Tobias Capwell continues his history of jousting through surviving artefacts at the Royal Armouries. He reveals how the jousts and tournaments of the Renaissance transported knightly combat into a performance art, with demonstrations of aristocratic skill, superhuman strength and cutting-edge equipment.
First discovered in a Hungarian library in 1838, the Rohonc Codex keeps privileged company with some of the most famous unsolved writing systems in the world, notably the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disk, and Linear A. Written entirely in cipher, this 400-year-old, 450-page-long, richly illustrated manuscript initially gained considerable ......
Explores the western European idea of the witches' sabbath, based on translations of five texts dating from the 1430s, and examines how these texts went on to influence conceptions of diabolical witchcraft for centuries to come.
Explores the sociogenesis and development of the French royal mistress, examining the careers of nine of the most significant holders of that title between 1444 and the final years of the ancien regime.
This magnificent publication illuminates the life and reign of Henry VIII and shows how his influence still resonates down the centuries as sportsman, king and icon. A stunning range of new imagery complements the text, presenting many of these pieces as they have never been seen before in glorious high definition.2009 saw the 500th anniversary of ......
ISBN-13: 9780948092626
(Hardback)
Publisher: UNICORN PRESS Imprint: TRUSTEE ROYAL ARMOURIES
Examines the life of Catherine of Aragon, focusing on her personal possessions and the items she bequeathed to those she left behind, to better understand her as a daughter, wife, widow, mother, and friend; a collector of art and books; a devout Catholic; and a patron of writers and universities.
This study examines the logistics of the First Crusade. The author analyzes how its participants managed to feed and sustain themselves across diverse landscapes, travel through foreign kingdoms, and have the ability to capture the holy city of Jerusalem.
This masterly study of King Henry VI, unparalleled in its informative detail, examines the entire span of the king's reign, from the death of Henry V in 1422, when Henry was only nine months old, to the period of his insanity at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, his dethronement in 1461 and his murder ten years later.
The Forgotten History of Britain's White Slaves in America
Tells the story of the thousands of Britons who lived and died in bondage in Britain's American colonies. This book demonstrates that the brutalities usually associated with black slavery alone were perpetrated on whites throughout British rule.
A Renaissance Treatise on the Healing Properties of Gemstones
In early modern Europe precious and semiprecious stones were valued not only for their beauty and rarity but also for their medical and magical properties. Lorenzo de' Medici, Philip II of Spain, and Popes Leo X and Clement VII were all treated with expensive potions incorporating ground gems such as rubies, diamonds, and emeralds. Medical and ......
Scarlett is a university graduate with a master's in biophysics and a chip on her shoulder. Artie is a retired professor of art history. They've been hired by a wealthy collector to authenticate a cache of paintings discovered under the floorboards of an Italian townhouse. And they've taken an instant--and intense--dislike to each other. The ......
Entangled Memories and Emotional Loss in Early America
Untangling the private feelings, ambitions, and fears of early Americans through their personal writings from the Revolution to the Civil War. Modern readers of history and biography unite around a seemingly straightforward question: What did it feel like to live in the past? In Longing for Connection, historian Andrew Burstein attempts to answer ......
Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625), an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a noble family, was one of the first women artists of Europe to establish an international reputation during her lifetime. This book explores the evolution of Sofonisba Anguissola's art from her training in Cremona, through her service at the court of Philip II ......
This book explores the influence of classical texts upon early European settlers and inhabitants of the Tidewater region of Virginia, addressing how Greek and Roman literature and culture shaped and sometimes challenged prevailing assumptions about personhood, liberty, town planning, and representative government in Virginia during the period of ......
A Tragic Tale of Slavery, Smuggling, and Chocolate
A little-known story of mutiny and murder illustrating the centrality of smuggling and slavery in early American society On the night of June 1, 1743, terror struck the schooner Rising Sun. After completing a routine smuggling voyage where the crew sold enslaved Africans in exchange for chocolate, sugar, and coffee in the Dutch colony of ......