Nicholas of Cusa

Nicholas of Cusa (1401– August 11, 1464) was a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, a philosopher, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered as one of the greatest geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century. He is also referred to as Nicolaus Cusanus and Nicholas of Kues. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (526x640, 73 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (526x640, 73 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Lollards, a religious sect taught by John Wycliffe, were persecuted for their beliefs. ... August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events February - Christian I of Denmark and Norway who was also serving as King of Sweden is declared deposed from the later throne. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the College of Cardinals which as a body elects a new pope. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... This article is 58 kilobytes or more in size. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ...

Biography

He was born Nikolaus Krebs in Kues (latinized as "Cusa") to a merchant family, and received his doctorate in Canon law from the University of Padua in 1423. He attended the Council of Basel (1431-1449). While present, he wrote De ''concordantia catholica, a synthesis of ideas on church and empire balancing hierarchy with consent. This work remained useful to critics of the papacy long after Nicholas left Basel to support Pope Eugenius IV in his effort to bring the Eastern churches into union with the West. While returning from a mission to Constantinople (where he attempted to prevent the coming Holy Wars), Nicholas had a shipboard experience that led to his writing intensively on more metaphysical topics thereafter. Nicholas then represented the pope in Germany, becoming known as the Hercules of the Eugenian cause. After a successful career as a papal legate, he was made a cardinal by Pope Nicholas V in 1448 or 1449, and was named Bishop of Brixen in 1450. His work as bishop was opposed by Duke Sigismund of Austria; the duke imprisoned Nicholas in 1460, for which Pope Pius II excommunicated Sigismund and laid an interdict on his lands. Nicholas of Cusa was never able to return to his bishopric, however. Sigmund's capitulation in 1464 came a few days after Nicholas's death at Todi in Umbria. Bernkastel-Kues is a city at the Moselle River in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. ... Canon Law is the ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Gymnasivm Patavinum: The Universitys main Bo palace shown in a 1654 woodcut The University of Padua (Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is one of the most well-renowned universities in Italy. ... A papal Legate, from the Decretals of Boniface VIII (1294 to 1303). ... Nicholas V, né Tomaso Parentucelli (November 15, 1397 – March 24, 1455) was Pope from March 6, 1447, to his death. ... This article is about a title or office in religious bodies. ... Brixen is the name of two cities in the Alps: Brixen, Italy, with Brixen being the citys German name, and Bressanone its Italian name Brixen im Thale, Austria This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... An engraving by W. Killian, 1623 Sigismund of Austria, Duke, then Archduke of Further Austria (Innsbruck, October 26, 1427 – March 4, 1496) was a Habsburg archduke of Austria and ruler of Tirol from 1446 to 1490. ... Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Latin Aeneas Sylvius), (October 18, 1405 – August 14, 1464) was Pope from 1458 until his death. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The word interdict usually refers to an ecclesiastical penalty in the Roman Catholic Church. ... Panorama of Todi. ... Umbria is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. ...

Nicholas of Cusa was noted for his deeply mystical writings about Christianity, particularly on the possibility of knowing God with the divine human mind - not possible through the mere senses or "learned ignorance." He was suspected by some of holding pantheistic beliefs, but his writings were never accused of being heretical. Most of his mathematical ideas can be found in his essays, De Docta Ignorantia (Of Learned Ignorance), De Visione Dei (Vision of God) and On Conjectures. Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an... // Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Pantheism (Greek: pan = all and Theos = God) literally means God is All and All is God. It is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent God; or that the universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... De docta ignorantia (On learned ignorance) is a book on philosophy and theology by Nicholas of Cusa, who finished writing it on February 12, 1440 in his mother-town of Cusa. ...

Nicholas is also considered by many to be a genius ahead of his time in the field of science. Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno were all aware of the writings of Cusanus as was Johannes Kepler (who called Cusanus 'divinely inspired' in Kepler's first paragraph of his first published work). Predating Kepler, Cusanus said that no perfect circle can exist in the universe (opposing the Aristotelean model) thus opening the possibility for Kepler's model featuring elliptical orbits of the planets around the Sun. He also influenced Giordano Bruno by denying the finiteness of the universe and the Earth's exceptional position in it (being not the center of the universe, and in that regard equal in rank with the other stars). He was not, however, describing a scientifically verifiable theory of the universe: his beliefs (which proved uncannily accurate) were based almost entirely on his own personal numerological calculations and metaphysics. He made important contributions to the field of mathematics by developing the concepts of the infinitesimal and of relative motion. Cusanus was the first to use concave lenses to correct myopia. His writings were essential for Leibniz's discovery of calculus as well as Cantor's later work on infinity. A genius is a person with great intelligence. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) was the Polish [3][4] astronomer who formulated the first modern heliocentric theory of the solar system. ... KDFSAJFKASJDKFJASDKLJFDKLASJFLKJASKLFJLAKSJFLKSJALFKJSKLJFto the Sun-centered solar system which Galileo supported. ... Giordano Bruno. ... Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) was a German Lutheran mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and a key figure in the 17th century astronomical revolution. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... A lens. ... Normal vision. ... Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (July 1, 1646 in Leipzig - November 14, 1716 in Hannover) was a German philosopher, scientist, mathematician, diplomat, librarian, and lawyer of Sorb descent. ... Look up cantor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In 1433, he proposed a method to elect Holy Roman Emperors that, while it was not adopted by the Church, was essentially the same method known today as the Borda count, which is used in many academic institutions, competitions, and even some political jurisdictions, in original form and a number of variations. His proposal preceded Borda's work by over three centuries. The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ... The Borda count is a single winner election method in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. ... Jean-Charles de Borda (May 4, 1733 - February 19, 1799) was a French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor. ...

Upon his death in Todi, his body was interred in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome, but was later lost. His monument, with a sculpted image of the cardinal, remains. In accordance with his wishes, his heart is within the chapel altar at the Cusanusstift in Kues. To this charitable institution that he had founded he bequeathed his entire inheritance: it still stands, and serves the purpose Nicholas intended for it, as a home for the aged. The Cusanusstift houses also many of his manuscripts. Panorama of Todi. ... The chains of St. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ...

External links

Building in Bernkastel-Kues

• Translations of numerous philosophical and theological treatises
• Nicolaus of Cusa’s ‘On the Quadrature of the Circle’ explained
• Bernkastel-Kues tribute to Nikolaus von Kues
• A biography of Nicholas of Cusa
• Catholic Encyclopedia article on Nicholas of Cusa
• Website of the Cusanusstift (in German)
• A Contribution for Nicolaus of Cusa's 600th Birthday: A Dialogue of Cultures
• Nicolaus of Cusa's On the Vision of God and the Concept of Negentropy