Coornheert, Dirck Volckertsz.
(1522-1590) Dutch humanist and scholar
As a young man Coornheert, who was born in Amsterdam, read widely on religious matters, eventually adopting a brand of evangelical humanism which brought him into conflict with both Catholics and reformers. From 1566 he was also associated with william the silent in the political struggle against Spain, an involvement which forced him to withdraw into exile in 1568, where he acted as the prince’s political agent in Cleves. Returning to Holland in 1572, Coornheert became embroiled in a serious theological controversy with orthodox Calvinists, defending his views on free will. His writings influenced the young Arminius (appointed to refute Coornheert but in large measure persuaded by him), and he is consequently seen as one of the forebears of arminianism.
A truly versatile figure, Coornheert was also an engraver and book illustrator, illustrating noot’s Das Buch Extasis (1576). From 1577 he was a notary at Haarlem, but moved to Delft and finally Gouda in 1588. He translated works by Cicero, Boethius, and Seneca, the Odyssey, and various tales from Boccaccio’s decameron. He also wrote poetry and plays and in his prose works, many of them polemics against the Calvinists, he strove to improve the quality of his native language. Zedekunst (1586) is modeled on the ethical treatises of the ancient Stoics. He also began, but left incomplete, a Dutch version of the New Testament.
Copernican system
The cosmological scheme advanced in copernlcus’s De revolutionibus (1543), contrary to the traditional geocentric astronomy of Ptolemy (see ptolemaic system). In the Copernican system the universe is centered upon the sun, around which the earth and all other celestial bodies revolve with uniform motion in perfectly circular orbits; in addition the earth rotates daily around its own axis (see illustration p. 121). In this simple manner Copernicus accounted for the observed rotation of the heavens by the daily movement of just one body. Many, however, considered it most implausible to suppose that the earth could move in such a manner. Buildings would collapse, it was objected, and stones dropped from a hand would not fall directly to the ground. Cavils of this kind continued to be raised for some time; until, in fact, they were only dispeled by the better analysis of the nature of motion offered by galileo and his successors.
On the matter of planetary orbits, however, Copernicus appears less innovatory. Like Ptolemy, he assumed without question that planets moved in circular orbits with a uniform velocity. Such a theory is far too simple to describe the planets’ paths as they move in their elliptical orbits with their varying velocities. Thus, to account, for example, for their variable velocities and their constantly changing distances from the sun, Copernicus found it necessary to locate each of the planets on its own epicycle. In this way he found himself as dependent upon eccentrics and epicycles as any Ptolemaic astronomer. It has been calculated that he actually increased the number of such constructions from the 40 of the Almagest to the 48 found in De revolutionibus. Complications of this kind persisted in astronomy until the time of kepler and his realization that planets moved in elliptical orbits.
Damaging theological objections remained. In the Bible Joshua, for instance, had commanded the sun, not the earth, to stand still (Joshua 10:12-13). Consequently, in 1616 the Holy Office placed De revolutionibus on the index librorum prohibitorum, where it remained until 1822. Kepler’s Epitome astronomiae Copernicanae met a similar fate in 1619.
Copernicus, Nicolaus
(1473-1543) Polish astronomer The son of a merchant, Copernicus was born at Torun and educated at Cracow university and at various Italian universities where he studied medicine and law. On his return to Poland in 1506 he served as physician and secretary to his uncle Lucas, Bishop of Ermland. On his uncle’s death (1512), Copernicus took up the post of canon of Frauen-burg cathedral to which he had been appointed in 1499. By this time he had already abandoned the traditional astronomy of antiquity (see ptolemaic system) and had begun to formulate the revolutionary system with which his name has been associated (see copernican system). The new system was first described in his Commentariolus, a brief tract completed sometime before 1514 and circulated in manuscript to interested scholars. Thereafter he worked out the details of the new system in an exact and comprehensive manner in his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543; translated as Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1952). Although it was complete in manuscript by 1530 Copernicus seemed, for no very clear reason, reluctant to publish his work. It was not, in fact, until rheticus arrived in Frauenburg in 1539 and intervened that Copernicus reluctantly allowed its publication. The work finally appeared just in time, according to popular legend, for it to be shown to Copernicus on his deathbed.
