Religion

Ian Mabbett considers how Buddhism, while preaching the rejection of society, simultaneously became a popular religion.

Francis Murphy challenges the idea that science was religion’s foremost enemy, in this winning essay in the 2001 Julia Wood Award.

F.G. Stapleton defends the record of Italian governments from 1861 to 1914.

Christine Lalumia sees the 1840s as the key moment in the creation of the modern celebration of Christmas.

David McKinnon-Bell assesses the degree to which Philip II's policies were motivated by religious zeal.

Michael Mullett shows how the reform of the Catholic Church in sixteenth-century Europe sprang from medieval origins but that, in important ways, it was affected by the Protestant Reformation.

P.G. Maxwell-Stuart examines the impact of early Christianity on notions of magic and definitions of witchcraft.

David McKinnon-Bell analyses the state of France around 1598 and explains why recovery under Henry IV was so rapid.  

Stewart MacDonald introduces the humanist scholar whose writings made him one of the most significant figures of 16th-century Europe.  

Debra Higgs Strickland examines the extraordinary demonology of medieval Christendom and the way it endowed strangers and enemies with monstrous qualities.