Rome, 1633: Galileo Galilei, tried by the Roman Inquisition for defending the idea that the Earth moves around the Sun, formally recants, and a famous legend is born
Scientist Recants
ROME, June 1633 – The astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei, aged sixty-nine, has knelt before the cardinals of the Roman Inquisition and formally abjured, cursed and detested the view that the Earth moves around the Sun, after being found vehemently suspect of heresy. He has been sentenced to imprisonment, later commuted to house arrest, and his book has been banned.
The Book
The trouble centred on Galileo Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1632, a lively discussion between characters debating whether the Sun circles the Earth, as most people then believed and as traditional interpretations of scripture held, or the Earth circles the Sun, as the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus had argued in 1543. Galileo had been warned in 1616 not to hold or defend the Copernican view. The Dialogue was supposed to present both sides evenly. It did not. The character who defended the traditional view was named Simplicio and, many readers thought, came off very badly. Some believed the character was meant to poke fun at the Pope, Urban VIII, previously Galileo friend and supporter, who was reportedly furious.
Historians note that falling out with a powerful friend who was also the head of the Church was a serious professional error.
The Telescope
Galileo case rested partly on his own observations. Using telescopes he had improved himself, he had seen mountains on the Moon, the phases of Venus and four moons circling Jupiter, now called the Galilean moons. These discoveries undermined the idea that everything in the heavens revolved around the Earth. They did not yet prove the Earth moved, and scientific debate continued, but they made the old view much harder to defend.
And Yet It Moves
According to a famous legend, as Galileo rose from his knees after recanting, he muttered, eppur si muove, and yet it moves. Historians are doubtful. The phrase does not appear in accounts from the time of the trial and seems to have been first recorded more than a century later, though a painting from the seventeenth century possibly showing the words has been discussed. Saying it in front of the Inquisition would have been very dangerous. It is, historians agree, the kind of thing people wish he had said.
Afterwards
Galileo lived under house arrest near Florence until his death in 1642, continuing to work and publishing an important book on motion and the strength of materials. In 1992, Pope John Paul II formally acknowledged that the Church had erred in its treatment of Galileo, more than 350 years after the trial.
Meanwhile, in 2026
Telling uncomfortable truths about powerful families remains risky. The London Prat reports Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors over a memoir by their uncle, after an unnamed source claimed the heir believes his brother read it first. The uncle says everyone was told. Historians of science note that the uncle, unlike Galileo, has not been asked to recant, and that his book remains on sale.
The London Prat has been insisting that the Earth moves since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, with its royal row video on YouTube. Bohiney at https://bohiney.com/ covers American scientific debates, some of which are also still going.
Study Questions for Students
Was Galileo trial about science, religion or politics? Why did the Dialogue upset the Pope? Why do legends like eppur si muove survive? Discuss, while the Earth continues to move.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/