Now how did I come to this … well none other than through that
wonderful trilogy of books I’ve been mentioning by Patrick Leigh Fermor: that
classic memoir of a journey across pre War Europe – which
encompasses history intertwined with science and other disclipines.
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| Tycho Brahe with his nose in situ |
Who on earth was Tycho Brahe?
Fermor introduces him via discussions about Emperor Rudolf II, who had
made Prague his capital and filled it with treasures.
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| The Tychonic Cosmological model (can be found in Wiki) |
The Emperor deeply versed in astronomical studies had invited
Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) to his Court … the great astronomer arrived noseless from a duel in Denmark; he then
continued to live in Prague until his
death of the plague.
Just a
bit of background:
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| Brahe and Kepler in Prague |
Rudolf
(1552 – 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of
Bohemia and Archduke of Austria … he was a member of the House of Hapsburg.
After
Brahe died, Kepler was summoned to continue Brahe’s work on the planets,
remaining until the Emperor’s death in 1612.
Albrecht
von Wallenstein became supreme commander of the armies of the Hapsburg Monarchy
and thus very influential and powerful.
Wallenstein inherited Kepler from Rudolf …
Further
background:
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| Engraving of the Mural Quadrant from Brahe's book: "Astronomiae Instauratae Mechanica" (1598) This was in Denmark at Uraniborg - which Tycho Brahe left after an argument with the Danish King |
Nicolaus
Copernicus (1473 – 1543): Renaissance mathematician and astronomer, who
formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at
the centre of the universe.
Tycho
Brahe (1546 – 1601): astronomer, astrologer and alchemist – he was the last of
the naked eye astronomers. He admired
Copernicus but was unable to reconcile Copernican theory with the basic laws of
Aristotelian physics, that he considered foundational.
Johannes
Kepler (1571 – 1630): mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. Later in his life he became an assistant to
Tycho Brahe … additionally he did fundamental work in the field of optics.
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| A replica of "the nose" |
Now I had really get back to Prosthetic Noses … Brahe’s real
one was lost, when he was 20, in a duel with one of his cousins – they were
later reconciled – but his cousin’s swipe in the dark took off the bridge of
his nose.
Brahe was studying at the University of Rostock – his injuries
were taken care of and was able to live with his ‘false’ nose. It was said to be made of silver and gold,
kept in place with paste (flour or starch) or glue.
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| Archduke Rudolf ... note the Hapsburg chin |
As you’d expect (us
humans being quizzy people) his body has been exhumed twice, once in 1901
and again in 2010, to examine the circumstances of his death and to identify
the material from which his nose was made.
The conclusion was that his death was most likely caused by a burst
bladder – an infection from the plague.
While the artificial nose was more than likely to have been made of
brass …
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| The first of Patrick Leigh Fermor's books |
The nose is the principal element of our physiognomy … so its
symbolic value as an expression of our character has demanded, from very
ancient times, reconstructive surgery or application of prosthesis to be
sought.
Tycho Brahe’s nose has led me to many places … something
completely different today … but as you might expect – it led me to other
interesting ideas!
Patrick Leigh Fermor’s books – this is the first of the trilogy …
There’s some interesting information on ‘Amputation of the Nose throughout History’ in this Italian article… it is a fascinating read – and could well be inspirationally used in a few of
your books.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