There were several other dimensions to the career of Copernicus. For much of his life Poland was under threat from the teutonic knights and Copernicus found himself on more than one occasion besieged by them and called upon to negotiate with them. He also, in his De monete (1522), wrote on the topic of Poland’s debased currency, and, according to some scholars, is to be credited with the first formulation of the principle, later known as Gresham’s law, that "bad money drives out good"
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium was first printed at Nuremberg in 1543 and republished during the Renaissance at Basle (1566) and Amsterdam (1611). There are facsimiles of the 1543 edition (Amsterdam, 1943) and of the 1566 Basle edition (Prague, 1971); the latter is edited by Z. Horsky and contains Tycho Brahe’s commentary on Copernicus’s work, as well as an introduction and notes in Czech, English, French, German, and Russian. There is an annotated English translation by A. M. Duncan, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (Newton Abbot, U.K., 1976). A more recent translation is that by Charles G. Wallis, published in the Great Minds series by Prometheus Books (1995).
Cornaro, Caterina
(1454-1510) Queen of Cyprus (1472-89)
A Venetian noblewoman, she married James II of Cyprus by proxy in 1468 in order to ally Cyprus with Venice. James died (1473), leaving Cyprus to Caterina and her unborn child (James III). After the infant James III also died (1474) Caterina needed Venetian support in order to deal with numerous conspiracies against her and the threat of Ottoman attack, but Venice gradually usurped her power and forced her abdication (1489). Retiring to Asolo, near Treviso, she entertained literary figures, including Pietro bembo who entitled his dialogue on love Gli Asolani (1505).
Cornaro, Luigi
(1467-1566) Italian dietician A member of the powerful Cornaro family of Venice, he spent the first 40 years of his life indulging his passion for food and drink. Threatened by his physician with imminent death if he continued to indulge himself, Cornaro resolved to restrict his diet drastically. Initially it was reduced to a daily intake of 12 ounces of food and 14 ounces of wine. Eventually, however, it was reduced to a single egg a day. Details of Cornaro’s austere regime were revealed in his Discorsi della vita sobria (1558). Assuming the accuracy of his birth date, Cornaro lived to be 98. See also: food and cooking
Cornelisz., Cornelis (Cornelisz. van Haarlem)
(1562-1638) Dutch painter
Cornelisz. studied under Pieter Pietersz. (Jonge Peer) in his native Haarlem before visiting Rouen and Antwerp. Back in Haarlem (1583) he collaborated with goltzius and Carel van mander in their academy. Cornelisz., who specialized in history and portrait painting, retained a strong mannerist influence (see mannerism) throughout his working life. His bravura approach to figure drawing and foreshortening is exemplified in The Massacre of the Innocents (1591; Haarlem).
Coronado, Francisco Vasquez de
(c. 1510-1554) Spanish explorer
Born in Salamanca, Coronado went to the West Indies and then Mexico, becoming governor of New Galicia (1538). He organized an expedition of several hundred Spaniards and Indians to find Cibola, site of the fabled "Seven Cities of Gold" reported by Fray Marcos de niza, but found only the pueblos of present-day New Mexico and Arizona (1540). Back in New Galicia (1542) he lost his governorship and was unsuccessfully indicted (1546) for his conduct on the expedition. He died in Mexico City.
Correggio, Antonio Allegri
(c. 1489-1534) Italian painter
He took his name from his birthplace, Correggio, east of Parma, but otherwise little is known of Correggio’s life. The obvious influence of mantegna on his work suggests that he may have studied in Mantua. Another influence was that of leonardo da vinci, seen in the softness that is characteristic of all but his earliest work; Correggio’s figures are however more sensual and fleshy than Leonardo’s. In about 1518 he went to Parma, where the following year he decorated a ceiling in the convent of San Paolo, before working on the dome of the church of San Giovanni Evan-gelista (1520-23). The resulting fresco depicted the 12 apostles on clouds around the figure of Christ ascending into heaven, sharply foreshortened as if seen from below. The same technique (known as sotto in su) was used with more daring foreshortening in his Assumption of the Virgin in the dome of Parma cathedral (1526-30), which again presents to the spectator standing beneath it a visually convincing ascent into heaven. Although the work was described by one contemporary as "a hash of frogs’ legs," this masterly illusionism of Correggio’s, a development of that first used by Mantegna, set the style for almost all future ceiling decorations.
