schooner was born in fourteen seventy seven, making him four years younger than 250 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:57.039 Copernicus. He was a Lutheran and he knew me Lengthen by trade. He 251 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:03.279 was a teacher of mathematics. He was also much more knowledgeable of astronomy than 252 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:11.079 Rheticus. He introduced Rheticus to a process that was to prove extraordinarily important publishing 253 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:17.680 in the fifteen thirties. Nuremberg was by far and away the most important center 254 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:22.920 for German language publishing. In addition to publishing his own works, Schooner was 255 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:30.240 a kind of talent scout for another publisher in Nuremberg named Johannes Petrius, the 256 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:38.039 man who would be Copernicus's publisher. In the mid fifteen thirties, Petrius was 257 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:42.960 known as the leading publisher printer in the city. By fourteen eighty, just 258 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:48.279 twenty five years or so after printing was invented, there were around one hundred 259 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:53.359 and ten printers in Europe, mostly in Italy and Germany. Of these, 260 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:59.119 Petrius was quite the phenomenon. Frankly, not only would he go on to 261 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:04.319 publish The Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, but Petrius had already published works by 262 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:11.359 Martin Luther, Erasmus, heinrichs Vingli, Melancthon and Henry the Eighth of England. 263 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:17.759 Quite the list of accomplishments. The last individual who was part of the 264 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:22.880 same intellectual Rheticus increasingly found himself a part of somebody I already talked about. 265 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:29.720 Andreas Oceander born in fourteen ninety eight. Oceander played a key role in the 266 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:34.519 success of Lutheranism in Nuremberg. He was a luther advocate, having converted himself 267 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:41.039 in fifteen twenty two. In terms of Prussian Lutheranism, he was about as 268 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:45.279 important as a man that you would find in any history book. The months 269 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:49.279 that Rheticus spent in and around Nuremberg in late fifteen thirty eight in early fifteen 270 00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:56.640 thirty nine were extraordinary, living in Reggio Montanus's city, visiting his observatory, 271 00:27:56.599 --> 00:28:03.000 handling his manuscripts, and especially interacting with the men who were preserving his legacy. 272 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:10.160 These stimulating days energyized an already enthusiastic young man. Rhedick has finished his 273 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:15.480 study with tons of new mentors. Someone, probably Schooner, had a copy 274 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:21.119 of, or at least had read Copernicus's short essay on the heliocentric theory, 275 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:26.240 penned all the way back before fifteen fourteen. The scholars of Nuremberg had also 276 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:33.400 read Copernicus's criticism of their late colleague Johannes Werner. Copernicus was clearly a topic 277 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:38.160 of heated discussion, because at some point Rhddick has made the decision that he 278 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:42.559 must go and meet him. Quote. I have heard of the fame of 279 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:48.799 Master Nicholas Copernicus in the Northern lands, and although the University of Wittenberg had 280 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:52.759 made me a public professor in those arts, Nonetheless, I did not think 281 00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:56.359 that I should be content until I had learned something more than the instruction of 282 00:28:56.359 --> 00:29:00.799 that man. And I also say that I regret neither the financial expense, 283 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:04.319 nor the long journey, nor the remaining hardships. Yet it seems to me 284 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:08.680 that there came a great reward for these troubles, namely that I, a 285 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:14.559 rather daring young man, compelled this venerable man to share his ideas sooner in 286 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:19.599 this discipline with the whole world. End quote. On May fourteenth, fifteen 287 00:29:19.640 --> 00:29:25.039 thirty nine, Rehdikus wrote to Schooner in Nuremberg that he was on his way 288 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:30.039 to meet with Copernicus in Frombork. When he arrived, Rhdikus immediately presented the 289 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:36.319 reclusive astronomer with three books, an important gift given the price of books at 290 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:40.839 the time. The first bound book contained two works, a fifteen thirty three 291 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:45.319 Greek edition of Euclid's Elements, coupled with the Reggio Montanus's on the Triangles of 292 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:51.799 every Kind. The Euclid volume had been published in Basil in fifteen thirty three, 293 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:56.599 and the Reggio Montanus was actually published by Petraeus, also in fifteen thirty 294 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:03.839 three. These two combined volumes represented the most important work on geometry, coupled 295 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:10.079 with the most important work on trigonometry. The second bound book contained three works, 296 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:17.200 Peter Appian's Instrumentum premi Mobilis, which was published again by the same publisher, 297 00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:23.559 Petraeus in fifteen thirty four, and Gerber's De astronomer Libra nine, published 298 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:30.319 by you guessed it Petraeus in fifteen thirty three, and Whitlow's Perspectiva, also 299 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:34.960 published by Petraeus in fifteen thirty five. The third and final book was a 300 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:41.079 major prize, Ptolemay's Alma Guest. Specifically, the Greek edition published in fifteen 301 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:47.680 thirty eight. Redicus had inscribed all three volumes, indicating that they were gifts. 302 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:53.079 Reggio Montanus's on Triangles was important because the Cannon did not own a copy, 303 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:59.200 and the Greek translation of Ptolemay would have been instantly useful for Capernicus. 304 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:06.039 Copernicus's personal library was actually quite small. He might have borrowed some volumes from 305 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:10.799 colleagues that we don't know about, but regardless, it's interesting because He had 306 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:15.279 plenty of money to purchase books, he just apparently chose not to. As 307 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:19.960 a fellow astronomer, Reddicus would have realized that the catwalk on the ramparts along 308 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:26.519 the cathedral was not wide enough for astronomical observations or instruments. Even more problematic 309 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:30.640 was the wind, which would have made careful use of delicate instruments impossible. 310 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:37.799 The cathedral courtyard was also unworkable for observations because of the high walls surrounding it. 311 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:44.480 Instead, Copernicus had built a simple patio near his house more than twenty 312 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:51.920 five years earlier, and this was where he formerly observed the heavens. In 313 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.720 the winter of fifteen thirteen, Copernicus had bought eight hundred bricks and a barrel 314 00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:00.960 of chlorinated lime from the cathedral's brickyard and limehouse, likely the raw materials for 315 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:13.000 the patio. Copernicus did this groundbreaking work with shockingly primitive instruments. Mostly he 316 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:20.400 used what was called a try quinn trum try quintrum fun word. It consists 317 00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:25.839 of three obviously wooden components, an upright pole about twelve feet tall, a 318 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:30.480 second piece hinged to the pole that had two sites on it kind of like 319 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:32.920 a gun barrel, I suppose, and was used to find the planet or 320 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:37.920 star to be observed, and a third piece that measured angles. Years later, 321 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:45.119 one of Kapernicus's greatest admirers, Tico Brahey, sent his assistant to Fromberg 322 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:50.160 to purchase his old try quintrum so that he could better understand how Copernicus went 323 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:54.960 about his observations. Back in Denmark and working with this tool, Braje was 324 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:00.920 incredulous. He wrote that the ipiece was so imprecise quote an error of several 325 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:06.559 minutes can occur. Hence is it a wonder how not only Copernicus, but 326 00:33:06.599 --> 00:33:09.559 also the ancients, who use such high pieces, could have attained any precision 327 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:15.680 or even anything else that was in perfect order? End quote. The second 328 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:20.359 instrument that Copernicus used was a quadrant, which he later described in great lengths 329 00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:24.160 in the Revolutions. A quadrant looks a lot like a sun dial mounted on 330 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:29.559 a wall. Its vertical base was large, at a radius of at least 331 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:32.440 five or six square feet. It was used to note the summer and winster 332 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:38.880 solstices more than anything else. And his last instrument was a spherical astra lab 333 00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:45.319 Astra labs consisted of circles made of brass. It was used to chart the 334 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:52.119 heavenly bodies by determining their celestial latitude and longitude. Again, compared to the 335 00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:57.720 devices that are going to be used by tikal Brahe and Galileo, these are 336 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:05.000 all basically instruments. To say it the way it is. Still, it's 337 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.559 certain from everything that followed that Rheticus at least was impressed. He now knew 338 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:15.039 that the legends surrounding this man was accurate. He would later write, quote 339 00:34:15.400 --> 00:34:20.880 this man Kapernicus, whose work I am now treating in every field of knowledge 340 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:25.400 and in the mastery of astronomy, not inferior to Reggio Montanus. Frankly, 341 00:34:25.719 --> 00:34:32.960 I'd rather compare him with Ptolomay end quote. Having met Kapernicus, Rheticus now 342 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:39.079 set himself to doing everything he could to get the astronomer to the finish line 343 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:46.159 to make sure he published his work. It would not be an easy task. 344 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:52.039 As always, if you've enjoyed the show, check out the links in 345 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:54.400 the show notes, and if you are listening to this on a device and 346 00:34:54.519 --> 00:35:00.760 have the option to rate or review the show, they are extremely helpful so 347 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:04.679 that other people can find it, and we can keep the burning passion of 348 00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:08.320 Western civilization alive until next time.