By: Edmund Rinner, Copernicus 545
When Copernicus Lodge was founded on December 27th 1863, some of the founders and there were 14 of them, must’ve been interested or well informed in the science of Astronomy, because they chose one of the greatest Astronomers as their patron.
Mikolay Kopernik, best known by his Latinized name as Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19th 1473 in the City of Torun in the Kingdom of Poland. He was the fourth and youngest child of Mikolay Kopernik, a successful merchant of rare metals and Barbara Waczenrod, the daughter of a patrician Torun Merchant Lucas Waczenrod and Katherine, nee Modlibog. The paternal and maternal grandparents of young Nicolaus were well known and highly respected in the City and State. As a child already, Nicolaus had shown unusual intelligence. At the age of ten, his father had died, then his maternal uncle, Canon Lucas Waczenrod, who became Prince Bishop of Warmia and a Senator of Poland, became the guardian of young Nicolaus. The Kopernik family consisted of two brother and two sisters. One of the sisters became a Nun and the other one married a merchant. The older brother Andreas devoted his life to the Church and became a Canon. It is assumed, that Nicolaus inherited his contemplative nature and his love for intellectual pursuits from his mother and his vigor, his efficient and pragmatic character from father. When Nicolaus completed his studies at the Cathedral School, his uncle decided to send the two brothers for further studies to the University of Cracow, where Nicolaus enrolled in seven liberal arts, a preparatory course, then went onto mathematics, astronomy and law. After four years of hard work, he graduated from the Jagelonian (Cracow) University and obtained his baccalaureate. He already had plans made to continue his studies in Italy. During his studies at Cracow University, he must have been doubtful already, that the Ptolemaic Solar System was false.
Claudios Ptolemy, a Greek geographer and astronomer who lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the second century, had presented a detailed account of the geocentric system, which served the basis of astronomy for the next fourteen hundred years. According to this system, the planet Earth was the center of the universe and the Sun revolving around the Earth. This doctrine was recognized by the Church Hierarchy and remained unchallenged until Copernicus succeeded with is mathematical proof, that the Sun was the center of our system and the Earth was one of the planets which revolved around it. This reversed the physics in Astronomy.
Nicolaus and Andreas traveled across the alps to Italy, where Nicolaus spent the next ten years at various universities, matriculating as a student of Canon Law, but did not give up Astronomy, which was his passion. His brother Andreas fell by the wayside, became a frivolous adventurer, did not live up to his vows and died at an early age. Nicolaus returned to his homeland again to see his mother, who was approaching the end of her life. On that occasion, he was granted an extension on his studies and was given permission to study medicine, a profession badly needed in his Country. He choose the University of Padua, after returning to Italy again. When he had mastered his medical studies, he received a “Licentrate” to practice. The Doctors Degree in both Laws, Canon and Civil was referred to him in 1503, after a decade in Italy. Yet many long years of astronomical checks and mathematical calculations lay ahead to confirm his theory more precisely. When he retuned home in 1503, Nicolaus assumed the duties as Canon of Warmia, at the same time assisting his aging uncle as his private secretary, legal advisor, and personal physician. His uncle was also the driving force in the anti Teutonic activities and constant conflicts with the Teutonic Knights. An ambitious and persistent politician, he confided to Nicolaus his most secret plans, to transplant the Teutonic Knights from Prussia to Wallachia to fight the Turks and Tartars. His uncle died in 1512, which was quite a blow to Nicolaus. After that, Copernicus took up residence in the Canonry of Frombork (Frauenburg) where he was entrusted with the administration of estates in remote parts of the Diocese, but continued his heavenly observations and practiced medicine, treating the rich and the poor and was known more as a successful physician then as an astronomer. His astronomer’s fame came only after his death. Some of Copernicus’ medical books have been preserved together with prescriptions written in his own hand. In spite of his brilliant mind, he was a peaceful humble man who did not seek rank or power. In 1516 to 1521 he acted as the Administrator General of the entire Capitular Estates. The title Commissioner of Warmia, which was a mark of distinction was bestowed on Copernicus by the Prince Bishop in 1521. He took part in political and social events and carried out diplomatic missions, particularly to the Grand Master Albrecht v. Hohenzollern who was the head of the State of the Teutonic Order, a vassalage of Poland. In his inspection tours, he came in contact with inhabitants in villages, comprised of peasants, German colonists and Polish settlers. In these borderland areas, both languages were spoken and Copernicus mastered both of them. In his correspondence such as reports, memorandas, instructions, etc., it was primarily in Latin. From his activities, political, civil and scientific it is clear, that he faithfully and loyally served Poland and carried on his uncle’s policies.
