On the Heroic Frenzies: A Translation of de Gli Eroici Furori (1585)

Italian astronomer and Dominican friar Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), found guilty of heresy by the Roman Inquisition and burned at the stake, has long been an enigma of early modern European philosophy. His central 1586 work On the Heroic Frenzies has shown a particular need for a fresh examination. This vibrant bilingual edition, annotated by celebrated Bruno scholar Ingrid D. Rowland, features the text in its original Italian alongside an elegant, accurate English translation.

On the Heroic Frenzies is at once a philosophical dialogue, an anthology of love poetry, and a collection of sonnets, songs, and emblems - sometimes borrowed from other writers, but primarily Bruno’s own. Rowland’s detailed introduction and extensive footnotes highlight the philosophical sources, Biblical allusions, and biographical elements that make Bruno’s work both richly conceived and often challenging to understand. Providing cohesive insights into Bruno’s text, Rowland’s edition of On the Heroic Frenzies is a helpful guide for those new to his work.

Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600), born Filippo Bruno, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet, and cosmological theorist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which conceptually extended the then-novel Copernican model. In addition to cosmology, Bruno also wrote extensively on the art of memory, a loosely organized group of mnemonic techniques and principles. Other studies of Bruno have focused on his qualitative approach to mathematics and his application of the spatial concepts of geometry to language.
Eugenio Canone is Director of Research at the Institute for European Intellectual Lexicon and the History of Ideas (ILIESI, Rome).
Ingrid D. Rowland is a professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame, Rome.