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Travels in the History of Languedoc, Part Three: The Abbeys of the Corbiers
In the previous two posts, I focused upon towns who suffered siege, massacre, and occupation during the period of the Albigensian Crusade as a result of the Church’s desire for homogeneous orthodoxy...
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Town Squares and Round Streets: Mediaeval Urbanism in France
Those of you who followed my journey through southern France a few weeks ago may remember the spectacular walls of Carcassonne or the inaccessible situation of Minerve, perched above a river gorge....
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Friday Photo: The Walls of Krakow
Today’s Friday Photo is of the mediaeval bastion of Krakow, with Florian’s gate behind. The city had been an inhabited site since prehistoric times, and by the 10th century was noted for its commercial...
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Domes of Blue and Gold: Royal Samarqand
Media outlets over the past year or so have been fascinated by the excesses of autocratic regimes, from Gaddafi’s golden gun to President Assad’s personal expenditures. This fascination with...
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Friday Photo: The Tower of Justice
Today’s Friday Photo depicts the Tower of Justice, one of the most prominent features of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Begun during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II ‘The Conquerer’, the palace...
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Light Upon Light: Abbot Suger and the Invention of Gothic
Several weeks ago, I had the good fortune to attend a day-long summit on innovation in the Pacific Northwest (where I live), including how to foster innovation, and who it benefits, and I came away...
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Crowning Perfection: The Welsh Castles of Edward I
England’s monarchy has long been associated with the territory of Wales. From Edward of Caernarfon, the first heir presumptive to be named Prince of Wales in 1301, to Elizabeth II’s son Charles, who...
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Friday Photo: The Palace of the Porphyrogennetos
Given the subject of my Christmas post, it seemed appropriate to follow the theme of imperial dignity to Constantinople itself, capital of the East Roman (later Byzantine) Empire for nearly one...
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Friday Photo: Down in the Valley
Today’s Friday Photo is a view of one of the rock-cut sanctuaries in Ihlara Valley, in Turkey. Christians began living in the canyon during the 4th century, a time when Egyptian ideas of retreat into...
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Topkapı: Military Encampment or Imperial Palace?
1453 is a year often portrayed as an ending. It saw the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, the city which for over 1,000 years had served as the capital of Byzantine culture and administration. Its...
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Friday Photo: Spamalot
Today’s rather foreboding photo continues with our Scottish theme by depicting Doune Castle. Commissioned around the turn of the 15th century by Robert Stewart, younger brother to King Robert the III,...
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