By Dale Kent (NHC Fellow, 1985–86) Cosimo de’ Medici (1389–1464), the fabulously wealthy banker who became the leading citizen of Florence in the fifteenth century, spent lavishly as the city’s most important patron of art and literature. This remarkable book is the first comprehensive examination of the whole body of works of art and architecture … Continued
By Annabel Jane Wharton (NHC Fellow, 1985–86; 2002–03; 2016–17) Jerusalem currently stands at the center of a violent controversy that threatens the stability of both the Middle East and the world. This volatility, observes Annabel Jane Wharton, is only the most recent manifestation of a centuries-old obsession with the control of the Holy City—military occupation and … Continued
By Paula Sanders (NHC Fellow, 2002–03) This book argues that the historic city we know as Medieval Cairo was created in the nineteenth century by both Egyptians and Europeans against a background of four overlapping political and cultural contexts: the local Egyptian, Anglo-Egyptian, Anglo-Indian, and Ottoman imperial milieux. Addressing the interrelated topics of empire, local … Continued
By Patricia Waddy (NHC Fellow, 1984–85) "Buildings have lives in time," observes Patricia Waddy in this pioneering study of the relation between plan and use in the palaces of the Borghese, Barberini, and Chigi families. Waddy reconstructs what was done at precise moments in a building's life, relating these acts of building to the needs … Continued
By Lynda L. Coon (NHC Fellow, 2004–05) In Dark Age Bodies Lynda L. Coon reconstructs the gender ideology of monastic masculinity through an investigation of early medieval readings of the body. Focusing on the Carolingian era, Coon evaluates the ritual and liturgical performances of monastic bodies within the imaginative landscapes of same-sex ascetic communities in northern Europe. … Continued
By Roger Stalley (NHC Fellow, 1985–86) An Account of the White Monks from 1142 to 1540.
By Pamela O. Long (NHC Fellow, 2012–13) Between the catastrophic flood of the Tiber River in 1557 and the death of the “engineering pope” Sixtus V in 1590, the city of Rome was transformed by intense activity involving building construction and engineering projects of all kinds. Using hundreds of archival documents and primary sources, Engineering the … Continued
This webinar introduces historical architecture as an important—if fragile—record of past societies. Particularly in global regions where current political realities create fear, misunderstanding, and continuing conflict, surviving buildings serve as powerful markers of their inhabitants’ negotiations and co-existence. Historical structures are, in fact, indelible reminders that “the past is…not even past yet.”
I had never felt so small, in the moments I sat and looked down towards the trees and pyramids surrounding me. Where I sat was the top of The Masks Temple, it was a gift from the king Jasaw Chan K’awiil I in honor of his queen Lady Kalajuun Une’ Mo’. The Mayans had slept, … Continued
I had been to the Virginia State Capitol many times since I moved to Richmond in 1989. I’ve viewed proceedings in the House and Senate chambers, held meetings for students, given several lectures in the meeting rooms, and toured the building with family, friends, and students. Yet, until I took part in the Humanities in … Continued