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Inside the Stargazer's Palace: The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe
Enter the mysterious world of sixteenth-century science, where astronomers and alchemists shared laboratories
'A scintillating journey into a world where discoveries rip through doctrine like meteors. There is magic in these pages.' Daisy Dunn, author of The Missing Thread
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus declared the earth revolved around the Sun, overturning centuries of scholastic presumption. A new age was coming into view – one guided by observation, technology and logic.
But omens and elixirs did not disappear from the sixteenth-century laboratory. Charms and potions could still be found nestled between glistening brass instruments and leather-bound tomes. The line between the natural and supernatural remained porous, yet to be defined.
From the icy Danish observatory of Tycho Brahe, to the smoky, sulphur-stained workshop of John Dee, Violet Moller tours the intellectual heart of early European science. Exploring its rich, multidisciplinary culture, Inside the Stargazer’s Palace reveals a dazzling forgotten world, where all knowledge, no matter how arcane, could be pursued in good faith.
'A scintillating journey into a world where discoveries rip through doctrine like meteors. There is magic in these pages.' Daisy Dunn, author of The Missing Thread
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus declared the earth revolved around the Sun, overturning centuries of scholastic presumption. A new age was coming into view – one guided by observation, technology and logic.
But omens and elixirs did not disappear from the sixteenth-century laboratory. Charms and potions could still be found nestled between glistening brass instruments and leather-bound tomes. The line between the natural and supernatural remained porous, yet to be defined.
From the icy Danish observatory of Tycho Brahe, to the smoky, sulphur-stained workshop of John Dee, Violet Moller tours the intellectual heart of early European science. Exploring its rich, multidisciplinary culture, Inside the Stargazer’s Palace reveals a dazzling forgotten world, where all knowledge, no matter how arcane, could be pursued in good faith.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2024
29 people are currently reading
558 people want to read
About the author
Violet Moller
5 books34 followersDr. Violet Moller is a freelance historian and author whose work focuses on the history of ideas and how knowledge has been transmitted through the centuries. She also hosts the history podcast Travels Through Time.
Moller started her career as a journalist, covering theatre, art, books, going out, music and culture in general. Her work has appeared in The Face, Arena, The Scotsman, Metro Scotland, and The List. She then worked as an editor and translator in Denmark. Her fist book, The Curious World of Dickens, was published in 2012. Her most recent book, The Map of Knowledge, was published in 2019 and received the RSL Jerwood Prize for Nonfiction.
Moller received her MA in classics and medieval history and her PhD in intellectual history from Edinburgh University.
Moller started her career as a journalist, covering theatre, art, books, going out, music and culture in general. Her work has appeared in The Face, Arena, The Scotsman, Metro Scotland, and The List. She then worked as an editor and translator in Denmark. Her fist book, The Curious World of Dickens, was published in 2012. Her most recent book, The Map of Knowledge, was published in 2019 and received the RSL Jerwood Prize for Nonfiction.
Moller received her MA in classics and medieval history and her PhD in intellectual history from Edinburgh University.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 18, 2025
Violet Moller's "Inside the Stargazer's Palace" was a very interesting book. The premise is that the "birth" of modern science is often thought of as starting with Francis Bacon and René Descartes, since they are credited with establishing natural observation, measurement, and experimentation as key determinants of a scientific process. While agreeing with this basic timeframe, Dr. Moller points out that these ideas of theirs didn't form in a vacuum. Rather, they are built upon the scientific foundations set by their predecessors and the intellectual world they set in motion.
While the aforementioned Bacon and Descartes, and soon to come Newton and Boyle, as well as the foundations of the Royal Society, are generally dated circa 1650 (Bacon) till the 1700s (Newton and Boyle), Dr. Moller's book shines a light on a previous era.
Starting in 1471, in the German city of Nuremberg, we are introduced to the revolution in scientific thought as craftsmen such as Peter Henlein developed the first known watch and other amazing timepieces, to Georg Hartwig who developed a caliber system for guns, to the German astronomer Johannes Regiomontanus who brought scientific knowledge north from Italy, including books on astronomy and Arabic and Greek written works. But the true shining lights of Nuremberg during this period are Albrecht Dürer (whose house I had the joy of visiting when in Nuremberg), a true trailblazer in the artistic world.
Then we move to Augsburg and meet, in the 1500s, the hideously rich Fuggers banking family that will have a huge impact on the funding of various artists and scholars.
