The Jesuit order is one of the most unique formations in world history: it united all the contradictions of the violent and witty, fanatical and sinful-criminal transitional era that gave birth to it and, in turn, shaped its very face.
Its founder, Ignatius of Loyola, was a phenomenon of the post-medieval period, a mix of a daring knight and...
The Jesuit order was characterized by an admirable ability: it could personalize each person's task according to their natural inclinations and abilities, and place everyone in the role where they could be most useful. This virtuoso technique of human resource management is the reason why vastly different opinions about the Jesuits have emerged...
The question arises: was this Catholic ruler somewhat insane? His son, Don Carlos, was undoubtedly so; as was his grandmother, Joanna, who was already labeled with the nickname "The Mad." In Philip, the specifically Habsburg psychosis took on a fully developed form.
When discussing the early modern culture of the Netherlands, everyone first thinks of painting. This painting was rooted in a healthy sense of reality and a broad, prejudice-free outlook, which the world-encompassing imperialism bestowed upon the entire nation. Holland also shared the characteristics of all merchant-dominated power: prosaicness,...
In every era, one particular art form holds hegemony: in the Renaissance, it was sculpture, and in the Baroque, it was music. The turn of the 16th century marks the birth of modern music, with a series of significant innovations gaining ground. The sonata, the instrumental work, becomes the victorious opposite of the cantata, the vocal composition:...
Pascal is unique: he was both the most modern and the most Christian spirit of his time. His exceptionally sharp logic and clear insight met with passionate and profound religiosity. He was the clearest mind that his homeland ever gave to the world, and he was the finest soul anatomist of his century: beside him, Descartes seems like a mere...