system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:How were (pre)renaissance scientiests paid for working on seemingly non-pragmatic ideas such as the motions of the planets etc.?

It seems like some scientists weren't set out to solve problems such as why does this wine turn sour, but many seemed to just be trying to find out more about what the hell is going on, however how did that bring an income for them to fund their experiments & time doing mathematics and scientific method?
gpt
Because then as now, some people were curious and wanted to know the truth. Including powerful and wealthy people. A king or queen interested in astronomy or astrology or alchemy would take a learned man under their wing and provide him with a place to live, a salary, and means to perform their experiments.

In some cases this is not exclusive with working on "practical" applications also, IIRC Galileo drew a monthly salary from the Medici family to advise them on practical matters of architecture, engineering, and others, which left him with enough time to perfect the telescope and peek at Jupiter.