Joshua Gilder - Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the Murder Behind One of History’s Greatest Scientific Discoveries

CONTENTS

F OR OUR SON,
THE CENTER OF OUR UNIVERSE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FIRST AND FOREMOST WE WISH TO EXPRESS HEARTFELT thanks to our brilliant agent, James Vines, our partner from the beginning of this enterprise; to our extraordinary editor, Katie Hall, whose constant support and seminal advice helped shape the narrative in its finaland much improvedform; and to our translator, Rose Williams, who not only brought Renaissance Latin to life but was a true contributor of wisdom and knowledge. We are indebted to the exceptional team at Doubleday, especially to Bill Thomas, whose faith in this book was a tremendous source of strength and energy; to Kendra Harpster, who made sure that the book got on its way; to Deborah Kerner, an amazing designer; to our very thorough and helpful copyeditor, Roslyn Schloss, and to the ardent sales force.

We cannot fully express our gratitude to all the extraordinary people welcoming us in Europe during our research, who generously and patiently shared their time and their invaluable knowledge not only during our trip but also before and after: Gran Nystrm, Director of the Tycho Brahe Museum in Hven and coordinator for Worldview Network; Elisabeth Lundin, Departmental Manager of the Tycho Brahe Museum; Vilhelm Flensburg, our guide on Hven; Jan Pallon, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Physics Department of the University of Lund; Klas Hylten-Cavallius, a devoted Brahe specialist from Lund; Bent Kaempe, Ph.D., Doctor of Pharmacology and Director of Forensic Medicine at the University of Copenhagen, and a decorated Knight since 1995; Claus Thykier, Director of Ole Rmer Museum in Copenhagen and a very talented musician; Bjrn Jrgenson, Director of the Tycho Brahe Observatory in Copenhagen; Henrik Wachtmeister, whose family has owned Brahes home, Knutstorp Castle, since 1771; Bohadana Divisova-Bursikova, MA, Prague Institure for the History of Medicine; Zdenek Hojda, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Philosophical Faculty of the Charles University Prague; and Martin Solc, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Astronomical Institute of the Charles University Prague. We also wish to thank Gerhard Betsch, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Mathematics at the University of Tbingen, whom we unfortunately could not meet in person.

This book also could never have been written without the help of many experts and scholars who guided us through the sometimes arcane worlds of both alchemy and modern medical science: Karin Figala, Professor of Natural Science at the University of Munich; Lawrence M. Principe, Ph.D., Professor of the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology and of Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University, whose unique breadth of knowledge and combination of talents allowed us to decode Tycho Brahes mercury recipe and provided an essential clue to the mystery of his death; Stephen William Dejter, Jr., M.D., Doctor of Urology in Washington, D.C., and Thomas E. Andreoli, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Arkansas College of Medicine, both of whom spent many hours educating us on the mysteries of the kidneys and the urinary tract; and the toxicologist John B. Sullivan, Jr., Associate Dean, Arizona Health Sciences Center, College of Medicine, whose insights into mercury poisoning were invaluable.

Our gratitude also goes out to Owen Gingerich, Ph.D., Senior Astronomer Emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Research Professor of Astronomy and the History of Science at Harvard University, and Hugh Thurston, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the Department of Mathematics at the University of British Columbia, who patiently answered our many questions relating to sixteenth-century astronomy; to Kevin D. Dohmen, an enthusiastic amateur astronomer; Geoff Chester, Public Affairs Director at the U.S. Naval Observatory. We also wish to thank Ruben Blaedel, Publisher of Rhodos International Science and Art Publishing, who extended his help with many illustrations, and our other translators Lisa Ringland, Nigel Coulton, Vanessa Johnson, and Mary Ann Eiler. In all cases, of course, any errors in this book are solely attributable to the authors themselves.

For their generous assistance in providing research material, we would like to thank Bruno Sperl and Dr. Siegrid Reinitzer (Universittsbibliothek Graz), Ninette Wollmann-Steppan and Stefan Renner (Universittsbibliothek Heidelberg), Irene Friedl (Universittsbibliothek Munich), Rita Jenatsch (Universittsbibliothek Zrich), and all the members of the wonderful staff in the European Reading Room of the Library of Congress.

This book could not have been published on time if it hadnt been for Anne-Lees parents, Renate and Werner Boldt-Nachtigall, who spent six months at our home taking care of our son, feeding the family, and keeping house and garden in pristine condition. You two have a sure place in Heaven. Many of our friends provided encouragement and editorial suggestions in the early stages: Penny and Simon Linder, Ralph Benko, Michael and Deborah Dobson, Bob and Blanca Reilly, Barbara Feuer and Maarten Rietvelt, Tony Dolan, Sam Goodman, Andreas Gutzeit, Carsten and Britta Oblaender, and of course the enthusiastic members of Anne-Lees book club: Patricia McNeill, Jodie Hooper, Deb Fiscella, Dara Roberts, Gigi Thompson, and Kerry Reichs. As always, Joshuas mother, Mary-Ellen Gilder, was a particularly perceptive reader and a tremendous supporter of this endeavor. Special thanks go to Anne-Lees beloved sister, Halla Beck, who accompanied us during our research in Europe, keeping our son more than happy.

Anne-Lee owes her sanity during this intense process of research and writing to her most wonderful friend, Patricia McNeill, who provided her with unrelenting support from the beginning to the end and a glass of wine during Anne-Lees weekly retreats from chaos. Josh in turn owes his sanity to Anne-Lee.