In the mid-1500s, we will run into Dr. John Dee and his strange mix of science, astrology, and alchemy. Yet, at Louvain University, Dee will learn principles that will set up the sciences of astronomy (not yet a different entity from astrology), and other lesser-known lights, such as Gerardus Mercator, who will go on to design globes that will bring the idea of the world to the public.
The book continues through Mortlake (Dee's residence), Kassel (the brilliant Melanchthon), Hven ( Tycho Brahe), Prague ( Rudolf II of House Habsburg, who funded a great deal of art and science and turned Prague into a center of learning), and Atlantis (where we run into Francis Bacon and his ideas).
A brilliant book that looks at the people and locations that were instrumental in creating the foundations for the scientific revolution to come in the 1700s. A fun read and very interesting, it has the added pleasure of describing cities that I have traveled to (Nuremberg and Prague), and I appreciated the better picture it gave me of those cities. If you're looking to learn about the foundations of science in Europe in the 16th Century, then you will appreciate this great book.
While the aforementioned Bacon and Descartes, and soon to come Newton and Boyle, as well as the foundations of the Royal Society, are generally dated circa 1650 (Bacon) till the 1700s (Newton and Boyle), Dr. Moller's book shines a light on a previous era.
Starting in 1471, in the German city of Nuremberg, we are introduced to the revolution in scientific thought as craftsmen such as Peter Henlein developed the first known watch and other amazing timepieces, to Georg Hartwig who developed a caliber system for guns, to the German astronomer Johannes Regiomontanus who brought scientific knowledge north from Italy, including books on astronomy and Arabic and Greek written works. But the true shining lights of Nuremberg during this period are Albrecht Dürer (whose house I had the joy of visiting when in Nuremberg), a true trailblazer in the artistic world.
Then we move to Augsburg and meet, in the 1500s, the hideously rich Fuggers banking family that will have a huge impact on the funding of various artists and scholars.
In the mid-1500s, we will run into Dr. John Dee and his strange mix of science, astrology, and alchemy. Yet, at Louvain University, Dee will learn principles that will set up the sciences of astronomy (not yet a different entity from astrology), and other lesser-known lights, such as Gerardus Mercator, who will go on to design globes that will bring the idea of the world to the public.
The book continues through Mortlake (Dee's residence), Kassel (the brilliant Melanchthon), Hven ( Tycho Brahe), Prague ( Rudolf II of House Habsburg, who funded a great deal of art and science and turned Prague into a center of learning), and Atlantis (where we run into Francis Bacon and his ideas).
A brilliant book that looks at the people and locations that were instrumental in creating the foundations for the scientific revolution to come in the 1700s. A fun read and very interesting, it has the added pleasure of describing cities that I have traveled to (Nuremberg and Prague), and I appreciated the better picture it gave me of those cities. If you're looking to learn about the foundations of science in Europe in the 16th Century, then you will appreciate this great book.
January 22, 2025
Het Paleis van de Sterrenwachter neemt ons mee naar zeven locaties verspreid over West- en Centraal-Europa waar in de 15e-17e eeuw grote wetenschappelijke ontwikkelingen en vooruitgang werd bewerkstelligt. Moller zelf spreekt trouwens over 'Noord-Europa', maar sorry, je kunt steden als Leuven en Kassel moeilijk als Noord-Europa beschouwen vind ik.
De opbouw van het boek is gebaseerd op die plaatsen: elk hoofdstuk stelt één plaats centraal, waarin dan alle personages aan bod komen die daar gewerkt hebben aan voornamelijk astronomie, astrologie en alchemie en zo mee de wetenschap hun huidige vorm hebben gegeven. Die manier van indeling is erg origineel en verfrissend, maar ze brengt tegelijkertijd ook nadelen met zich mee. Ten eerste betekent het dat er geen sprake is van een chronologisch verhaal, maar eerder dat elk hoofdstuk zich naast de andere afspeelt, gelijktijdig dus. En ten tweede reizen de meeste van deze geleerden heel wat af, waardoor ze nu eens hier en dan weer daar zitten en in verschillende delen hun opwachting maken. Violet Moller probeert wel om er structuur in te brengen, en het moet gezegd: ze slaagt er nog tamelijk goed in ook, ook al leek het mij hier en daar toch beter geweest om een andere structuur te hanteren, die eerder chronologisch of op de personen gebaseerd was. Maar overlap zou nooit helemaal te vermijden zijn.
Een aantal van de namen die vermeld worden, zoals Kepler, Brahe, Bacon, Mercator & Dee zullen zeker sommige of de meeste mensen bekend in de oren klinken, maar het was zeer onderhoudend en verfrissend om te lezen hoe hun levensloop eruitzag - dat wordt voor de meeste hoofdrolspelers goed uit de doeken gedaan - en welke bijdrage ze aan de wetenschap hebben geleverd. Daarnaast staat er ook een hele resem minder bekende figuren klaar om in de schijnwerpers te komen, wat het extra interessant maakt. Van dit boek kun je echt wel het een en het ander leren.
De inhoud wordt gepresenteerd tegen de achtergrond van de geschiedenis, met name de opkomst van het protestantisme dat een grote invloed had, en de vernieuwingen en nieuwe inzichten in de desbetreffende wetenschappen, die generatie na generatie doorwerkten en voor doorbraken zorgden - en meermaals ook voor problemen met de Kerk. Daarnaast bevat elk hoofdstuk, en dus elke locatie, een geografisch-historische beschrijving, wat misschien minder relevant was, maar hoe dan ook zeker interessant. Het was tof om te lezen over een plek heel dicht bij huis - Leuven - waarbij dan ook nog eens geregeld de namen van Antwerpen en Brussel vielen.
De vertaling is van Theo Schoemaker, die knap werk heeft verricht met allerlei wetenschappelijke termen en gewoon ook voor een goed en vlot leesbare tekst heeft gezorgd in het Nederlands. Een paar keer - bij een extra lange zin - liep het eens mis en stond er een foute woordvolgorde, maar die zinnen waren ook zo lang dat ik zelf wel eens het spoor bijster werd, dus dat neem ik hem niet kwalijk.
7,2/10
De opbouw van het boek is gebaseerd op die plaatsen: elk hoofdstuk stelt één plaats centraal, waarin dan alle personages aan bod komen die daar gewerkt hebben aan voornamelijk astronomie, astrologie en alchemie en zo mee de wetenschap hun huidige vorm hebben gegeven. Die manier van indeling is erg origineel en verfrissend, maar ze brengt tegelijkertijd ook nadelen met zich mee. Ten eerste betekent het dat er geen sprake is van een chronologisch verhaal, maar eerder dat elk hoofdstuk zich naast de andere afspeelt, gelijktijdig dus. En ten tweede reizen de meeste van deze geleerden heel wat af, waardoor ze nu eens hier en dan weer daar zitten en in verschillende delen hun opwachting maken. Violet Moller probeert wel om er structuur in te brengen, en het moet gezegd: ze slaagt er nog tamelijk goed in ook, ook al leek het mij hier en daar toch beter geweest om een andere structuur te hanteren, die eerder chronologisch of op de personen gebaseerd was. Maar overlap zou nooit helemaal te vermijden zijn.
Een aantal van de namen die vermeld worden, zoals Kepler, Brahe, Bacon, Mercator & Dee zullen zeker sommige of de meeste mensen bekend in de oren klinken, maar het was zeer onderhoudend en verfrissend om te lezen hoe hun levensloop eruitzag - dat wordt voor de meeste hoofdrolspelers goed uit de doeken gedaan - en welke bijdrage ze aan de wetenschap hebben geleverd. Daarnaast staat er ook een hele resem minder bekende figuren klaar om in de schijnwerpers te komen, wat het extra interessant maakt. Van dit boek kun je echt wel het een en het ander leren.
De inhoud wordt gepresenteerd tegen de achtergrond van de geschiedenis, met name de opkomst van het protestantisme dat een grote invloed had, en de vernieuwingen en nieuwe inzichten in de desbetreffende wetenschappen, die generatie na generatie doorwerkten en voor doorbraken zorgden - en meermaals ook voor problemen met de Kerk. Daarnaast bevat elk hoofdstuk, en dus elke locatie, een geografisch-historische beschrijving, wat misschien minder relevant was, maar hoe dan ook zeker interessant. Het was tof om te lezen over een plek heel dicht bij huis - Leuven - waarbij dan ook nog eens geregeld de namen van Antwerpen en Brussel vielen.
De vertaling is van Theo Schoemaker, die knap werk heeft verricht met allerlei wetenschappelijke termen en gewoon ook voor een goed en vlot leesbare tekst heeft gezorgd in het Nederlands. Een paar keer - bij een extra lange zin - liep het eens mis en stond er een foute woordvolgorde, maar die zinnen waren ook zo lang dat ik zelf wel eens het spoor bijster werd, dus dat neem ik hem niet kwalijk.
