26 pages • 52 minutes read
Galileo GalileiLetter to the Grand Duchess Christina
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1615A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: The Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution took place during the 16th and 17th centuries and was an enormous shift in European thought. By the end of the movement, “science” was a recognized discipline with techniques of experimentation and observation at its core. It also represented a shift in philosophy. Christianity eventually became a less dominant force as a result (although still very significant), and European politicians and philosophers began to base arguments on science in addition to the Bible.
Galileo was one of a group of scientists and thinkers who made enormous contributions to how we think about the universe. These figures include Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe (who observed a supernova and created an astronomical research institute), Johannes Kepler (who assisted Brahe and determined that the planets have elliptical orbits), and Isaac Newton (who developed laws of motion and gravity, helped invent calculus, and determined that white light contains colors). Galileo’s discoveries were central to this movement, both on their own merits and because they helped to confirm heliocentrism. Although many people disapproved of Galileo’s ideas, especially people in positions of power in the Catholic Church, many others took them up (especially after Galileo’s death) and used them to make discoveries of their own.
Ideological Context: The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation began within years of the Scientific Revolution. It occurred in large part as a response to the Catholic Church’s involvement in all areas of politics and the corruption that followed as a result. The Protestant movement argued that there should be a more direct relationship between people and God and that the church should play a less significant role in the journey toward salvation. Martin Luther (1483-1546), the key figure of the Reformation, argued that salvation was not attainable through good works but only through faith because a person could do good things for bad reasons.
Like the Scientific Revolution, the Protestant Reformation destabilized the Catholic Church and made it more prone to attack people and ideas that it saw as heretical. The Catholic Church formed the Inquisition in response to the Protestant movement, which made it extremely dangerous, and sometimes deadly, to go against the church’s doctrine. Galileo desperately needed to prove that his scientific findings didn’t pose a threat to the authority of the Catholic Church, which is why the “Letter” spends so much time analyzing Catholic doctrine. Galileo shows that he has in-depth knowledge of Catholicism as well as a genuine devotion to it. This sincerity did not stop the Inquisition from sentencing Galileo to house arrest.
