The Astronomer and the Witch: Johannes Kepler's Fight for his Mother by Rublack Ulinka;

Author:Rublack, Ulinka; [Rublack, Ulinka]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780198736776
Publisher: OxfordUP
Published: 2015-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

9

Katharina’s Imprisonment

As witnesses arrived to make their depositions about Katharina in 1619, Christoph Kepler, through the thick, frosty glass roundels of his first-floor room, might have watched their dark figures moving early in the morning across Leonberg’s market square to the town hall. The year before he had moved from the rear of the building, with its unappealing view, to the privileged front elevation. Life was cramped outside as much as inside. In front of the house was a dungheap. Goods were unloaded on the market square, customers entered the ground-floor workshops, and animals roamed at the back, among stored craft materials and agricultural produce. At least twice that we know of, Kepler lost his temper when several carts blocked his access to the back of the house and he burst out swearing ‘for heaven’s sake’, only to be duly reprimanded at the local court.1 The Keplers still shared the house with the tanners, who had moved to the back with their four little boys and girls. While the young tanner’s family multiplied, Christoph and his wife lived with just one daughter for many years.2 A baby girl named Anna had perished shortly after her birth, in 1618. Only in 1619 did six-year-old Agnes get another sister. She was called Margaretha. Was it mere coincidence that Christoph never passed on Katharina’s name?

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.