Dario Tessicini
Copernicus and Fracastoro: The Dedicatory Letters to Pope Paul III, the History of Astronomy, and the Quest for Patronage
Tessicini, Dario; Granada, Miguel
Authors
Miguel Granada
Abstract
Copernicuss De revolutionibus (1543) and Girolamo Fracastoro's Homocentrica (1538) were both addressed to Pope Paul III (1534-1549). Their dedicatory letters represent a rhetorical exercise in advocating an astronomical reform and an attempt to obtain the papal favour. Following on from studies carried out by Westman (1990) and Barker & Goldstein (2003), this paper deals with cultural, intellectual and scientific motives of both texts, and aims at underlining possible relations between them, such as that Copernicus knew of Fracastoro's Homocentrica, and that at least part of the rhetorical strategy laid out in De revolutionibus's dedicatory letter can be read as a sophisticated response to Fracastoro's arguments.
Citation
Tessicini, D., & Granada, M. (2005). Copernicus and Fracastoro: The Dedicatory Letters to Pope Paul III, the History of Astronomy, and the Quest for Patronage. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 36(3), 431-476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2005.07.001
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2005-09 |
Deposit Date | Feb 28, 2008 |
Journal | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A |
Print ISSN | 1355-2198 |
Electronic ISSN | 1355-2198 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 36 |
Issue | 3 |
Pages | 431-476 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2005.07.001 |
Keywords | Copernicus, Fracastoro, Paul III, History of astronomy, Patronage. |
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