Whose Authority?
The separation of politics and religion has its roots in discourses over whether or not Pontius Pilate could be held guilty of having ordered ‘the death of God’.
Religion
The Long Legacy of a Short Life
A young Anglo-Saxon woman with a taste for the finer things in life is the unlikely inspiration for a new pilgrim route.
What Makes a Puritan Society?
Are we living in a new age of puritanism? And how would we know if we were?
Luther & Co.
Confronting Martin Luther’s ugly side.
Just a Book?
The story of Thomas Jefferson’s bible, his own version of the Gospels.
Blood, Stones and Holy Bones
The spiritual power of medieval relics meant that Jerusalem, or a dragon, could be remade anywhere.
Popes: Power to the People
In the aftermath of the Reformation, the authority of the pope depended ever more upon the will of the people.
Haiti’s Black Legend: Zombies, Cannibals and Werewolves
The complexities of Haitian Vodou were misunderstood and exploited by imperialists, with tales of human sacrifices and cannibalism a backdrop to the US invasion of 1915.
Execution of the Tailor-King
The bodies of Jan Bockelson, and two other leaders of the Anabaptist sect, were hung outside the church of St Lambert on 22 January 1536.
Celibacy, Misogyny, and Sodomy
The medieval insistence on clerical celibacy had dangerous and long-lasting consequences.