Correggio’s oil paintings were equally bold in their composition, particularly his altar paintings, in which he also experimented with artificial effects of light. As well as religious paintings he painted a number of voluptuous mythologies, such as The Loves of Jupiter for Federico Gonzaga (1530 onward; various locations). He died in Correggio, having produced work that was to influence both baroque and rococo artists.
Corteccia, Francesco
(1502-1571) Italian composer and organist
From 1515 he served the church of San Giovanni Battista, Florence, in various capacities and was organist there from 1535 to 1539. In 1540 Corteccia was appointed maestro di cappella at San Giovanni Battista, at the cathedral, and at the Medici court. Corteccia made a substantial contribution to the early madrigal; he wrote many for particular occasions, the most famous being those composed for the wedding of Duke cosimo i to Eleonora of Toledo (1539). Corteccia also wrote a prologue, five intermedii, and an epilogue for the comedy, Il comodo, by Antonio Landi, which was performed at the wedding banquet. The intermedii were written for solo singers, ensemble, and varying combinations of instruments to depict different times of the day; these were published in Corteccia’s madrigal collection of 1547. His considerable output of liturgical music is less progressive than his secular compositions.
Cortes, Hernan
(1485-1547) Spanish soldier, conqueror of Mexico
Born at Medellin, Estremadura, Cortes studied law at Salamanca before emigrating to Hispaniola (1504). He married and farmed there until 1511, when he sailed with Diego Velazquez to Cuba, where he became chief magistrate of Santiago.
His 11-ship expedition to Yucatan made landfall early in 1519. He founded a settlement at Vera Cruz and made contact with the native Indians, who were awestruck by the white men with their guns, ships, and horses. After burning his ships to discourage desertion, Cortes marched to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital (now Mexico City). Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, greeted Cortes as a representative of the gods, but an Aztec attack on the Spaniards at Vera Cruz soon shattered the myth of the Spaniards’ divine invulnerability. Cortes went on the offensive, threw Montezuma into chains, and forced him to acknowledge Spanish sovereignty. Having drawn off some of his troops to defeat an expedition sent by Velazquez to supplant him, Cortes returned to Tenochtitlan to find fighting between the Spanish garrison in the city and the Aztecs. Montezuma was killed by his subjects while appealing for peace. The Spaniards fought their way out with heavy losses, but in July 1520 decisively defeated the Aztecs in the plain of Otumba. In August 1521 Cortes recaptured and destroyed Tenochtitlan.
Cortes’s account of the conquest, in five letters to charles v, was published, together with the first map of Mexico, in 1524. A full account, the Historia de la con-quista de Mexico, was written up by Cortes’ secretary and published in 1552. The fall of the Aztec empire allowed Cortes to develop Mexico as a Spanish colony. He also made expeditions into Honduras (1524-26) and lower California (1536). However, Charles never entirely trusted Cortes and, despite receiving the title of marquis of Oax-aca (1529), Cortes found his authority was curtailed and he was passed over for viceroy (1535). Disillusioned, he returned to Spain around 1540 but still failed to win Charles’s confidence. He eventually retired to die on his estate near Seville.
