MetaFilter posts tagged with france and religion

The Surprisingly Accurately Named Thirty Years War

Kattullus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:32:07 -0800

The Thirty Years War is a website covers that ginormous kerfuffle that consumed Europe in the first half of the 17th Century from the Second Defenestration of Prague to the Peace of Westphalia. It has a handy map with a place locator which will help you tell your Schweidnitz from your Schweinfurt. Here are some other maps, The Religious Situation in Central Europe about 1618, Principal Seats of War, 1618-1660 and Europe in 1648 - Peace of Westphalia.

The Beziers Massacre.

rdone — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:06:42 -0800

"Kill them all. For God knows His own." Today is the 800th anniversary of the massacre of the inhabitants of the town of Beziers in Languedoc, in the south of France, known by the Romans as Gallia Narbonensis. Beziers was the first town to be sacked in the Albigensian Crusades to extirpate the Christian heresy of Catharism, which flourished in Languedoc. The Albigensian Crusades represented the initial application in Europe of religious warfare sanctioned by the resurgent medieval Papacy, and led directly to the institution of the Inquisition and rise of the Dominican Order.

Chartres, virtually

thomas j wise — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:59:44 -0800

Chartres: Cathedral of Notre-Dame offers photographs, diagrams, antique prints, and maps of Chartres Cathedral. And that's not the only virtual Chartres site: there's a tour courtesy of San Jose SU and a more elaborate tour (requires Quicktime) offered by the Art History department at Ithaca College. Among other things, Great Buildings features some 3D models (additional, albeit free, software required to view). Speaking of virtual experiences, you can walk the Chartres labyrinth (see here for a more technical description). And don't forget video, including this National Geographic short on the cathedral's architecture; you can also listen to the bells.

Simon Vostre

thomas j wise — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:59:27 -0800

The late-fifteenth/early-sixteenth century French publisher Simon Vostre was renowned for his Books of Hours. Adoration of the Magi and Dives and Lazarus (first two images) (Bridgeman Art Library) Annunciation to the Shepherds (Lambeth Palace Library) Book of Hours (Bryn Mawr) Book of Hours (Einar Hansen Library) Book of Hours (Wake Forest) Book of Hours (Grolier Club) Book of Hours (scroll down) (Charlie Jensen) Book of Hours (University of Manitoba) Book of Hours (BYU Idaho) Book of Hours (Dance of Death) (Medieval Macabre) Book of Hours for the Use of Rome (scroll down) (British Library) Delphic Sibyl (ArtBase) Flight into Egypt and Adoration of the Trinity (scroll down) (Bridgeman Art Library) Hore Marie virginis scd[u]m vsum Saru[m]... (Bryn Mawr) Les lunettes des Princes Nativity (Princeton) Planetary Man (Morgan Library) Vostre's printer's device The device in color

Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail

huskerdont — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 12:11:41 -0800

Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail. Best known as the drummer for 1970s punk band The Damned, Rat Scabies grew up with a father interested in the mysteries of the French town of Rennes-le-Château, which may or may not contain the Holy Grail and in the enigmatic priest Berenger Sauniere. Conspiracy theories surrounding the town first popped up in the 1970s book Holy Blood, Holy Grail and gained a certain amount of infamy in recent years from The DaVinci Code. Upon striking up a friendship with his neighbor, journalist Christopher Dawes, Scabies discovered common interests in conspiracy theories and all things paranormal and a shared hatred of the DaVinci Code. Now the pair wrote a book about their alcohol-sodden quest for the Holy Grail that asks the question: What happens when an ex-punk rocker goes looking for the Holy Grail?

The Seven Capital Sins - Revised!

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:31:36 -0800

Hey, It's Not Enough We Die Of Obesity without having to go to Hell too? Some enlightened Frenchmen are bending the Pope's ear, trying to spring Gluttony from the Deadly Sins blacklist. Well, even clever old Thomas Aquinas did his damnedest to narrow the seven buggers down. So: which sins would you excuse today's poor sufferers from and which ones would you insist on keeping, if any? [Something tells me MetaFilter is ideally suited to put in a good word for Sloth. I wonder why? Speaking of which, NYT reg. is required but you can read about it here instead. Via Arts and Letters Daily.]