Copernican Deathbed Publication Myth

Contrary to what Carl Sagan and many others suggest, the timing of publication of de Revolutionibus near the time of Copernicus' death was a coincidence. The manuscript was actually delivered to the publishers almost two years before his death. At the time, Copernicus was still healthy. The stroke that resulted in his death would not happen until another year had passed. Unforeseen events had delayed the publication.

Copernicus died in May of 1543, from complications from a stroke that occured in December of 1542. The manuscript for de Revolutionibus had been submitted to the publishers in the autumn of 1541. Unforeseen events delayed the publication. The project manager of the publication, Rheticus, left mid-project to take a university post. His replacement altered the manuscript.

Carl Sagan and others suggest the reason for Copernicus's procrastination was fear of the reaction of the church to his work. Copernicus didn't need to guess what reaction the church would have. A summary of his work, Narratio Prima , was published three years before his death. But this wasn't when the church first learned of Copernicus' work. Copernicus's ideas were circulated widely in Europe in the form of the Commentariolus well before his death. Word of Copernicus's cosmology had even reached the Vatican 10 years before his death. Johann Widmanstetter gave a seminar on the Copernican model to the pope and senior Vatican officials in 1533. The Vatican was so impressed that a letter was sent to Copernicus asking him to properly publish his work with a promise to pay for the publication.

Another problem with Sagan's speculations is that the church was directly involved in the publication of de Revolutionibus from the beginning. The project was hatched in the residence of Bishop Giese of Culm. The bishop had invited Copernicus and his collaborator Rheticus to his residence in Lubawa, in an attempt to convince Copernicus to publish his work. Rheticus credits Giese with convincing Copernicus to publish an explanation of his model. Copernicus wanted to publish only his tables, without discussing the model. Giese, being a good friend, warned Copernicus that there would likely be negative reactions from astronomers but that he should publish anyway [_1_] .

Some of the text on this page is taken from The Copernicus Myths.