Browse Items (202 total)

The papacy of Clement IX lasted only thirty months, from the summer of 1667 to December 1669. His papacy is primarily remembered if at all for a truce of sorts in the Jansenist controversy, discussed later in this exhibit, but Clement IX was also…

The Ratification of the Treaty of Munster was a pivotal event in the Peace of Westphalia, which brought an end to the Thirty Years’ War in Europe. The treaty was signed in 1648, alongside the Treaty of Osnabruck, and they established two major…

The Peace of Westphalia, as represented in the above image of the ratification of the treaty of Münster, finally brought an end to the 30 years war in 1648. (Wiesner-Hanks 323). This peace had major impacts on all of Europe, but especially the…

Spanish history has long been intertwined with the Catholic faith. Spain is famous for spreading and defending the religion wholeheartedly, and its Catholic tendencies are etched into its cultural identity. The devotion of King Philip II (reign…

Considered by many to be the masterpiece of Girolamo Fracastoro, an Italian poet, physician, astrologist and geologist, this manuscript was the first text to suggest the idea of germ theory. In it Fracastoro suggests the idea of disease-causing…

Rudolph II was a Hapsburg who served as Holy Roman Emperor from 1576 - 1612. While his reign is mostly remembered for his strange behavior and his lack of political competence, he was also one of the most important patrons to the arts and sciences in…

Glikl was a Jewish businesswoman who advised her husband on business matters while raising their twelve children. She took over the whole business at his death, rescued “her eldest son from repeated bankruptcies, and expanding into new markets”…

This painting by Han Holbein the Younger is titled "Noli me Tangere" and is an example of art from the Protestant Reformation period. The period was characterized by a change in art in both Catholic and Protestant regions, though the change in…

This late 16th century German automaton mimics in miniature a masted galleon that would have sailed across the Atlantic to the New World. Designed to carry troops and guns, the actual galleon was specifically manufactured for a European navy with…

Saint Wilibrord’s Basilica was built in Hulst, Netherlands sometime around 1200, before gradually being renovated and improved upon over the years (Wikipedia). The Basilica was originally Roman Catholic, with architecture in the Romanesque fashion.…

Though not entirely political in nature, "On the Nature of Man" established a concept of medicine that remained in prominence for much of European history until the Scientific Revolution, humoralism (discussed week four of HIST 139). The text…

In 1588, Spain sent out a fleet of around 130 ships that they called ‘la felícissima armada’ or ‘the most fortunate fleet,’ to attack Britain and transport troops to her shores. This failed attack took on a legendary place in British national…