Textes, lecteurs et machinæ mnémotechniques dans la philosophie de Giordano Bruno

The philosophic and literary production of Giordano Bruno (1545-1600) is characterised by a constant issue about the mutual relationships between a text and its reader, both being the result of a reciprocal construction. In this article, we will focus especially on the Italian comedy The Candle Bearer (1582) and on the art of memory's treatise Cantus Circæus (1582) to show how the relation text/reader is essential to understand the philosophical implication of the two works. During the Renaissance, reading has to be considered an authentic assimilation exercise and the Art of memory was conceived as a tool to act on the soul. Through a very deep link with the reader, Bruno's works seek to renovate the human being and to shape his intellect according to the opus magnum of the universe.