The Forbidden Universe by Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince Read Free Book Online Page B

too.
    In the struggle over the succession that had followed the assassination of Henri III, another Henri, the King of Navarre, had triumphed (with the aid of English soldiers sent by Elizabeth). Navarre was a kingdom in southern France, on the Atlantic coast, the remnant of a larger and once predominantly Spanish kingdom that had straddled the Pyrenees. In 1589 the Huguenot king of Navarre also became King of France. In a politically expedient move, the new Henri IV converted to Catholicism, but as an ex-Huguenot it was widely anticipated he would unify the religious divide in France. Curiously and probably not coincidentally, he had his marriage annulled and married a Medici, Marie, daughter of Francesco de’Medici. Hermetic hopes once centred on Henri III now segued onto Henri IV. Bruno went so far as to tell his Inquisitors that he hoped that the new king would ‘confirm the orders of the late King’ (Henri III) for the favours granted to him. 37
    Bruno’s sense of destiny had also been bolstered by other events, and without the grim knowledge provided by hindsight, perhaps it is easy to understand how he might have been so tragically misled. In 1591, Francesco Patrizi, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ferrara, published a new edition of the Hermetica. In his dedication to Pope Gregory XIV, Patrizi urged him to decree that Hermetic philosophy be incorporated into the heart ofCatholic education. Gregory died soon afterwards, but his successor, Clement VIII, rewarded Patrizi for his efforts by bestowing him with the Chair in Platonic Philosophy at the University of Rome. Bruno told Mocenigo that he had taken heart from this, and expected the same kind of treatment from Clement. There was, however, a major difference. Patrizi was advocating the incorporation of Hermeticism into Catholicism, not vice versa like Bruno. And, of course, while ostensibly rewarding Patrizi – or perhaps buying him off – Clement never actually acted on his proposition.
    It was in this climate that Bruno accepted Mocenigo’s suggestion to travel to Venice. Accompanied by his secretary , Jerome Besler, Bruno initially declined Mocenigo’s invitation of hospitality, and stayed in his own lodgings. He gave talks at Ciotto’s bookshop and frequented intellectual salons in private homes, besides spending three months at Padua, hometown of the eminence grise Gian Vincenzo Pinelli, whom he undoubtedly met. Only in the spring of 1592 did he finally give in and agree to stay with Mocenigo. During his two-month visit his host made notes of their conversations, which no doubt seemed innocent enough, perhaps even flattering at the time, but they were to provide the basis of the case against him.
    There were other good reasons why Bruno and his network wanted to shift their focus to Venice. The republic was becoming a centre of opposition to the Pope’s authority and there were moves to forge a political and religious alliance with England (although this only gathered momentum in the years after Bruno’s death). Astonishingly there were even hopes that Venice might adopt Anglicanism, which probably explains why the Pope excommunicated the whole republic in 1606. The key figures in this plan were all associated with Bruno. They included the English ambassador (and former spy) Sir Henry Wotton, who had been at the Italian’s controversial lecture in Oxford and wasa great friend of Alberic Gentilio, the professor of law who facilitated Bruno’s career in Germany. Another was Traiano Boccalini, author of News From Parnassus ( Ragguagli di Parnaso ), which, modelled on The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast , called for a ‘general reformation of the whole wide world’. 38
    The unravelling of events such as these in Venice and Padua (part of the republic of Venice) in the aftermath of Bruno’s visit was unlikely to have been coincidental. Neither was it much of a coincidence that Padua appears to have become a sudden magnet for Hermeticists