Not only Giordano Bruno: 5 scientists who were burned at the stake by Catholics

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The name Giordano Bruno is familiar to us from school: a scientist who was burned at the stake. This execution seems unprecedented and is therefore well remembered. But in fact, Bruno was not the only scientist whose life ended in flames. There are several other well-known names.

Miguel Servet

The Spanish physician and naturalist of the sixteenth century, the Aragonese Servetus is known for being the first in Europe to describe the small circle of blood circulation - the one that passes through the lungs, bringing the knowledge he gained from the works of the Arab Abn-an-Nafis into the space where until then they were guided by erroneous representations of the Roman Galen.

But apart from human anatomy, Servetus was also interested in theological issues. He wrote a controversial treatise with a traditional view of the Trinity and as a result was forced into hiding - he moved to Lyon, where he settled under the name Michel Villeneuve. It was rather daring to take a speaking surname (“New City”), but such were the people of the Enlightenment.

Servetus did not live long in Lyon. Changing city after city, he practiced medicine, but in the end he could not restrain himself and published another treatise - "The Restoration of Christianity", in which he argued with both Catholics and Protestants, claiming that they distort the original form and design of Christianity. The entire edition of the book was, of course, destroyed as heretical, and the Inquisition came for Servetus.

During the trial, Servetus was able to escape from prison, but was soon caught and burned at the stake for heresy. However, Bruno, contrary to myths, was also burned for the fact that he was going to create a new Christian teaching - that is, he criticized the existing one.

Cecco d'Ascoli

The Italian mathematician, astronomer and poet is known for writing a kind of universal encyclopedia of his time entirely in poetry. He was able to rhyme information from astronomy, zoology, contemporary ideas about psychology, anthropology and much more. However, d'Ascoli attracted the attention of the Inquisition with his extreme passion for astrology.

For example, he argued that Christ appeared on earth not only by the will of God, but also due to the fact that the stars were formed in a certain way, and that at a certain position of the stars, spells can be cast that subdue demons and force them to perform miracles in your favor. In addition, which was not so much interested in the church, but caused the discontent of the secular authorities, d'Ascoli told everyone who wanted to know that the planets, they say, testify that the Antichrist will be born into a wealthy and influential family. In general, at the very beginning of the fourteenth century, d'Ascoli was burned for his passion for astrology and a tendency to explain everything with it.

Etienne Dole

The French philologist, known for his quarrel with Rabelais over the publication of his works without the author's permission and for his work on the theory and practice of written (literary) translation, also burned out on heresy. He enthusiastically published everything that he could think of to publish, including the Psalter (which was then prohibited) and theological polemical works. During his arrest, Protestant writings were found in his house.

To begin with, they scolded him, took from him a renunciation of all Protestant views and a promise not to publish anything more dubious, but then they arrested him again. As usual at that time, he escaped from custody, but did not walk free for long: he was identified and arrested again. He was sentenced to the fire by the Paris Parliament, and not by some Pope, as one might think.

And a colleague of Etienne Dole, a philologist William Tyndale, a teacher at Cambridge University, was seized and burned for translating the Bible: then the desire to familiarize the broad masses with the Bible was directly considered a kind of heresy. Moreover, Tyndale translated a book of books into English while living in Germany, and was arrested and burned in Belgium. Significantly burned and his translations - this was done by the Bishop of London, sparing no money to buy out almost the entire edition. But the process could no longer be stopped, and Tyndale's translation came out and was bought up over and over again, despite all the opposition of the Catholic clergy.

Giulio Vanini

Like many philosophers of his time (early seventeenth century), the Italian Vanini was primarily interested in physical experiments. He is also considered one of the fathers of modern philosophy, but precisely for what he was burned for: like Bruno, he attacked contemporary scholasticism, that is, he criticized the train of thought of the churchmen.

As a young man, he was ordained a priest and … began to wander, spreading his anti-religious ideas. He argued differently: for example, he doubted the immortality of the soul and found a man and a monkey similar in kind. He was eventually sentenced to have his tongue cut off and hanged as an atheist. And they have already burnt the corpse, because heretics ought to be burned.

Besides heretics, the Inquisition had another headache: Satanists. The three most famous Satanists of the Middle Ages: the murderer of children, the rapist of the sister, and the one who did not believe in the virgin birth.