We will review the hot political and religious climate in which heliocentrism was reborn. We will question whether it was more than a love for science which motivated the medieval hierarchy to get behind Copernicus’ new theory. We will investigate lesser known facts about the celebrated champions of sun-centred cosmology, their powerful associations, and their hidden obsessions. 

Gathering the common threads which tie the various players together, we will follow the steady evolution of this paradigm, marking the dramatic effects it has had upon the character of society.