When the Teutonic Knights with the help of German troops attempted to conquer Warmia and its Capital Olesztyn (Allenstein) in 1520, it was Copernicus who devised a defense to course the Teutonic Knights to withdraw. At the peace conference following the armistice between the King of Poland and the Teutonic Knights in 1521, Copernicus distinguished himself at the provincial diet in Groundside (Graudenz) in 1522, where he presented an extensive memorandum containing claims for War damages. Written in Latin, this memorandum became one of the legal documents used by King Sigismund I as a basis for peace negotiations. Copernicus also devised a system to keep the cost of living steady. He proved himself to be a successful organizer and a strong man with high qualities of leadership and resourcefulness, yet inspite of his busy life, he was able to continue with his scientific work in astronomy. He made great contributions to economics and monetary laws, by working out a plan of reforms for currencies of Warmia and the neighboring provinces, by writing a treatise on money, in which he advanced the principle of uniform currency for the entire Polish Commonwealth. In 1526 to 1528 a uniform coinage for all Poland and Lithuania was introduced in conformity with the proposal of Copernicus. In 1526, the Order of the Teutonic Knights under the leadership of their Grand Master Albrecht von Hohenzollern, accepted Lutheranism and Albrecht proclaimed himself the first Duke of Prussia, yet Albrecht still remained a vassal of Poland and was obliged to pay homage to the King of Poland. Copernicus returned to his canonical duties in Frombork again and spent the remaining years of his life in this small town on the Baltic coast. A canon’s duties were strictly administrative and to be an authority in Canon Law. He devoted more time to his astronomical checks and mathematical computations.
The Copernicus Theory did not begin until long after his death. His astronomical work shows two well integrated aspects, the empirical exploration of facts and the theoretical, based on speculative reasoning, it was in this transitional era, that the Copernicus system of cosmology originated and finally replaced the Ptolemanic. Copernicus’ successor, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) the great Italian Astronomer carried on where Copernicus left off and put the Theory on a firm footing, unfortunately the Church Hierarchy in Rome did not agree with the new Theory, condemned this great scientist and placed him under house arrest for the rest of his life. Approximately 350 years later, in May 1983, Pope John Paul II proclaimed, by asking forgiveness for the grave injustice imposed on Galileo Galilei by the Church. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) the German Astronomer, further developed and modified the Heliocentric Theory and Newton (1642-1727) the English Astronomer formulated the Physical Laws on which it is based. The credit however must go to Copernicus for the tremendous breakthrough on which the entire structure of modern Astronomy is based. The Protestant Theologians however did not agree with the new Copernicus vision, since it was not in line with medieval beliefs and with the interpretation of some messages of scripture. The German reformation leader and humanist Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) wrote; our eyes speak against the conception of that samartian Astronomer, the Bible speaks against it, therefore it is absurd. Martin Luther (1483-1546) considered Copernicus a madman and referred to him as the new Astrologer, the tool who wishes to reverse the whole Astronomy.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Copernicus ideas caused vivid interests in Poland, especially among scholars and educators. His work was widely distributed, read and interpreted, evoked sharp polemics in Catholic and Protestant secular and clerical circles. It took one-hundred-fifty years for the “De Revolutionbus” his book to be printed and adopted by mathematicians and scholars in Europe and another few decades before the Copernicus Solar System was openly taught at Oxford, Sarbonne and Yale. Goethe (1739-1832) called Copernicus the greatest man of the era. The Copernicus Theory which was developed in the 16th century can be compared with the 20th century achievement of Albert Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity”. The contribution made by Copernicus in the field of Astronomy maybe stated in these words: “He stopped the Sun and set the Earth in motion.”
When Copernicus became partially paralyzed with a terminal illness, Anna Schilling, an elderly widow of great culture and a distant relative, looked after him and acted as his housekeeper. He died on May 24th 1543 at the age of 70. The founders of our Lodge made a wise choice in choosing their patron.