![]() As a native German speaker he joined the "German Nation of Bologna University". In the autumn of 1496 he travelled to Italy, entering the University of Bologna on 19 October 1496, to start three years of study. So that he might have the necessary qualifications Copernicus decided to go to the University of Bologna to take a degree in canon law. His uncle Lucas Watzenrode was still determined that Copernicus should have a career in the Church and indeed this was a profession which would allow security for someone wanting to pursue leaning. He returned to Toruń after four years of study at Kraków but, as was common at the time, did not formally graduate with a degree. It was while he was a student at Kraków that Copernicus began to use this Latin version of his name rather than Kopernik or Koppernigk. Remarkably Copernicus's copies of these works, signed by him, are still preserved. While a student in Kraków, Copernicus purchased a copy of the Latin translation of Euclid's Elements published in Venice in 1482, a copy of the second edition of the Alfonsine Tables (which gives planetary theory and eclipses ) printed in Venice in 1492, and Regiomontanus's Tables of Directions (a work on spherical astronomy ) published in Augsburg in 1490. ![]() Also taught as a major part of astronomy was what today we would call astrology, teaching students to calculate horoscopes of people from the exact time of their birth. Rather they were mathematics courses which introduced Aristotle and Ptolemy's view of the universe so that students could understand the calendar, calculate the dates of holy days, and also have skills that would enable those who would follow a more practical profession to navigate at sea. One should not think, however, that the astronomy courses which Copernicus studied were scientific courses in the modern sense. He learnt his astronomy from Tractatus de Sphaera by Johannes de Sacrobosco written in 1220. There he studied Latin, mathematics, astronomy, geography and philosophy. University education at Kraków was, Copernicus later wrote, a vital factor in everything that he went on to achieve. Andreas, Nicolaus's brother, entered the University of Kraków at the same time, and both their names appear on the matriculation records of 1491- 92. By this time Lucas Watzenrode was Bishop of Ermland and he envisaged a church career for both of his nephews. After three years of study at Włocławek he entered the University of Kraków (situated in what was then the capital of Poland ). In 1488 Nicolaus was sent by his uncle to the cathedral school of Włocławek where he received a good standard humanist education. Nicolaus and his brother Andreas remained in Toruń, continuing their elementary education there. You can see a picture of Lucas Watzenrode at THIS LINK. ![]() His uncle Lucas Watzenrode, who was a canon at Frauenburg Cathedral, became guardian to Nicolaus and Barbara Koppernigk's four children. When young Nicolaus was ten years old his father died. You can see a picture of the house in which Copernicus was born at THIS LINK. Nicolaus and Barbara Koppernigk had four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom Nicolaus Copernicus was the youngest. They moved into a house in St Anne's Street in Toruń, but they also had a summer residence with vineyards out of town. Nicolaus Koppernigk married Barbara Watzenrode, who came from a well off family from Toruń, in about 1463. He was also interested in local politics and became a civic leader in Toruń and a magistrate. His father, also called Nicolaus Koppernigk, had lived in Kraków before moving to Toruń where he set up a business trading in copper. The original form of his name was Mikolaj Kopernik or Nicolaus Koppernigk but we shall use Copernicus throughout this article. Biography Nicolaus Copernicus is the Latin version of the famous astronomer's name which he chose later in his life.
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