Angels in our History: Heaven, Earth and Hell
Heavenly armies, angelic princes, guardian angels, avenging and death angels, renegade and fallen angels…. Angels have an important role in the history of mankind. But what are...
The Divine Garden: Back to Nature (Part 2)
Where does the term paradise actually come from? What does the lily have to do with eroticism? And what is a hortus conclusus? Flowers had an important...
Dantes Second Circle of Hell: Paolo and Francesca
Exactly 700 years ago today, on 14 September 1321, the poet Dante Alighieri died. As we are currently addressing the topic of “Lovers in the Middle...
Gold, Fruit of the Supernova
Gold has been the object of power and fascination since the dawn of our history. But where does gold come from? Why is it so important...
Brilliant games from the Middle Ages
Football, tennis, golf, handball… where do these games actually come from? Did they already exist in the Middle Ages? And which games were reserved for the...
My Favourite Miniature (1): Love Story Without Words
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. So why use them at all? This love story by an unknown author from medieval France consists only...
Recycling and Parchment: Sustainability Part 3
The handling of paper today is no longer the same as it was a few years ago. It was often recycled or reused for other purposes...
The Apocalypse and what causes it
The lamb has two symbolisms in the history of the Middle Ages: that of sacrifice and that of victory. But how does it relate to the...
Book Illumination: The Secrets of the Middle Ages in Pictures (3)
Now that we have explained the context of the miniatures, what to ask them, and which stylistic periods they cover, it is time to go into...
Book illumination: The secrets of the Middle Ages (2)
After a short introduction to understanding the miniatures and how to read them, the different periods of book illumination are explained. This ranges from insular book...