Antichthon

Joan Shanks was a freelancer living in Montreal.

Antichthon, the latest novel by author Chris Scott, gives a sensitive, penetrating, and deeply researched account of the life, trial, and execution of Giordino Bruno. Charged with heresy, he was burned at the stake by the Inquisition in February 1600.

The world, sacred and secular, was in turbulence and flux, and this is the background to Giordino’s life. He travels to the England of Elizabeth I at a time when Mary, Queen of Scots, was still traitorously plotting to gain the throne. With Giordino, we cross the Channel to France where murderous chaos finally succeeds in bringing Henri of Navarre to the throne.

Against this political turmoil, in which the Church is deeply involved, the Church faces further threats — the new and spreading science of astronomy, which challenges Church doctrine. In addition, Protestantism is on the increase. In an attempt to preserve the True Faith, a rigid, self-perpetuating, militant Church strikes out blindly and without mercy.

Here stands a victim, Giordino Bruno, who embraces the science of astronomy. The account of his life is written in the form of a journal, which mirrors and reflects fragments of this man. “For every man is a vision of himself; neither more nor less, it is enough.” Some accounts are written by Giordino himself, such as his description of his interrogations before those of the many people who were part of his life. Each one gives a different view, another angle, a varying perspective, as if one were looking into a shattered mirror. Holding and binding all together are the threads of philosophy and theology. One of the charges against Giordino is that he “has made God a natural thing.” For Giordino, God is everywhere and in everything. Contrasted to this are the beliefs of the judges of the Inquisition and finally of Pope Clement VIII who demands the survival of the institution of the Church.

After a lapse of eight years, Clement sanctions the death of Giordino, stating, “the Pope cannot afford a case of conscience.” His vision is “for the Church militant, visible and triumphant.” And, as for science, “The mirror of memory and magical act that Giordino calls science must surely break.”

Yet, in the end Giordino must tragically die not for his beliefs but for political expediency. “Because of a foolish girl, Giordino. That and an arrangement with Spain. You see, there’s nothing very noble to such a death.”

This is a complex and complicated book, rich and abundant in philosophy and theology, rich in history, rich in its keen observation of humanity. It is stimulating, demanding, and ultimately rewarding.