Gábor Almási

Tycho Brahe and the Separation of Astronomy from Astrology: The Making of a New Scientific Discourse

The subject of the paper is the shift from an astrology-oriented astronomy towards an allegedly more objective, mathematically grounded approach to astronomy. This shift is illustrated through a close reading of Tycho Brahes scientific development and the contemporaneous changes in his communicational strategies. Basing the argument on a substantial array of original sources it is claimed that the Danish astronomer developed a new astronomical discourse in pursuit of credibility, giving priority to observational astronomy and natural philosophical questions. The abandonment of astrology in public discourse is primarily explained by Tychos social position and greater sensibility to controversial issues. Tychos example suggests that the changes in rhetorical strategies regarding astrology (which happened earlier than changes in astrological belief) should be given more recognition in the history of astronomy.

Experientia and the Machiavellian turn in religio-political and scientific thinking: Basel in 1580

SUMMARY This study is centred on events in 1580 surrounding a scandalous publication of Machiavelli’s The Prince by Pietro Perna in Basel. With the presentation of new documents the paper fully reconstructs the judicial case that followed its publication, raising new questions about the author of the infamous book Vindiciae contra tyrannos. However, this fascinating story will serve only as a starting point for the investigation of Machiavellis late-sixteenth-century reception, providing insights into not only the political and religious but also the scientific context of its publication. These fields, it will be argued, were thoroughly interrelated, all sharing similar epistemological premises.

Rehabilitating Machiavelli: Kaspar Schoppe with and against Rome

SUMMARY This paper presents the unusual story of the efforts of the political agent and pamphleteer Kaspar Schoppe to rehabilitate Machiavelli. Unlike the few earlier attempts by Machiavellis Florentine descendants, Schoppes campaign was motivated by complex factors, which were in a great part related to his vision of Catholic renewal. Through the story of Schoppes campaign for Machiavelli (which at a certain moment became related to Galileos similar fight for Copernicanism), this paper offers not only a novel interpretation of this fascinating figure of the Counter-Reformation but also insight into the problems of science and political philosophy in the Catholic world.

Was Astronomy the Science of Empires? An Eighteenth-Century Debate in View of the Cases of Tycho and Galileo

The debate this chapter is going to reconstruct happened between two eighteenth-century astronomers, the Italian Catholic priest Giuseppe Toaldo (1719–1797), professor of “astronomy and meteors” at the University of Padua, and the Frenchman Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736–1793), full member of the Academy of Sciences and the French Academy as well as later president of the National Assembly and first mayor of Paris.1 The controversy concerned the history of astronomy, in particular the question whether monarchies were more supportive of the advancement of astronomy than republics. Bailly argued in his monumental history of astronomy that experimental and observational sciences advanced better in monarchies than in republics. It is no wonder he had little respect for ancient Roman astronomy, by which he meant Republican Rome: [In the Roman republic] one cultivated eloquence as it led to dignities. But if someone searched for glory in a scientific career he would not have found it: his fellow citizens would not have noticed him. This is what regards the sciences in general, but one may also add that those sciences which are founded on observation and experience, and which, as a consequence, demand dedication and work, like the study of the sky, do not make much progress in republics.

Il profeta disarmato. L'eresia di Francesco Pucci nell'Europa del Cinquecento

a figure whom she believes has been unfairly maligned. To a large extent she succeeds, and the historical Isabeau who emerges from this work is a far more positive figure than the mythical queen. At times, however, the revision seems to go too far, and feels a little strained; this Isabeau is almost without fault. The need for a more balanced approach is particularly felt in the final two chapters, in which Isabeau’s sometimes difficult relations with her family are somewhat smoothed over, and her political opponents are subjected to the same harsh judgement that Adams has criticised other historians for applying to Isabeau. There are also some minor stylistic problems. The repeated use of the authorial ‘I’, in order to indicate the direction the book will take, or to summarise conclusions, jars a little. Similarly, the use of French/Latin texts alongside a translation, both within the main body of text, becomes somewhat intrusive; perhaps it would have been better to place the original in footnotes (rather than the endnotes used in this volume). The appendix, which provides a list of the ‘Families and Allies of Isabeau and Charles VI’, might have been more usefully presented as a genealogical table. It would, however, be a shame to end on this carping note. Adams has produced an extremely interesting book, which will undoubtedly encourage further debate about Isabeau of Bavaria, and this can only be a good thing. It also raises some important questions about queenship, about late-medieval France, and about the role of feud in latemedieval society. This may not be a volume which will appeal to the general reader, or to the undergraduate seeking a definitive account of Isabeau’s life, but anyone with a serious interest in late-medieval history and literature will find this a stimulating and thoughtprovoking read.

Konversion und Konfession in der Frühen Neuzeit

Ute Lotz-Heumann, Jan-Friedrich Misfelder & Matthias Pohlig, Schriften des Vereins fur Reformationsgeschichte no. 205, Gutersloh, Gutersloher Verlaghaus, 2007, 564 pp., € 49.95, ISBN: 978-3-579-057...

The Riddle of Themistius' 'Twelfth Oration' and the Question of Religious Tolerance in the Sixteenth Century

(2004). The Riddle of Themistius’ ‘Twelfth Oration’ and the Question of Religious Tolerance in the Sixteenth Century. Central Europe: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 83-108.