Why we only call Galileo by his first name


	Why we only call Galileo by his first name

kelvin273

8-20-2009 4:47 AM

43 views

tags:

galileio, italy, names, science

kelvin273 says:

The full article gives a nice, detailed breakdown of the use of surnames in Renaissance Italy.

Add a Comment

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

Today's Top Clips

visit the Top Clips page

View the Top Clips from August 20, 2009

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/28aaf718-5d86-4de9-ba49-cdbc3ff8276e/7991FFE2-27DE-4429-9D2C-450CFAF0DF7B/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.slate.com/id/2225718/?from=rss" href="http://www.slate.com/id/2225718/?from=rss" style="font-size: 11px;">www.slate.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.slate.com/id/2225718/?from=rss"><P><SPAN class="imagewrapper"><A href="http://www.slate.com/id/2225726/"><IMG height="195" width="252" alt="Galileo Galilei. Click image to expand." src="http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/123073/2207907/2224166/090819_Exp_GalileoTN.jpg" /></A><LABEL class="caption">Galileo Galilei</LABEL></SPAN>Four hundred years ago this month, Galileo Galilei <A target="_blank" href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/224058/Galileo/8440/Telescopic-discoveries">presented his eight-powered telescope</A> to the Venetian Senate. He was soon working with a 20-powered telescope, and later that year, he proved that the moon's surface was rough, contrary to the prevailing view. Galileo went on to become one of the most recognized names in scientific history. But why do we call him by his first name only?</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.slate.com/id/2225718/?from=rss">Because that's how he referred to himself. At the time of Galileo's birth in 1564, surnames were optional in Italy. In daily interactions, an Italian would use the name his parents gave him at birth—what we'd now call a first name—and, if further clarification were required, add on his father's name (like <EM>di Antonio</EM>, or "son of Antonio"), his birthplace (<EM>Romano</EM>, or "from Rome"), his occupation (<EM>Pannetierre</EM>, meaning "baker"), or a traditional family surname (if one existed, like <EM>Galilei</EM>).</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/7991FFE2-27DE-4429-9D2C-450CFAF0DF7B/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

New from the makers of Clipmarks: Amplify.com - Don't just share the news...Amplify it!

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Today's Top Clips