7,2/10
April 4, 2025
Interesting read and perspective on the development of science during the 16th century. We travel through six European cities and get a quick overview of what was happening in these places on the scientific front. It gives insight in how the ideas of the renaissance spread from Italy over the Alps to northern Europe.
We meet multiple famous and less-famous figures who shaped 16th century science. Most of these people met each other at some point in Prague, the last historical city we travel to and a major hub for astronomers, mathematicians, alchemists etc. due to the facilities at Prague castle, which were an expression of Holy Roman Emporer Rudolf II's interests in early modern science.
Moreover, patronage is a recurring theme in the book. Most of the early modern scientists who weren't themselves extremely wealthy relied on funds from monarchs, dukes or other people in powerful positions.
Sometimes the book switched topic quite often in the same chapter. For instance, when a new character was mentioned, the backstory of that character would be explained in the following pages. While this can be helpful, I found it to be distracting from time to time.
All in all this was a great read and it sparked my interest in early modern science!
Note: I read the Dutch translation
We meet multiple famous and less-famous figures who shaped 16th century science. Most of these people met each other at some point in Prague, the last historical city we travel to and a major hub for astronomers, mathematicians, alchemists etc. due to the facilities at Prague castle, which were an expression of Holy Roman Emporer Rudolf II's interests in early modern science.
Moreover, patronage is a recurring theme in the book. Most of the early modern scientists who weren't themselves extremely wealthy relied on funds from monarchs, dukes or other people in powerful positions.
Sometimes the book switched topic quite often in the same chapter. For instance, when a new character was mentioned, the backstory of that character would be explained in the following pages. While this can be helpful, I found it to be distracting from time to time.
All in all this was a great read and it sparked my interest in early modern science!
Note: I read the Dutch translation
December 1, 2024
This was an interesting premise that ended up reading more like a scholarly article. If I wasn’t invested in the subject it would have been a hard read. As it is, I liked the focus shifting between cities that were major centers of emerging science, and the mini-biography style was fun at first… but after a while it’s just a lot of names. Favorite Guy(TM) has to be Regiomontanus cuz I like that he just named himself his hometown but in Latin
August 29, 2024
A really good summary of individuals and cities i hadn't much read into before during one of my favourite time periods. Definitely spiked my interest to find books to delve into by this author and these topics further.
August 21, 2024
I'm reviewing this properly for Sky at Night magazine (Sept or Oct 2024 I think), but overall I really liked it. Each chapter focuses on a different place, and is roughly in chronological order. We see instrument makers and printers such as Mercator & Gemma Frisius as well as better known practitioners of science such as John Dee & Tycho Brahe and the interconnected worlds they inhabited.
From a personal point of view, I really liked it for the way it gave me a picture of science in Northern Europe in the 16th century, linking together all these names that I had previously only known in isolation due to the work they'd left behind that had been used a century or so later. This is a much earlier period than those I know better, so it gave a background to that too, giving a sense of how ideas and objects and skill sets and technologies were initially developed.
From a personal point of view, I really liked it for the way it gave me a picture of science in Northern Europe in the 16th century, linking together all these names that I had previously only known in isolation due to the work they'd left behind that had been used a century or so later. This is a much earlier period than those I know better, so it gave a background to that too, giving a sense of how ideas and objects and skill sets and technologies were initially developed.
March 25, 2025
Best interessant maar heel veel informatie, teveel namen en verwezenlijkingen om te kunnen onthouden.
May 3, 2025
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/inside-the-stargazers-palace-the-transformation-of-science-in-16th-century-northern-europe-by-violet-moller/
As a lapsed historian of science, especially astronomy, I always like to keep an eye on things in that domain; this book, published last year, looks at astronomy in the immediate aftermath of Copernicus, through the focus of seven northern European locations, telling a story which is unfamiliar to most people from a slightly different angle. The chosen locations include Leuven (here ‘Louvain’), so it was of particularly local interest to me; also Prague, which we visited last year, John Dee‘s house at Mortlake, Tycho Brahe’s observatory-statelet on the island of Hven, and the fictional Atlantis of Francis Bacon. (The other two are Nuremberg and Kassel in Germany.)
The Leuven chapter did give me some more insights into our local history – although the Mercator museum is in Sint-Niklaas, it was in Leuven that he did most of his best known work in the 1530s and 1540s, and collaborated closely with the astronomer Gemma Frisius (and John Dee came to visit).
