Old Books, New Stars

From November 1572, the constellation of a queen sitting on her throne became a popular illustration of scientific books for years in Europe. How did the characteristic W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia next to the Milky Way get into the focus of attention of 16^th century writers, theologians, astrologers, philosophers and astronomers?

If we were to take up the impossible task of summarizing the history of science in the 16^th century, we should point at the years 1543 and 1572 marking two remarkable events that subverted the traditional world-view of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 1543 was the year when On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus was published and brought a fundamental change to the way scientists looked at celestial motions. And in 1572, a new star appeared on the sky, visible to everyone.

The topic of Old Books, New Stars is complex: it presents the astronomy-related records of old Hungarian literature, the Hungarian interpretations of real and fictitious celestial phenomena, and the 16^th century cosmological theories by authors like Copernicus, Tycho and Kepler, together with their reception in Hungary in the Early Modern Period.