Galileo, courtier : practice of science in the culture of absolutism

417 Pages·2006·32.799 MB·English

by  Biagioli, Mario

GALILEO, COURTIER
SCIENCE AND ITS CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS
David Hull, Editor
GALILEO,
COURTIER
The Practice of Science
in the Culture of Absolutism
MARIO BIAGIOLI
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
Chicago & London
This book has been brought to publication with the support of a grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency, and both author and
publisher acknowledge this support with thanks.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 1993 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 1993
Paperback edition 1994
Printed in the United States of America
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 n 10 56789
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-04559-7 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-04560-3 (paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-04559-5 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-04560-9 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biagioli, Mario.
Galileo, courtier : the practice of science in the culture of
absolutism/Mario Biagioli.
p. cm.—(Science and its conceptual foundations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642—Knowledge—Science. 2. Science—
History. 3. Despotism. I. Title. II. Series.
QB36.G2B54 1993
509-4'o9'o32—dc2o 92_3373^
© The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
TO NANCY

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
PROLOGUE
Court Culture and the Legitimation of Science i
ONE
Galileo's Self-fashioning n
TWO
Discoveries and Etiquette 103
THREE
Anatomy of a Court Dispute 159
FOUR
The Anthropology of Incommensurability 211
INTERMEZZO
Roma Theatrum Mundi 245
FIVE
Courtly Comets 267
SIX
Framing Galileo's Trial 313
EPILOGUE
From Patronage to Academies: A Hypothesis 353
References 363
Index 393

ILLUSTRATIONS
i. Apartment of the Elements, Palazzo Vecchio 109
2. Apartment of Leo X, Palazzo Vecchio 109
3. Gaspare Mola, oval medal commemorating Cosimo II and the
discovery of the Medicean Stars 140
4. Pietro da Cotton*, Jupiter Accompanied by the Cardinal Virtues,
Palazzo Pitti 144
5. Frans Spierre, The Medici Stars Protecting Cosimo III 145
6. Stefano della Bella, engraving of Hercules carrying the cosmos on
his shoulders 146
7. Stefano della Bella, engraving of Jupiter arriving among
clouds 148
8. Francesco Tavani, medal struck for the marriage of Prince Cosimo
and Marguerite-Louise d'Orleans 149
9. Luca Giordano, Medici Apotheosis, Palazzo Medici- Riccardi 150
10. Medal celebrating Cosimo III 151
11. Giovanni Battista Foggini, medal celebrating Vittoria della
Rovere 152
J2. Antonio Selvi, medal celebrating Cosimo III 153
13. Displacement of water in two connected cylinders of different
sizes 187
14. The lever and the notion of virtual velocity 188
15. The experiment with the ebony plate 199