The Borgias:
The name of Borgia is synonymous with the political corruption, greed, incest and murder rife in Renaissance Italy. Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, the first man clearly to have bought himself the papacy, and two of his infamous illegitimate children, Cesare and Lucrezia, were the three central figures of the Borgia dynasty, seizing power, wealth, land and titles through bribery, marriage and murder. Lucrezia, rumoured to have been a poisoner and the lover of her father and brother may have been as much their victim as their accomplice. Examines how far the myth of the Borgias is borne out by the historical facts.
 
Borgias
Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths, and Profanity in English:
Swearing in the English language has a long history that encompasses a rich variety of modes, including heroic oaths, sacred undertakings, profane and blasphemous curses, taboo insults charged with sexual and excremental "four-letter" words, competitive foul language, and racist "hate speech." Tracing the history of this intriguing cultural phenomenon from its Anglo-Saxon traditions and those of the Middle Ages, through Shakespeare, the Enlightenment, and the Victorian Era to the Lady Chatterley's Lover trial and various current trends, Geoffrey Hughes explores a fascinating, little-discussed, yet irrepressible part of our linguistic heritage.
 
Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths, and Profanity in English
Plant and Floral Woodcuts for Designers and Craftsmen:
419 Renaissance illustrations from Clusius's botany. Beautifully rendered, accurate. Use directly, or adapt them.
 
Plant and Floral Woodcuts for Designers and Craftsmen: 419 Illustrations from the Renaissance Herbal of Carolus Clusius
The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe:
Mounted encounters by armored knights locked in desperate hand-to-hand combat, stabbing and wrestling in tavern brawls, deceits and brutalities in street affrays, balletic homicide on the dueling field — these were the martial arts of Renaissance Europe. The first complete study of the martial arts in Europe from the late fifteenth to the late seventeenth century.
 The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe
Road to Divorce: England 1530-1987:
Much has been written about the history of the family and how marriages were made in England: this is the first book to tackle the problem of how, why, and on what scale they are broken. Written by the leading historian of family life, 'Road to Divorce' provides the first full study of a topic rich in historical interest and directly relevant to contemporary society. Hardcover, 460pp
 
Road to Divorce: England 1530-1987
Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624-1713:
A vivid portrait of English life in the Caribbean more than three centuries ago. Using a host of contemporary primary sources, Richard Dunn traces the development of plantation slave society in the region. He examines sugar production techniques, the vicious character of the slave trade, the problems of adapting English ways to the tropics, and the appalling mortality rates for both blacks and whites that made these colonies the richest, but in human terms the least successful, in English America.
 
Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624-1713
 
Doctrine for the Lady of the Renaissance
 Sacrificed for Honor: Italian Infant Abandonment and the Politics of Reproductive Control:
Reveals a shocking and little-known system for the surveillance and control of unmarried mothers and their children that operated in Catholic Europe for nearly three centuries, ending just a century ago. Pregnant single women in 19th-century Italy, threatened with the loss of their own and their families' honor, gave their babies to foundling homes, where hundreds of thousands of children died from starvation and disease.
 Sacrificed for Honor: Italian Infant Abandonment and the Politics of Reproductive Control
Prices, Food, and Wages in Scotland, 1550-1780:
the first study of Scottish price history to be published, and a major contribution to the economic and social history of early modern and pre-industrial Britain. A path-breaking contribution to the perennial debate on the standard of living of ordinary people prior to the onset of industrialisation.
 
Prices, Food, and Wages in Scotland, 1550-1780
From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present:
How many times in one's life does one get to welcome a masterpiece, which, without a doubt, this amazing work certainly is? If you're not used to sitting on the edge of your seat for 750 pages, saying "Well, I'll be damned!" every paragraph or so, you should go into training before taking on From Dawn to Decadence, Jacques Barzun's intensely engaging history of Western culture after 1500. A big Paperback, 912pp
 
From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present
 Brood of Vipers: Being the Fourth Journal of Sir Roger Shallot Concerning Certain Wicked Conspiracies and Horrible Murders Perpetrated in the Reign of King Henry VIII
|
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling:
A fascinating look at the Italian Renaissance through the saga of the painting of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. Battling against ill health, financial difficulties, domestic problems, inadequate knowledge of the art of fresco, and the pope's impatience, Michelangelo created figures so beautiful that, when they were unveiled in 1512, they stunned his onlookers. Writer Ross King, who made a splash with "Brunelleschi's Dome", has an astonishing knowledge of European cultural history. Those seeking a richer understanding of Renaissance art-making will find this a pleasure.
 
