Nov / Dec 2015

The Renaissance

HENRY: Looks like the printers can find him easily enough! He’s just published an attack against me as long as my magnificent, muscular arm! (Have you ever seen such a handsome arm as mine? Surely King Francis has not an arm as great as this!) … I am offended, sir! King Francis, are we not offended by this? FRANCIS OF FRANCE: I don’t care, and your arm is as fat as your head. LUTHER: I’m nearly done with my German Bible. Thank you for your excommunication papal bull, Holiness. It kept my hands warm upon a long night as it burned in my hearth! POPE: THAT’S IT, SOMEONE NEEDS TO FIND AND KILL THAT LITTLE MONK. MORE: I’m working on a refuting of his argument that will be longer than any other book in the history of refutations, and it will contain a great many insults too! Can’t we at least wait to kill him until after he’s read it?!? ERASMUS: I think if we sit down

ERASMUS: Now boys, I’m sure we can all get along. LUTHER: I’ve finished more pamphlets. My thesis was just me getting warmed up! Now I’m attacking your beloved saints and sacraments! POPE: HOW DARE YOU, SIR. I will excommunicate you if you do not desist forthwith! LUTHER: You have no authority over me. Only God has authority over me! Thou art a bag full of wind! KATHARINE: That’s it. Charles, you must do something about this at once! He is attacking the sacrament of marriage and you know how important marriage is to us—err, me. CHARLES V: Why is it my problem? KATHARINE: You are Holy Roman Emperor! Martin Luther is in your jurisdiction! Shut him up! CHARLES: I would like to, but no one can find him.

SIR THOMAS MORE: Something must be done about the corrupt Church. It needs reform. ERASMUS: I agree. It is not holy enough. MARTIN LUTHER: Yo! Check out my 95 Thesis about why the Church sucks! HENRY VIII: HERETIC! BUFFOON! YOUR ARGUMENTS ARE INVALID BECAUSE OF YOUR FACE! LUTHER: I’ve never known a ‘king’ to simper and whimper like a strumpet in a tantrum before! KATHARINE OF ARAGON: HEY! HENRY: More, do something about this insolent fool! Blast him with language as profane as his own! MORE: … thou art a dog, sir! A contemptible dog! Though not even the dogs shall lick your blood from the cobblestones after your death, your stench be so foul! LUTHER: LOL

Raphael

Page 4 Mary I Page 8 Ever After Page 10 Elizabeth I

Page 12 Michelangelo

Page 14 Katharine von Bora

Page 16 William Shakespeare Page 18 Art & Religion Page 20 Coming Soon: Classic Hollywood Faith & Martyrs … and more!

3

and talk to one another, we can— LUTHER: Pope is the antichrist. ERASMUS: Never mind. KATHARINA VON BORA: What’s this I hear about us not needing popes and stuff? I’ve been bored in this convent for years… can I just leave? LUTHER: Why not? Go forth and populate the earth with heretics! Life is simply not worth living unless you’re hated by every monarch, priest, bishop, and saint in Europe. KATHARINA: Sounds good. I agree. Life is too short not to have what you want. Let’s get married. LUTHER: Wait, what? HENRY: WHAT? POPE: WHAT??? MORE: WHAAT?? WILLIAM TYNDALE: Would now be a good time to mention I’ve finished an English translation of the Bible? No? Okay. I’ll just sneak it in then. HENRY : Charles, what have I told you about doing something about your German printers! They keep sneaking Luther’s tracts and now English Bibles into England! Can’t you control your armies? CHARLES: I’m a bit busy right now with the Peasant’s Revolt. LUTHER: Peasants should know their place. You’re the emperor, put them back in line! CHARLES: I would but I just lost control of my army. POPE: I noticed. They just sacked Rome! DO YOU KNOW WHERE I

AM? NOT IN ROME!! DO YOU KNOW WHERE MY STUFF IS? SMASHED. I’M NOT HAPPY. HENRY: Neither am I! How am I supposed to get my annulment from the Pope if he’s a prisoner of my (soon to be non) wife’s nephew? KATHARINE OF ARAGON: =) MORE: What annulment?!? HENRY: I WANT A DIVORCE. MORE: DON’T DO IT. LUTHER: DON’T DO IT. CHARLES: DON’T DO IT. ANNE BOLEYN: DO IT. ERASMUS: Can’t you just have two or three wives instead? Seems fair. KATHARINE: I’m the one who gave $$ to educate the English scholars. Like they’re going to turn on me? You’re going to lose, Henry! HENRY: I WON’T!! I’M KING!! ANNE: Henry, don’t argue with your not-wife. You know damn well she’s smarter than you. HENRY: I love you, peaches. ANNE: I love you too, sweetums. KATHARINE: You make me sick. HENRY: I’ll dissolve the Church and create my own where I can divorce you and marry Anne! And we’ll see how you like that! I’ll show you smarter! MORE: Bad idea. KATHARINE OF ARAGON: :’( HENRY: =D =D =D ♥

IN THIS ISSUE:

© Charity’s Place. No copyright infringement intended. All written content is original and may not be reproduced without consent. Disclaimer: the opinions of the individual writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Charity’s Place or Femnista; the stories and entertainment mentioned is not always appropriate viewing for all ages. Visit charitysplace.com for future issues, information, movie reviews, and more.

