Popes: Power to the People
In the aftermath of the Reformation, the authority of the pope depended ever more upon the will of the people.
Religion
Celibacy, Misogyny, and Sodomy
The medieval insistence on clerical celibacy had dangerous and long-lasting consequences.
Pilgrims Processed
Muslims from Asia who wished to travel to Mecca on the Hajj were exploited by a trade in human cargo that grew with the opening of the Suez Canal.
Nero Versus the Christians
Was Nero the Antichrist? The bestial image of the Roman emperor persists in popular culture, but the truth is more complex.
History Wars
The cultural politics of papal Rome.
The Inquisition’s Secret Weapon
With the aim of converting souls rather than punishing them, the Jesuits were vital collaborators in the Roman Inquisition.
A Spiritual Wilderness
In the Victorian countryside, what did going to church on Sundays actually mean?
Holy Women and the Rise of Royal Power in France
Medieval French monarchs used – and abused – the charismatic power of religious women.
Inside the Ancient Bull Cult
King Minos and the Minotaur remain shrouded in mystery and mythology, yet evidence of a Bronze Age ‘Bull Cult’ at the Minoan palaces abounds. Were bulls merely for entertainment or did they have a deeper significance?
The Future of God in 1943
Christian thinkers whose lives and thoughts connected in 1943, when it looked like the Allies were on top and minds turned to the future.