ABSTRACT
The year 1600 in Europe was quite an ordinary one. There was a shortage of grain, but not a major famine; there were moderate local outbreaks of plague; in the west there were isolated rebellions while in Russia the new tsar was in danger of losing his throne. In Rome Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake. He was described as an impenitent heretic, an upholder of Arian opinions on the Trinity, a magician. He was also – though the Inquisition was less interested in this – well disposed towards the ideas of Copernicus. Behind the elaborate accusations his unpardonable offence was to show too publicly his disbelief in the Church’s ability to satisfy his quest for an understanding of mankind and the universe. Most of the other people who met the same fate as Bruno were guilty merely of witchcraft.
