Gresham College Lectures The Astronomer and the Witch: Kepler's Mother
Jun 1, 2021
59:52
In 1615 Katharina Kepler, illiterate mother of the astronomer Johannes Kepler, was accused of being a witch.
At that time in Germany, there was a witch 'craze'. Over half of the c.50,000 executions in Europe for witchcraft between 1500 and 1700 took place in Germany. During the next 6 years Katharina fought her accusation.
The astronomer took over her legal defence in 1620. This lecture explores this astonishing story, and asks how the witch craze affected people's lives.
A lecture by Ulinka Rublack FBA
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/keplers-mother
Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.
Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege
At that time in Germany, there was a witch 'craze'. Over half of the c.50,000 executions in Europe for witchcraft between 1500 and 1700 took place in Germany. During the next 6 years Katharina fought her accusation.
The astronomer took over her legal defence in 1620. This lecture explores this astonishing story, and asks how the witch craze affected people's lives.
A lecture by Ulinka Rublack FBA
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/keplers-mother
Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.
Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege