The Medici Podcast
Primary Source Reading: I Modi
I Modi is the first published book to be censored by order of the Catholic Church. It wasn’t so much its sexual explicitness that drew the ire of the Pope, but the book’s joyful celebration of sex without procreation, among other things. Support the show on Patreon here to hear it. Source Read: Romano, Giulio;…
Primary Source Reading: The Articles of the Peasants of Stühlingen
In 1524, the peasants of Stühlingen came up with 62 written articles of complaint to be submitted to the imperial courts of the Holy Roman Empire. This articles represented, though, grievances peasants across Germany had with the clergy and the nobility, which would explode into the German Peasants’ War. Support the show on Patreon to…
Martin Luther on Trial
Martin Luther braves persecution by the Church to come to the city of Worms to have his case heard by Emperor Charles V. In this contest between a reviled monk who is the son of a mine owner and a monarch whose empire spans an ocean, the victor is perhaps not the person one would…
The “Journalist” Who Covered the Ottoman Invasion of Egypt
Writing in the years of 1516 and 1517, an inhabitant of Cairo likely witnessed firsthand a new era as Egypt lost its independence and was forcibly annexed by the Ottoman Empire. However, he not only observed the collapse of the old regime, but also the toll it took on the people. Sources: Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s…
The Erotic Publication That Scandalized Renaissance Europe
The apprentice of a legendary artist, the first publisher in history to be sued over copyright, and a famous satirist team up to create a provocative work of erotica that enraged the Pope himself. Sources: Romano, Giulio; Raimondi, Marcantonio; Aretino, Pietro; and Waldeck, Count Jean-Frederic-Maximilien. I Modi: The Sixteen Pleasures, An Erotic Album of the…
The German Peasant Who (Almost) Started a Revolution
A young German herdsman draws crowds while preaching about the evils of the nobility and the clergy and a new world where goods and land are shared. In hindsight, he is offering the elites of the Holy Roman Empire a warning about the near future, but will they listen? Sources: The German Peasants’ War: A…
The African King Who Had a Portuguese Name
The Kingdom of Kongo establishes a rare partnership with an up-and-coming European power, Portugal, to the point that the King of Kongo and his family embrace Christianity and take Portuguese royal names. However, this partnership will also be ground zero for one of the greatest atrocities in human history. Sources: Almeida, Marcos Abreu Lelitão de.…
The First Printed Book Banned By The Church
A genius prodigy sets out to change the world by resolving all philosophical and religious disputes with one book, his own 900 Theses, and a debate in Rome between Europe’s brightest intellectual lights. And he will leave his mark on history, just not in the way he wants… Sources Cited: Hanegraaf, Wouter J. Esotericism and…
Age of Anxiety: Prelude
As the sixteenth century begins following plague, turmoil, traumatic defeats, and the discovery of new continents, people from all faiths feel that the end of history and salvation are at hand while others look to the past to find hope for the future.
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