Giordano Bruno publishes three mnemotechnical works, in…

Giordano Bruno publishes three mnemotechnical works, in which he explores new means to attain an intimate knowledge of reality, in 1582

He also publishes a vernacular comedy, Il candelaio (1582; “The Candlemaker”), which, through a vivid representation of contemporary Neapolitan society, constitutes a protest against the moral and social corruption of the time.

Bruno had moved to France, first to Toulouse—where he had unsuccessfully sought to be absolved by the Catholic Church but had nevertheless been appointed to a lectureship in philosophy—then in 1581 to Paris, where he has at last found a congenial place to work and teach.

Despite the strife between the Catholics and the Huguenots, the court of Henry III is now dominated by the tolerant moderate Catholic faction of the Politiques, sympathizers of the Protestant king of Navarre, Henry of Bourbon.

Bruno's religious attitude is compatible with this group, and he receives the protection of the French king, who appoints him one of his temporary lecteurs royaux.