Faith · The East · Education · Society

Mongols take Baghdad on 10 February 1258, ending the Golden Age of Islamic culture

10 February 1258 is the day the Mongols took Baghdad. It is a very important milestone in history, whose influence is felt to this day. The battle for Baghdad is held to have marked the end of the Golden Age of Islamic culture. The bloody and devastating engagement put an

1834 caricature “A Point of Taste”: two bishops with huge white sleeves converse near two priests in golden vestments and mitres.

NB! · Archive · Faith · Mores · Humour

Anglican bishops mock the vestments of Catholic priests at Dublin Castle

An incident at Dublin Castle: Anglican bishops in absurd attire mock the flamboyant vestments of Catholic priests. Or why there is no disputing about tastes

An executioner with a sword stands by a prison window from which a headless body hangs, while a soldier bends over a platter with the saint's head.

NB! · Faith · Art · Museums

Giovanni di Paolo painted the beheading of John the Baptist in a cycle of 12 panels

The Imprisonment of John the Baptist, His Execution and the Presentation of the Saint's Head to King Herod. Giovanni di Paolo, 1455-1460. The whole life of the Baptist is depicted on 12 panels

Icon on a gold ground: Charles I in a lace collar holds a crown on his palm and a cross in the other hand, inscribed Carolus I Martyr.

NB! · Faith · Monarchies · People · Humour

Icon of Saint Charles I the Martyr, executed as a tyrant and traitor

Saint Charles the Martyr, executed as a tyrant, traitor and enemy of his country. Do pass this on to Poklonskaya, in case things don't work out for her with Nicholas II

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Humour

Donald Trump, a fragment of stucco decoration in the late Gothic Jerónimos Monastery near Lisbon, sixteenth century

Faith · Observations · Society

Lines from the Psalms of King David on injustice and lawlessness, applied to the state

The collected psalms of the Judaean king David say: "...he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood". This is about our state

Nativity scene on a staircase in a Baroque interior, with figures of the three kings on red cloth, fir trees and moss, and Mary and Joseph at the top.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Rome

Nativity scene on the Holy Stairs in Bonn, a copy of the Roman shrine

A nativity scene in Bonn has been set up on the famous Holy Stairs, an exact copy of the Roman relic. According to legend, Jesus once climbed this staircase in Pontius Pilate's palace, before it was brought to Rome in the time of Saint Helena

Faith · Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture

Citroën Lictoria given by André Citroën to Pius XI, the first modern popemobile

This six-cylinder Citroën Licorne was presented to Pope Pius XI by André Citroën himself on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. The car was fitted out specially for the Pope, and two hundred people worked on the project. For the bodywork, a non-standard burgundy was

NB! · Archive · Faith · Ethnography

Members of the Russian Doukhobor sect in Saskatchewan in 1907: the Doukhobors fled persecution at home, with the sponsorship of Leo Tolstoy and other benefactors, and founded a flourishing diaspora in Canada

A branch with oranges in front of a yellow stone church façade and a cobbled square.

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations · Humour

The Forbidden Fruit in Culture and Citrus Instead of the Apple in Renaissance Art

In our culture the forbidden fruit is personified by the apple, but with the masters of the Renaissance it is sometimes an orange or another citrus fruit. In any case, let me remind you: first the forbidden fruit, then the church, not the other way round!

A wide-brimmed red hat with gold embroidery and a bow in a museum display case, with a dark crucifix visible below it.

NB! · Faith · Monarchies · Museums · People

Hat worn by Pius VII in 1814 during his captivity under Napoleon in Savona

Pius VII wore this hat in 1814 during his captivity in Savona: the pontiff was shut up in confinement for refusing to submit to Napoleon. In the end Pius not only returned to Rome, but outlived Bonaparte

Baroque church facade with a central dome and two bell towers under an overcast sky.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Rome

The Church of Saint Agnes and the legend of its construction on the site of a brothel

The Church of Saint Agnes, a twelve-year-old girl who was publicly stripped, tortured and consigned to a brothel. They say the church stands on the site of that very brothel, but most likely this is merely a legend