TYCHO’S CONVERSATION WITH URANIA, AND OTHER ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE MUSE

Abstract

: In his own poetry, Tycho Brahe took inspiration from ancient Roman poetry by appropriating ancient theology: the god Apollo and the Muse of Astronomy, Urania. In so doing, he framed himself as being in a unique position to reveal the secrets of the cosmos. This study offers the first comprehensive analysis in English of Tycho’s Elegy to Urania , and traces sources that have not previously been identified. The first 52 lines of his deeply personal Elegy are presented here in English for the first time. This study also looks at Scottish epigrams in praise of Tycho, and a brief look at how other poets and astronomers (notably Corbinianus Thomas) employed Urania for their own purposes.