Search
Search Results

Definition
Castle Keep
The keep, located within a courtyard and surrounded by a curtain wall, was the heart of a medieval castle. The hall keep was a low building while the tower keep or donjon could have three or more floors and be topped by turrets and battlements...

Definition
Tower of London
The Tower of London is a castle located in London alongside the River Thames which was first built by William the Conqueror from c. 1077 and significantly added to over the centuries. Often referred to in England as simply 'the Tower', it...

Definition
Château de Chambord
The Chateau de Chambord, located in the Loire Valley of Loir-et-Cher, France, was built between 1519 and 1547 CE. This fine French Renaissance building, although impressive in both size and architectural detail, was commissioned by Francis...

Definition
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle, towering atop Castle Rock, has served Scotland for centuries, at one time or another acting as a fortress, royal residence, seat of government, armoury, and prison. The scene of countless sieges, royal births and deaths...

Definition
Bohemian Reformation
The Bohemian Reformation (c. 1380 to c. 1436) was the first concerted effort by Catholic clergy to reform the abuses and corruption of the medieval Church. Bohemian clerics and theologians called for reform and, like later advocates, initially...

Definition
Orleans Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Sainte-Croix) of Orleans in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France, was first built in the 13th century CE on the site of a series of older churches dating back to the 4th century CE. The cathedral, which...

Article
Colour & Technique in Renaissance Painting
There were three principal painting techniques during the Renaissance: fresco, tempera, and oils. In all of these techniques, colour was an important part of the painter's armoury, allowing them to create images that would strike a chord...

Article
Life in a Renaissance Artist's Workshop
The majority of great Renaissance works of art were produced in large and busy workshops run by a successful master artist and his team of assistants and apprentices. Here, too, more mundane art was produced in larger quantities to meet the...

Interview
Interview: Preclassic Maya
The genesis of Maya civilization in Mesoamerica was marked by an effervescence in the arts, the beginnings of their written language with glyphs, and a great attention to detail in the sphere of urban planning. Yet, despite these tremendous...

3D Image
Chapel Detail in Chillon Castle
The Chapel Saint-Georges was the private chapel for the Catholic dukes of Savoy in the Middle Ages. Although the chapel was no longer used after the Swiss Reformation in the 16th century CE, the room served as an attic and powder deposit...