Locations of events.

In the 21st century, marriages result from love matches in large parts of the world. Jane Austen’s popular novels show that this is a relatively recent historical development. After all, their heroines marry not just for love, but usually also for money.

The Reformation had far-reaching implications, also regarding the Catholic Church. The competition of the Protestants pushed the Catholic clergy to do something no saint had ever been able to do before: purifying the Church. In 1566, this reformed Church presented in its catechism what “new believers” were supposed to believe.

Can you imagine the Emperor of China sending Jesuits to the Papal Court to ensure the Catholic mission of China? This happened in the years after 1708. However, the arguments of the Emperor of China were far too reasonable to convince a Pope.

What role does God play in the human conception of the world? Are the natural sciences enough to explain the world’s miracles? That is no new question but a very old one, and also the people of the 18th century were confronted with it. They sought their solution in alchemy.

It’s one of the world’s most performed operas: Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. An artist’s edition draws inspiration from insular illumination, illustrating the text with Celtic motifs.