BY JAIME DONOVAN Deposition of Christ, 1507

aphael (Raffaello Sanzio

da Urbino) was one of the

great old masters of

painting during the renaissance

along with Michelangelo and

Leonardo da Vinci. He

was born in 1483 in

Urbino, Marches in

Italy to an influential

father that was a court

painter. This allowed

Raphael a certain

privilege that not

everyone experienced.

His mother died when

he was eight and his

father eventually

remarried but died

when he was eleven.

Raphael's stepmother

and uncle Bartolomeo,

whom was a priest,

took care of him as he

grew up. He didn't have

any siblings as a result

of his parents’ early

death. Raphael was

shown how to paint by

his father and was able

to get an early start in

life as a painter. Even

though his father died

when he was young, the

position he had held

while he was alive let

young Raphael be around

courtiers and receive an

education in court manners,

literature, and the arts.

In Raphael's time an artist

needed to apprentice in a master

artist's workshop for years to

master it meant you were fully

trained, could create

masterpieces, and take on

assistants / apprentices.

During the

renaissance, a

person had to go

through all these

steps to become

an artist. Most

people that

succeeded were

men, and very

few women were

allowed to

apprentice.

Raphael began

his

apprenticeship

at seventeen

under Pietro

Perugino which

lasted about

four years

according to one

source, while

another says he

was fully

qualified in

1501. Some of

the details of his

life remain

vague.

Nonetheless

Raphael was heavily influenced

by Perugino early in his career

and later on by Michelangelo and

Leonardo. Raphael often traveled

and created paintings of

Madonnas (“my lady”) and other

portraits. In 1508 he was called

by Pope Julius II to court in

learn art. Afterward they would

attempt to create their own

works of art and if their artist’s

guild approved, they could open

their own professional workshop.

During the renaissance, artists

guilds (a professional association

of artists) could make or break

an artist’s career. Only if the

guild in your region recognized

you as a master artist could you

proceed. Once you were called a

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1507

5

Rome and he chose to live there

for the rest of his life. An

architect, Donato Bramante,

sneaked Raphael into the Sistine

Chapel where he was given a

private view of the ceiling.

Julius II preferred Raphael and

let him paint a portrait of

Michelangelo in The School of

Athens frescoe inside the Sistine

Chapel in Michelangelo's style

(the artist in purple and red at

lower center). Though they may

have been rivals, Raphael was

still in awe of him. He was also

hired to complete four “Raphael

Rooms.” Unfortunately he died

before he saw their completion

and his assistants from his

workshop had to finish them.

Raphael was commissioned to

creativity and aesthetics. Before

the renaissance, the arts were

considered a “trade” and artists

weren't seen as any different

from a local stonemason. This

idea changed during the

renaissance, when art became far

more respected and celebrated

for its mythologies and beauty

alongside the advancements in

humanism (the strong pursuit of

knowledge) and learning.

Eventually art was used to make

certain religious and political

views. Churches hired artists to

drive the importance of religious

leaders such as the pope and to

reinforce the power of God, the

divinity and sacrifice of Jesus ,

and any other ideas that a patron

or church wanted to reinforce.

create other great works of art

during his career. He actually

produced a lot of work during his

short life and had one of the

largest work-shops during the

renaissance, which was very

unusual at the time. Raphael

died on April 6, 1520. He never

married nor produced any

children that we know of, but to

put it kindly, Raphael was known

as a ladies man. The cause of his

death is hotly debated but

basically he had an acute illness.

Many people don't realize that

art during the renaissance was a

very political field. Many of us in

the present day understand art is

about creativity, expression,

ideas and freedom. Back in the

renaissance, art wasn't just about

The School of Athens, 1511

Artists also had to paint exactly what they

were commissioned to paint; they couldn't

just paint whatever they wanted, because

the way that artists survived back then

were through commissions by the wealthy

and churches. Commissions by churches

and wealthy families were coveted

positions. It was very challenging to get

hired and an artist had to have a lot of

talent and influence to accomplish it. The

great masters didn't really get along and

considered each other rivals. Michelangelo

and Leonardo said rude things about each

other and although Raphael admired and

copied Michelangelo, they didn't get along

either. Nonetheless, each master painter

left his own impact in history

Though Raphael had connections because

of his father, it is due to his creativity,

diligence, and talent that he became one of

the greatest painters that ever lived.

Connections can open a door but they can't

build an entire career; connections can't

buy talent nor tenacity.

