Christianity in the 17th century 1640s. In 1610, Galileo Galilei published his "Sidereus Nuncius", describing observations that he had made with the new telescope. These and other discoveries exposed difficulties with the understanding of the heavens current since antiquity and raised interest in teachings such as the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. In reaction, scholars such as Cosimo Boscaglia maintained that the motion of the Earth and immobility of the Sun were heretical, as they contradicted some accounts given in the Bible as understood at that time. Galileo's part in the controversies over theology, astronomy and philosophy culminated in his trial and sentencing in 1633, on
The Royal Hunt of the Sun Music is a key element to this play, more so than any other by Peter Shaffer. He wanted strange and disturbing sounds produced on primitive instruments such as saws, reed pipes, drums (tablas and bongos) and cymbals to create the aural world of 16th Century Peru. Shaffer was so impressed with Marc Wilkinson's score for "The Royal Hunt Of The Sun", which he has described as "perhaps the best score for a play to be written since Grieg embellished "Peer Gynt"", that he now considers it integral to the play. The staging is relatively simple: an upper and lower part