Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1584

The Ash Wednesday Supper

Giordano Bruno · 1584

Giordano Bruno's 1584 philosophical dialogue that extends Copernicus's heliocentric theory into a vision of an infinite universe.

Bruno's book extends Copernicus's heliocentric theory into a vision of an infinite universe, showing its radical later influence.

Ask Nicolaus Copernicus about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Front cover of a bound book in pale vellum or parchment binding, with a red and gold tooled label on the spine at upper left and a small green decorative element at lower left. The cover is otherwise blank.
Giordano Bruno, La cena de le ceneri (The Ash Wednesday Supper), London, 1584.

About this source

What it is

This is one of six Italian dialogues written by the philosopher Giordano Bruno, published in London in 1584 and dedicated to the French ambassador Michel de Castelnau. It is divided into five dialogues with an introductory letter.

Why it matters

The book presents an exposition of Copernicus's heliocentric theory but goes further, proposing an infinite universe with no center and countless worlds, unlike Copernicus's own finite model. It shows how Copernicus's ideas inspired bolder, more radical thinking in the decades after his death. Bruno was later tried by the Inquisition and executed as a heretic, showing the risks such ideas could carry.

Look closer

  • How does Bruno's idea of an infinite universe differ from Copernicus's own theory?
  • Why might extending a scientific idea further than its original author be both exciting and dangerous?
  • What does the plain, undecorated binding of this book suggest about how it was printed and circulated?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nicolaus Copernicus on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Nicolaus Copernicus sources

Meet the AI Nicolaus Copernicus →
Title page of Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, printed 1543 in Nuremberg by Johann Petreius. Large capitals read NICOLAI COPERNICI TORINENSIS, followed by the book title and an address to the reader in Latin. Handwritten ink marks read Bibliotheca and Univers, and a Greek motto appears below the text.Book

Primary source

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium

Nicolaus Copernicus · 1543

Engraved portrait print of Nicolaus Copernicus in an octagonal frame with stippled background. A man with wavy shoulder-length hair wears a fur-trimmed garment and holds a small armillary-style sphere. Caption reads NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, with publisher line Zwickau, bei Gebr. Schumann below.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus (Schumann print)

Gebrüder Schumann

Scanned page from a 1543 printed book titled Nicolai Copernici, showing a diagram of concentric circles with the Sun at the center, labeled planetary orbits including Mercury, Venus, Earth (terra) with the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the outer sphere of fixed stars. Latin text surrounds the diagram.Artifact

Primary source

Copernicus's Diagram of the Planetary System

Nicolaus Copernicus · 1543

Engraved oval portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus, a man with wavy shoulder-length hair and a fur-collared garment, inside a decorative border with Latin inscriptions and dates, on a book page photographed on a dark background with a gray scale.Painting

Secondary source

Engraved Portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus (Herzog August Library)

Unbekannt

Engraved portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus in an oval frame, shown on a book page with a page number 52 in the corner. The man has curly hair and wears a fur-trimmed garment. Latin inscription 'NICOLAUS COPERNICUS' appears at the bottom, with a verse text block below and a catalogue number beneath the page.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus (Albertina Museum)

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Nicolaus Copernicus now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions