Commentariolus
Sign in to saveThe Commentariolus (Little Commentary) is Nicolaus Copernicus's brief outline of an early version of his revolutionary heliocentric theory of the universe. After further long development of his theory, Copernicus published the mature version in 1543 in his landmark work, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres).
Key facts
- Book.name
- De hypothesibus motuum coelestium a se constitutis commentariolus
- Book.image
- Commentariolus_Wien_MS10530_Blatt_34.png
- Book.caption
- Ms. Austrian National Library, 10530, f. 34r
- Book.author
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Book.language
- Latin
- Book.subject
- Astronomy
- Book.pub_date
- 1514
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Summary
- The seven postulates
- The order of the spheres
- The apparent motion of the Sun
- Equal motion should be measured not by the equinoxes but by the fixed stars
- The Moon
- The outer planets, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars
- Venus
- Mercury
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
The Commentariolus (Little Commentary) is Nicolaus Copernicus's brief outline of an early version of his revolutionary heliocentric theory of the universe. After further long development of his theory, Copernicus published the mature version in 1543 in his landmark work, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres).
Copernicus wrote the Commentariolus in Latin by 1514 and circulated copies to his friends and colleagues. It thus became known among Copernicus's contemporaries, though it was never printed during his lifetime. In 1533, Johann Albrecht Widmannstetter delivered a series of lectures in Rome outlining Copernicus' theory. Pope Clement VII and several Catholic cardinals heard the lectures and were interested in the theory. On 1 November 1536, Nikolaus von Schönberg, Archbishop of Capua and since the preceding year a cardinal, wrote to Copernicus from Rome and asked him for a copy of his writings "at the earliest possible moment".