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Nicolaus Copernicus’
masterpiece ‘De revolutionibus
libri sex’
Inscribed 1999
What is it
The manuscript, in six books (libri sex), of De
revolutionibus was written by Copernicus around 1520.
In this work he presented his theory that the planets
moved round the Sun.
Why was it inscribed
His theory revolutionized our understanding of the
world and became the foundation of many branches
of science.
Where is it
Jagiellonian Library, Jagiellonian University,
Krakow, Poland
Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik, 1473–1543), who
studied at the University of Krakow and at several Italian
universities, is considered to be one of the fathers of the
Renaissance. He was not only a scholar and researcher
but also a humanist, philologist, doctor and a pioneer in
the practical study of economics. From 1512, apart from
a short period, he lived in Frombork (Frauenburg) in
northern Poland.
His theory proposed that the planets orbited around the
Sun in almost circular orbits (the heliocentric theory) and
became one of the greatest achievements in the history
of natural science. He also proposed that the Earth moves
in three directions: around its axis (explaining the existence
of day and night); around the Sun on an annual basis
(the most interesting from the mathematical point of view)
and the movement of the axis of the earth (which explains
the phenomenon of precession). These new ideas replaced
the fictitious and complex models of spheres thought to
be located above the stars which existed in Earth-centred
(geocentric) astronomy. He carried out an analysis of all the
consequences that the refutation of the geocentric theory
would have and proved that all astronomical phenomena
which could be observed were in accordance with the new
theory. Apart from its importance for the development
of natural science, the new theory also exerted great
180 Nicolaus Copernicus’ masterpiece ‘De revolutionibus libri sex’
� Copernicus’s original diagram of his astronomical system,
with the Sun at the centre of our universe.
Nicolaus Copernicus �
influence on the worldwide outlook which questioned the
anthropocentric theory of the universe.
His student, the astronomer Rheticus (Jerzy Joachim
Retyk, 1514–74), only persuaded Copernicus to publish
his work 20 years after he wrote this text, and the final
proofs of De revolutionibus orbium coelestrium reached
him from the printers in Nuremberg on his death bed
on 24 May 1543.
After Copernicus’ death, his manuscript from 1520,
together with all his papers and books were taken over
by his friend Tiedemann Giese (1480–1550) who was the
bishop of Chelmno (Kulm) at the time. Even though
Giese bequeathed his library to the Warmia Chapter,
the manuscript remained in the collection of Rheticus.
After his death it passed through a number of collectors,
ending up at the National Museum in Prague in 1945.
In 1956 the government of Czechoslovakia gave it to the
government of Poland, and it was transferred to the Library
at Jagiellonian University where Copernicus had studied.