Thanks for this thoughtful essay. I think that when we talk about the normative wrt history, we need always of course, to keep in mind that there are always those who see beyond the norms of their times. Given the religious setting of Bruno's world, let us compare for example, an earlier story in a religious setting- the world of Abraham, in which child sacrifice was fairly common and seen as necessary and righteous. Abraham was fortunate in having no religious authorities standing by to condemn his moment of insight and decision. Thoughts ?
He was tricked into coming to Rome, and you neglected to add that they had cut his tongue out before they tied him to the stake, common practice at the time. There is a place that is named for him on the moon.
What an excellent deep dive. I’m bookmarking historical figures who were polymaths and nonconformists/heretics for a project. Now adding Giordano Bruno to that list!
Thanks for this thoughtful essay. I think that when we talk about the normative wrt history, we need always of course, to keep in mind that there are always those who see beyond the norms of their times. Given the religious setting of Bruno's world, let us compare for example, an earlier story in a religious setting- the world of Abraham, in which child sacrifice was fairly common and seen as necessary and righteous. Abraham was fortunate in having no religious authorities standing by to condemn his moment of insight and decision. Thoughts ?
He was tricked into coming to Rome, and you neglected to add that they had cut his tongue out before they tied him to the stake, common practice at the time. There is a place that is named for him on the moon.
Horrifying
What an excellent deep dive. I’m bookmarking historical figures who were polymaths and nonconformists/heretics for a project. Now adding Giordano Bruno to that list!
Thank you Laura, much appreciated - your project sounds very interesting! 👍
Thank you for this, David. My knowledge of this era is lacking but I’ve always been interested—happy to find your writing!
Much appreciated Rachel, thank you for taking the time to comment. Regards David M
Well written David and insightful. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Paul, very much appreciated