Renaissance Serial Killers

To celebrate Halloween, and while we are in an in between period, I thought it would be fun to discuss some creepy topics from the Renaissance. Today, we will focus on what real humans terrorized the people of the era. *Warning: This article will go over some graphic events and crimes that would be described…

The Printing Press & Johannes Gutenberg

One of the most important inventions of this period must be the printing press. It allowed the ideas of the time: art, music, and humanism to spread like wildfire. Without this invention, it could be argued that the Renaissance would not have propelled us from the Middle Ages. The thing is, the printing press was…

The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan

During the 14th and 15th centuries in France, lived a woman named Christine de Pizan, and she is the first female author of the Middle Ages. In a time when misogyny ran freely and unchecked, Christine de Pizan worked to build women up, and she was praised for it. She was born in Venice, Italy…

15th Century France

When we left France last century, they had been through an eventful 14th century with no signs of slowing down. We began the century in the middle of the hundred years war with King Charles VI, who was known first as the Beloved and later as the Mad. He was twelve when he took the…

Tarot Cards: Origins, Games, and the Occult

Cards from an 18th century Tarot deck

Salic Law

Do you remember learning about Joan II of Navarre and how her uncles worked tirelessly to keep her from the French throne by dreading up a forgotten concept called the Salic Law? Well, for the sake of transparency, Salic Law wasn’t actually used during that time, but applied later to justify those King’s actions. Truth…

Joan II of Navarre

To mark the beginning of women’s history month, it is appropriate to celebrate a woman often forgotten by history: Joan II of Navarre. The granddaughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre, born in 1312 to their eldest son Louis and his wife Margaret of Burgundy. Being their first grandchild, it is…

Palais de Papes

In 1503, Pope Clement decided to move the papacy to Avignon, France, but there was a conundrum of trying to decide where he would reside. While Philip IV wanted him close, he did not want to share his court with the head of his church. Clement had to find somewhere to house the papacy, and…