Sabbatai Sevi: The Lost Messiah
In the 17th century news spread that the Jewish messiah had finally arrived. Within a year he had converted to Islam. Who was he, and what had happened?
In the 17th century news spread that the Jewish messiah had finally arrived. Within a year he had converted to Islam. Who was he, and what had happened?
Europe panicked when astrologers predicted a huge flood in 1524. When it failed to appear, astrology had to defend itself.
Lisbon’s convents were not just religious houses, but safe havens for the noblewomen of Portugal offering refuge from abusive husbands, unhappy marriages and a city swarming with ‘dogs and devils’.
For centuries, scientists and philosophers used phantom limbs to unravel the secrets of the human mind. While we know phantom pain exists, we still don’t know why.
Seen to be less capable because of their deafness, deaf artists in the Renaissance used their art as a powerful means of expression.
Early modern methods of execution were carefully calculated to inflict shame upon the condemned.
The Renaissance face provided clues about the wealth and health of its owner. Those who had been disfigured were often mistreated, but to alter one’s appearance carried a stigma of its own.
Does the intelligent sea mammal, long associated with Venus, the goddess of love, offer a clue to a lost jewel of the Renaissance?
We ask four historians whether the great advances of the Renaissance were extended to women.
The most powerful family of Florence and the most powerful man in the world offer a new solution to one of the most notorious crimes of the age.