Tavolette: Paintings to Comfort the Condemned
Charged with saving the immortal souls of the condemned, comforters held tavolette showing the Crucifixion in front of the eyes of those facing execution.
Coco De Mer: The Magical Derrière of the Sea
Once viewed as a precious item of mysterious origin, the seed of the coco do mer palm, though better understood today, remains a rare and valuable commodity.
Hocktide: A Medieval Fest of Flirtation and Finances
The springtime holiday of Hocktide not only allowed villagers to cross social boundaries in the name of fun, it helped them raise funds for nonsecular needs.
A Mother Superior’s Demons
What does it mean when an entire convent of Urusline nuns appears to be possessed by demons? Many things, as it turns out.
The Wild West of Papal Conclaves
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the death of a pope led to all sorts of chaos, from the destruction of art to armed violence in the streets.
It’s Not as Good to Be the King as It Used to Be
The trial and execution of Charles I irrevocably sundered the tradition of a divine, anointed king.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Annotated
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon reflects the complicated religious culture of eighteenth-century America, influenced not just by Calvinism, but Newtonian physics as well.
The Lady Who Might Have Been Queen of England
The failed campaign to put Lady Arbella Stuart in the line of succession began with a matchmaking scheme between her two grandmothers.
Martin Luther’s Monsters
Prodigies, or monsters, were opaque and flexible symbols that signaled that God was sending some message.
How Renaissance Artisans Turned Live Animals into Silver
Lifecasting was the renaissance art of making sculptures using molds taken from real-life plants and animals.