Giordano Bruno was an Italian freethinker from the 16th century. His thoughts deviated from the norm and his open criticism of the Catholic Church, among others, caused him to quickly flee. After a wandering life, he was eventually arrested by the Inquisition. After a trial of about eight years, he was burned at the stake. The Catholic Church has since apologized, but rehabilitation has never followed. His teaching remains heretical.
Giordano Bruno’s life story
Monastery life does not suit a desire to learn
Giordano Bruno was born in Naples, Italy in 1548. When he was 15 years old, he went to study in an Augustinian monastery and became a monk in the Dominican order. Eager to learn, he wanted to get to the essence of things. He sought answers to his questions by any means necessary. He also started reading material from Erasmus. However, the works of this Dutch thinker were on the banned list of the Catholic Church. Bruno soon came into conflict with monastic life. The oppressive, dogmatic teaching did not suit him and the deviating worldview he designed. His deviant thoughts caused him to be suspected of heresy for the first time by the Inquisition in 1576. Ultimately he had to leave the monastery. Bruno moved from Naples to Rome, but had to flee again after a false accusation of murder. Bruno left the Dominican order.
Wandering life through Europe
After monastic life, a wandering life began, during which Giordano Bruno stayed in various cities. He has been to Toulouse, London, Paris, Prague, Geneva, Frankfurt and Venice. He had contact with theologians and philosophers everywhere. Bruno taught and wrote books, which ended up on the list of banned books by the Catholic Church. He tried to convince princes such as Elisabeth I and Henry III of his religious vision, but his attempts were in vain. Due to his volatile nature, he was not universally loved and was often on the run. He found no peace anywhere.
Betrayed by Mocenigo
In Germany, Bruno received an invitation from the Venetian nobleman Mocenigo, who was eager to learn from him. Bruno left for Venice and spent some time in this man’s house. He is said to have told Mocenigo how to make gold. However, the recipe did not work and Mocenigo was so angry that he accused Bruno of sorcery. This was the perfect opportunity for the Inquisition to start the hunt for Bruno.
Deviant thoughts
We know Bruno as a man whose intelligence far exceeded that of his contemporaries. This means that his thoughts deviated quite a bit from the prevailing norm at the time. He did not keep these thoughts to himself, with which he offended many people. The Catholic Church in particular began to dislike him.
For example, Bruno believed that there is no difference between animals and people, because animals also have a soul. In addition, Christ would have been hanged, and not crucified. The cross is a symbol of the Egyptian Isis and therefore borrowed from the pagans. Holy Scripture also fell into the category of fiction and Christ was a magician and deceiver. A famous quote from Bruno is: The stupid people of the world are those who have created religions, ceremonies, laws, beliefs and rules of life. The Catholic Church obviously had difficulty with this way of thinking.
In addition, Bruno had different ideas about the universe. At the time it was believed that stars were contained in a spherical shell, which was the boundary of the universe. Bruno indicated that this was incorrect and that stars are scattered suns in the universe. He also indicated that there would be other planets beyond Saturn. He also publicly stated that he agreed with Copernicus’ ideas that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Finally, other life forms, each with their own god, might exist.
Bruno declared that he had been sent to earth by gods (plural!) to proclaim the truth of things.
Death penalty Giordano Bruno
Condemned by the Inquisition
Giordano Bruno was arrested in Venice in 1952 and subsequently extradited to Rome. A lawsuit started here in January 1953 and lasted for years. Bruno was indicted by the Inquisition for heresy. The Inquisition was a court of the Catholic Church that was concerned with detecting and punishing heretics. However, the Inquisition never sentenced anyone to death. The convicted person was handed over to the secular power, which in many cases still meant a death penalty.
Perhaps you, my judges, pronounce this sentence with more fear than I face it
During the trial, Bruno stayed in a prison. This place was known as a torture center. He was often urged to withdraw his affirmations, but never did so. He refused to recant his main positions and stuck to his positions. This ensured that he was eventually sentenced to death on February 8, 1600. His reaction to this sentence was as follows: ,Perhaps you, my judges, pronounce this sentence with more fear than with which I face it., He was probably referring to the power of the church, which was decreasing due to humanism, heresy and science, among other things. The sentence was carried out a few days later, on February 17, 1600.
Burned alive
His death sentence was carried out on February 17, 1600. Bruno was shown an image of Christ so that he could still repent. He refused to kiss this image. At the very end he was also shown a cross, but Bruno turned his head in rejection. He was then stripped of his clothing and tied to a stake to be burned alive. To prevent him from using blasphemous language on this day, an iron mouthpiece was placed in him, with the tongue in a clamp. So he was literally silenced.
Statue Giordano Bruno
There is a statue in honor of Bruno in the Campo de Fiori square in Rome. However, this was not the exact location of the funeral pyre. Bruno was burned in front of the then palace of the French ambassador, at the current Palazzo Righetti Pio. The side of this building borders the Campo de Fiori square. The statue shows Bruno, who appears to be deep in thought. He seems to want to take a step forward, towards the Vatican. He is depicted as someone who stubbornly and sullenly steps forward, on the path of reason. The statue contains the following text: A Bruno. Il secolo da lazy divinato qui dove il rogo arse. This can be translated as For Bruno. Erected by the time foretold by him, where the pyre burned.
The statue was erected in 1889, which was condemned by Pope Leo XIII at the time. In 1942, Cardinal Giovanni Mercati indicated that Bruno had been rightly convicted by the Catholic Church. It was not until 1999 that an official apology came from the Vatican. Pope John Paul II apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church for Bruno’s burning. Cardinal Angelo Sodano indicated in 2000 that the execution was a sad event. He does point out that, contrary to popular belief, the inquisitors of Rome attempted to spare Bruno’s life and save him from the stake. However, Giordano Bruno was never rehabilitated because his ideas are incompatible with what the Catholic Church stands for. His teaching remains heretical.