Coryate, Thomas
(c. 1577-1617) English traveler and writer
Born at Odcombe, Somerset, Coryate studied at Winchester and Oxford, but failed to graduate. As a young man he lived in the court of James I, earning his keep as an unofficial court jester and by exploiting his opportunistic talents to the full. In 1608 he traveled through France, Switzerland, and Italy, covering 2000 miles in five months. Styling himself the "Odcombian Legstretcher" (although he used other means of transport besides walking), Cory-ate on his return marketed himself with considerable success as a celebrity traveler. His quirky, anecdote-packed account of the journey was published as Coryate’s Crudities (1611). The following year he set out for the East, sending home reports of his experiences. From Constantinople he went to the Holy Land, then, attaching himself to long-distance caravans, walked through Turkey, Persia, and India, stopping at the Moghul emperor’s court at Ajmer, Gujarat, in 1615, before continuing to explore northern India. Still traveling, he died in Surat, but not before he had achieved his ambition of having a picture drawn of himself riding an elephant. Coryate’s five letters from India were published in pamphlet form (1616 and 1618), and purchas published an abbreviated text of the notes and diary Coryate had sent back from Aleppo in 1614.
Cosimo I de’ Medici
(1519-1574) Duke of Florence (1537-74), first grand duke of Tuscany (1569-74) Cosimo assumed power as a youth of 18, after the assassination of his distant cousin Alessandro. With initial support from Emperor charles v, Cosimo extended the Medici domains throughout Tuscany and in 1557 acquired Siena from the Spaniards, despite the efforts of francis i’s soldiers.
Cosimo and his officials established an efficient modern despotism. Tuscan government was integrated and public services were centered on the uffizi, designed by Cosimo’s superintendent of buildings, Giorgio vasari. Other public works included road building, the completion of the Palazzo Pitti for Cosimo by Bartolommeo am-manati, the refurbishing of the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Boboli Gardens. Cosimo supported the accademia della crusca, Etruscan archaeology and such artists as michelangelo, pontormo, and bronzino. In 1564 he resigned active government to his son Francesco.
Cosmology
The study of the nature of the universe. Traditional Renaissance cosmology derived ultimately from the metaphysics of Aristotle and the astronomy of Ptolemy (see ptolemaic system). The universe was divided into two fundamentally distinct parts. In the heavens celestial objects, composed from an incorruptible, quintessential matter, were carried around the earth by solid crystalline spheres. All such bodies moved in circular orbits with a perfectly uniform motion (Fig. 1). In contrast, below the sphere of the moon a more degenerate matter, subject to change and composed from the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), moved in more complex and varied ways. Superimposed upon this basically rational scheme there emerged a number of less realistic correspondences of which astrology is the best known. By the 16th century traditional cosmology was under threat. copernicus had shown that alternatives to Ptolemy could be plausibly developed (Fig. 2), while observations by brahe of comets revealed the nonexistence of crystalline spheres. Work by galileo demonstrated that the heavens were no less corruptible than the earth. The final rejection of the traditional cosmology came with Rene Descartes’ presentation of a more viable mechanical system in the 1640s.
Fig. 1. Ptolemaic system Cosmology
Cossa, Francesco del (
1436-c. 1478) Italian painter Born in Ferrara, Cossa was possibly a pupil, and later a rival, of Cosimo tura in that city. He also absorbed the influence of mantegna and the Florentine painters, while his best-known work, the fresco series the Months (completed 1470) in the Palazzo di Schifanoia in Fer-rara, clearly draws on parallel works by piero della francesca. Painted for the Este family, the series combines astrological themes with scenes of the daily life of the court and includes contributions by several of Cossa’s pupils. Cossa then spent seven years in Bologna, where he executed a notable polyptych for the altar of San Petronio (c. 1474), which included a Crucifixion (National Gallery, Washington) painted in the style of andrea del castagno.
Fig. 2. Copernican system
Costa, Lorenzo di Ottavio
(c. 1460-1535) Italian painter
Born in Ferrara, Costa probably trained under tura and was also influenced at an early stage by the works of er-cole de’ roberti and Francesco del cossa. Paintings from this period include The Concert (National Gallery, London). In 1483 he went to Bologna where he executed work for the Bentivoglio court, decorating the Bentivoglio palace and going into partnership with the Bolognese artist Francesco francia. After succeeding mantegna as court painter at Mantua (1506) his style became softer and more atmospheric in quality. Later works, which had a profound influence upon giorgione, include two Allegories (Louvre, Paris) painted for Isabella d’Este. In his last years his reputation in Mantua was somewhat eclipsed by that of giulio romano.