But I wasn’t totally convinced that the organisation of the book around geography really helps the reader’s understanding all that much. In the end, the history of ideas is a history of people, and the stories are stories of humans rather than of places, and it gets a bit confusing when the same person pops up non-chronologically in different chapters.
Also for us locals, it would have been nice to be more specific about the street addresses where these various individuals lived and worked, in case there is anything left to see today.
But I can’t complain too much; it’s a clearly written book which takes us from point A to point B efficiently, and certainly fills in a lot of blanks which I had not even realised were blank.
As a lapsed historian of science, especially astronomy, I always like to keep an eye on things in that domain; this book, published last year, looks at astronomy in the immediate aftermath of Copernicus, through the focus of seven northern European locations, telling a story which is unfamiliar to most people from a slightly different angle. The chosen locations include Leuven (here ‘Louvain’), so it was of particularly local interest to me; also Prague, which we visited last year, John Dee‘s house at Mortlake, Tycho Brahe’s observatory-statelet on the island of Hven, and the fictional Atlantis of Francis Bacon. (The other two are Nuremberg and Kassel in Germany.)
The Leuven chapter did give me some more insights into our local history – although the Mercator museum is in Sint-Niklaas, it was in Leuven that he did most of his best known work in the 1530s and 1540s, and collaborated closely with the astronomer Gemma Frisius (and John Dee came to visit).
But I wasn’t totally convinced that the organisation of the book around geography really helps the reader’s understanding all that much. In the end, the history of ideas is a history of people, and the stories are stories of humans rather than of places, and it gets a bit confusing when the same person pops up non-chronologically in different chapters.
Also for us locals, it would have been nice to be more specific about the street addresses where these various individuals lived and worked, in case there is anything left to see today.
But I can’t complain too much; it’s a clearly written book which takes us from point A to point B efficiently, and certainly fills in a lot of blanks which I had not even realised were blank.
September 23, 2025
This book picks up where Violet Moller previous work The Map of Knowledge: How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found: A History in Seven Cities left off. It describes the period when the Christianity in Europe splintered leaving room for the emergence of Scientific discoveries and a revolutionary rewriting in the field of Astronomy. The author takes readers on a journey around northern Europe featuring a cast of characters and locations that led to major advancements in several realms. If you enjoyed the previous work then this is a splendid sequel worthy of your time. Even if you have not read the abovementioned work you will derive a deal of joy reading about 16th century Europe.
October 4, 2025
Zeker interessant, vooral het gegeven dat Tycho Brahe toch maar een akelige dwingeland was. Met veel plezier de beschreven plekken in Google Maps opgezocht. Helaas verzanden de latere hoofdstukken wat in opsommingen. Zoiets als met films over waargebeurde verhalen die net voor de aftiteling nog even vlug het lot van de verschillende personages schetsen. Voor een film snap ik voor die oplossing, bij een boek minder. Ik heb het toen maar een poosje weggelegd eer ik het uitlas. Jammer, want het gaat om een spannende periode, die in het onderwijs misschien onderbelicht blijft.
March 21, 2025
Fascinating exploration of the flow of people, information, and innovation amongst some of those influencing scientific process in 16th century Europe. Can be a bit dense, and it wanders a little because there are so many possible relationship threads to follow, but is largely helped by tying it to the geography and watching the people appear in and move on from the node over time.
June 2, 2025
Part 1 of my big swings beyond my usual books/genres. An interesting read in (apparently) obscure figures in the history of science, and lots of things to learn about stars and our history with them. I’m very unfamiliar with this field and area of the world, so the people and places got a bit muddled up the further I got, but definitely worth my time in expanding my tastes.
September 30, 2025
I do not know why, but I found this book very difficult to read. The style of writing was hard for me to follow. I think the author is learned, even brilliant. And the book contained a lot of interesting information. But I read it very slowly and found it hard to keep my attention on it. I took a lot of breaks. I finally finished.
March 2, 2025
Interessante reis langs de kennisroute doorheen het vroegmoderne West-Europa.
Kon me wel minder bekoren dan de 7 steden.
Kon me wel minder bekoren dan de 7 steden.
April 21, 2025
I understand there is limited info on this period of history and at this level of society but felt like there was too much supposition merely to pad out what was known.
August 12, 2025
interesting, just not "map of knowledge" interesting
November 3, 2025
Interesting look at the move from cosmography to astronomy in northern Europe in the 16th-century. I liked the author's focus on various cities as loci of this intellectual movement.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews