Description
Book SynopsisFew legal events loom as large in early modern history as the trial of Galileo. Frequently cast as a heroic scientist martyred to religion or as a scapegoat of papal politics, Galileo undoubtedly stood at a watershed moment in the political maneuvering of a powerful church. But to fully understand how and why Galileo came to be condemned by the papal courts—and what role he played in his own downfall—it is necessary to examine the trial within the context of inquisitorial law.
With this final installment in his magisterial trilogy on the seventeenth-century Roman Inquisition, Thomas F. Mayer has provided the first comprehensive study of the legal proceedings against Galileo. By the time of the trial, the Roman Inquisition had become an extensive corporatized body with direct authority over local courts and decades of documented jurisprudence. Drawing deeply from those legal archives as well as correspondence and other printed material, Mayer has traced the legal pro
Trade Review
"Thomas F. Mayer concludes his deeply researched trilogy on the Roman Inquisition with a model forensic analysis of what he sees as the single trial process of Galileo, carefully analyzed and contextualized from the controversial 1616 precept to the procedure's crisp conclusion in 1633. His judgments about official incompetence, some 'off the rails' procedures, and Galileo's poor choice of advisors are welcome." * Christopher Black, University of Glasgow *
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Florentine Opposition
Chapter 2. Formal Proceedings Begin (late 1614-mid-February 1616)
Chapter 3. The Precept of 26 February 1616
Chapter 4. The Legal Meaning of 1616: The Jurisprudence and Use of Admonitions and Precepts
Chapter 5. The Beginning of the End
Chapter 6. The Second Phase of Galileo's Trial Begins
Chapter 7. The End
Conclusion
Appendix: Frequency of Precepts
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
