Giordano Bruno, Biography Of A Libertarian

Giordano Bruno was a very interesting character, who over time became the icon of breadth of thought and firmness of convictions. He lived in a time when a priori “truths” and dogmas prevailed. Still, he knew how to get out of that restrictive environment and think with his own head. He even gave his life to defend that freedom.

Giordano Bruno’s real name was Filippo Bruno. This is how he was baptized when he was born in the town of Nola (Naples, Italy), in 1548. He always loved his place of origin and that is why he called himself El Nolano . When he was 14 years old he went to live in the city of Naples and entered an Augustinian monastery to study. Then he felt a deep religious fervor and that led him to join the Dominican Order, to become a priest.

Giordano Bruno was a deeply inquisitive and spiritual man. He was eager to learn and seek answers to his questions, by all means. That led him to read Erasmus of Rotterdam, a Dutch thinker who was then banned by the church. This gesture shows us that his desire to know was stronger than the duty imposed by dogmas.

Giordano Bruno, an irreverent

Just as he studied Erasmus with great interest, he also immersed himself in the treatises of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. He created a system  mnemonic that impressed her teachers, so was entrusted present in person to Pope Pius V . He was ordained a priest in 1576 and later received his doctorate in theology.

However, during his years of priesthood, Giordano Bruno committed two acts that ignited the ire of his community. On one occasion he asked that all the figures of the saints be removed from his room, leaving only one crucifix. On another occasion he asked a novice to stop reading a poem for Our Lady and instead devote himself to something more important.

As a result of these events, 130 accusations were made to him before the Holy Inquisition . That led him to flee Italy, when he was 28 years old. Since then he became a wanderer. He had to stay in pigsty, live on very little and move around without respite. Beyond his religious opinions, what really aroused suspicion among religious people was his vision of the universe.

A man ahead of his time

Giordano Bruno publicly declared that he agreed with Copernicus’ ideas. In his view, the Earth was not the center of the universe. It even went further. He said that the Sun was just one more star and that there were thousands of suns, thousands of worlds, to infinity. He also pointed out that other forms of life could exist and that perhaps each of them would have its own God.

This fabulous man also said that all matter was made up of atoms, which moved by impulse. Therefore, spirit and matter were the same reality. In his opinion, neither the host turned into meat, nor the wine into blood. So the Eucharist was a falsehood.

Giordano Bruno was not a scientist, but a philosopher and theologian. He spread scientific ideas, but he himself did not discover them, nor did he test them. His fame grew and he was finally able to find peace on his long journey in Paris, and later in England and Germany. His books were selling like hotcakes.

A historical crime

The Nolano tried to join Calvinism and then Lutheranism, but was also expelled from those churches. When he lived in Germany he received an invitation from Giovanni Mocenigo, an Italian who said he wanted to learn from him. Although they tried to persuade him not to go, Giordano agreed. He was in that man’s house for a while.

When he told him that he was leaving, Mocenigo asked him to stay one more day. Giordano Bruno accepted and that same night he was locked in a subway. The next day the soldiers of the Inquisition came for him and arrested him. They made him a trial in which Mocenigo himself declared a large number of falsehoods. Obviously, in the end he was condemned.

The next seven years, Bruno spent in the jail of the Roman Inquisition. It was a nauseating place, which had become famous as a torture center. In 1599, he was urged to retract his claims, but he did not accept. Nine months later, he was taken to the Campo de las Flores for execution. They paralyzed his tongue with a nail to prevent him from speaking. Then they showed him a cross and Giordano Bruno turned his head in rejection. Right away, they burned him alive.