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
 
Origins of English Individualism: The Family, Property and Social Transition
Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia:
In 1663, an indentured servant, Anne Orthwood, was impregnated with twins in a tavern in Northampton County, Virginia. Orthwood died soon after giving birth; one of the twins, Jasper, survived. Orthwood's illegitimate pregnancy sparked four related cases that came before the Northampton magistrates -- who coincidentally held court in the same tavern -- between 1664 and 1686.
 
Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia
Codex Wallerstein:
Now for the first time, the text and drawings are available to scholars and martial artists in printed form in the original Middle High German, Modern German, and English translations. In this work the reader will find a great deal of instruction on thrusting at or closing in against an opponent.
 
Codex Wallerstein: A Medieval Fighting Book from the Fifteenth Century on the Longsword, Falchion, Dagger, and Wrestling
The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories: This is the story of politically astute astronomers and cardinals who have to reconcile church doctrine with Galileo's universe. Heilbron deals specifically with four cathedrals, which, as a result of the "Easter date problem," function as both houses of worship and excellent solar observatories. ...lingers lovingly over forgotten instruments...a history of astronomy during the scientific revolution...offers an enlightening perspective on astronomy, Church history, and religious architecture, as well as an analysis of measurements testing the limits of attainable accuracy, undertaken with rudimentary means and extraordinary zeal. Above all, the book illuminates the niches protected and financed by the Catholic Church in which science and mathematics thrived.
 
The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories
Michelangelo and the Renaissance:
Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries saw the most glorious rebirth of sculpture and painting since the times of ancient Greece and Rome. Among the highest achievements of the era were the works of Florence's Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564).
 
Michelangelo and the Renaissance
Shakespeare Stories:
What was top of the charts in Tudor Times? Want to know which Shakespeare story has had the number one slot since the 16th century? Shakespeare's stories as you've never seen them before! Suitable for ages 12 and older.
 
Shakespeare Stories
One Thousand and One Scrolls, Ornaments and Borders:
Include Baroque, Rococo, Victorian, etc. Illustrations of corners, scrolls, cornucopia, chinoiserie, festoons, ribbons, much more.
 
One Thousand and One Scrolls, Ornaments and Borders: Ready-to-Use Illustrations for Decoupage and Other Crafts
Children of Henry VIII:
The fascinating tale of murder, jealousy, religious fanaticism, and political scandal among 16th-century British royals. Alison Weir succeeds not only in bringing to life Henry VIII's heirs but also in illuminating the background to the aftermath of their turbulent years—the Elizabethan era. "Excellent and Outstanding." Written by Alison Weir.
 
Children of Henry VIII
Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights:
The painting has been interpreted as a heretical masterpiece and a condemnation of Catholicism. But the author compares Bosch’s vision with the humanistic theories of Thomas More and Willibald Pirckheimer and suggests that the painter’s aim was not to evoke the end of the world, but to investigate how the world would exist had the Fall not happened. Enhanced by an exquisite fold-out reproduction of the original painting, this fascinating study is an important contribution to the literature and theory surrounding one of the world’s most enigmatic artists.
 
Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights
Rare and Out of Print Books
|
Travel through time from the comfort of your living room. Join us as we explore the age known as the Renaissance, or re-birth, which began around 1400-1450 AD. Ancient Greek and Roman art were rediscovered, and artists, sculptors and scientists were inspired by a humanistic outlook that, combined with Christianity, produced masterpieces such as the Pieta, Sistine Chapel, the dome on St. Peter's Church in Rome, Leonardo's inventions and anatomy drawings and the discovery of the Americas. Maritime competition and trade led to the exchange of new ideas and knowledge.
CONTINUE
