New Light on the Galileo Affair?
In collaborazione con Mariano Artigas e William R. Shea

In The Church and Galileo, Edited by Ernan McMullin
Notre Dame, In.: The University of Notre Dame Press, 2005, pp. 213-33

Abstract

In 1999, a new document related to the Galileo case was discovered by Mariano Artigas in the archives of the Holy Office. Artigas communicated his discovery to William R. Shea. Afterwards, both of them asked Rafael Martínez to join the team. Martínez transcribed the document and did extensive research in the Italian archives. This move allowed the researches to identify the author of the document. This result led to a link between the document and the work of the Special Commission designated by Pope Urban VIII in August 1632. The Commission was created in order to decide whether Galileo ought to appear before the Holy Office in Roma. In this article, the new document (named EE 291 by Artigas) is described, its authorship is discussed, and a few implications as to our knowledge of the Galileo case are examined.

Contents

Redondi's Reinterpretation of the Trial of Galileo

Galileo's Copernican Campaign

The Dispute with Orazi Grassi

The Assayer Denounced

EE 291

The Author of EE 291

The Date of EE 291

The Date and Authorship of G3

G3, EE 291 and the Galileo Affair

The Meaning of EE 291

Conclusion

Appendix I. The Original Latin Document EE 291

Appendix II. English Translation of EE 291

Notes