As a Christian, I see our creativity as a

reflection that we are created in the image

of God. We desire to create because He

creates. This is proven in the Bible when

God gifts people with artistic talents

(Exodus 31: 1-6 and Exodus 35:35). ♥

OF THE RENAISSANCE

MICHAELANGELO (1475-1564): “The Creation of Adam”

LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519): “Annunciation”

SANDRO BOTICELLI (1446-1510): “Allegory of Spring”

Thomas More are based in

slander from the period, and

More refuted them violently,

denying that he tortured people

for information; he did put them

in the stocks, but did not “flog

Reformists” in his garden—he

had a man flogged for flipping

women’s skirts up over their

heads during Church prayers).

Fox is unreliable, but a defense

was made for him in the 1930’s

by Historian J.F. Mozley, who

doubted that one could “invent”

the stories in Book of Martyrs.

Considering his agenda (he was

openly, unapologetically biased

toward the Reformists), can we

trust him to have researched this

without a foregone conclusion?

The Stripping of the Altars:

Traditional Religion in England,

1400-1580 by Eamon Duffy

mostly focuses on the beliefs of

the period, but contains a whole

chapter on Mary challenging our

ideas of her reign. It asserts that

England did not yield to Reform;

Henry’s break from the Catholic

Church was seen by the populace

as a means of obtaining a divorce

from a beloved queen, and when

Mary took the throne, despite

her assertion that she would not

outlaw Lutheranism, many

Churches voluntarily reinstated

their Latin Mass and original

prayer books and teachings, to

general public satisfaction,

The author, John Foxe was a

Reformist; his intention was to

draw attention to the lives of the

martyrs and discredit and vilify

Catholics. The book was widely

read by the Puritans, and helped

mold public opinion in negative

ways toward Catholic monarchs,

which was helpful in dissuading

the public from trying to place a

Catholic usurper (Mary Queen of

Scots) on the throne. The stories

were reinforced over time, while

Reformist historians swept the

bloody, barbaric actions of

Reformist monarchs under the

rug. What better way to stay in

power than define the opposition

as a bloody tyrant?

Mary’s reputation started with a

bias, continued with an agenda,

and despite its questionable and

biased origins, is still propagated

as fact, which means we must ask

the reason why? What purpose

other than continued prejudice

against her faith causes us to

care more about those martyred

under her reign than that of any

other British monarch in history?

All we know about Mary’s reign

and how the populace responded

is propaganda; we can’t trust it.

Doubts about the reliability of

Foxe’s statistics are based in the

statements he produces as “facts”

refuted by his contemporaries

(certain nasty stories about Sir

H ow much of history

can we trust? Asking

that question leads to

a disquieting silence, because if

we begin to question established

history, it unravels. The truth is,

we can accept nothing and must

question the motives and sources

for everything that is established

as fact. In doing that, we find the

“facts” less factual than we might

have thought, and that history is

often defined not by the reality,

but the perceptions and biases of

those who recorded it.

This is never truer than in the

case of Mary Tudor. Though her

sister and father had many more

executions during their reigns, it

is she who has become known as

“Bloody.” Her father’s death toll

estimates at 74,000, including

cousins, wives, trusted advisors,

politicians, friends, governesses

to the royal children, and clergy.

A large portion of that number

comes from the Pilgrimage of

Grace, where a great many loyal

Catholic subjects rebelled against

the oppressive new Reformist

regimes that destroyed their

Churches and forbid them from

practicing their faith. Henry VIII

is the true “bloody” tyrant, but

Mary is given the title for the 284

Reformists burned at the stake

during her reign, if you go by the

numbers in The Book of Martyrs

first published in 1563.

BY CHARITY BISHOP

9

States, have gone a long way in

the unfair vilification of Mary;

her representation as a brutal

and unpopular ruler during her

reign (instead of cast that way

after her death) is reinforced by

cultural depictions of Mary that

show her in a negative light while

casting Elizabeth in a favorable

one. Much emphasis is placed on

Elizabeth’s virtues, reminding us

of her long, prosperous, popular

reign, her feminist ideals, and

her victories against the Spanish

Armada, while showing us a

nation terrorized by the Catholic

Mary, who burns “heretics” every

day and “sleeps with a sword

under her pillow,” she is so afraid

of the populace that despises her.

Bias toward Elizabeth is also

reflected in the greater emphasis

on her parents over Mary’s,

and how their mothers are

portrayed.

The “love affair” of Henry

and Anne Boleyn has been

told many times, and with

only a few exceptions the

story begins when Anne

first catches his eye. She is

young, pretty,

opinionated, and feisty; his

Catholic wife, Katharine of

Aragon, is dowdy, boring

and old, and he had to marry

her against his will. In truth,

Katharine was immensely

popular, wore a constant smile,

and kept the

because the populace had never

truly abandoned their traditional

roots. The Marian regime came

up with a long-term plan to

gradually reinstate Catholicism,

and incorporate Reform in the

publication of an English Bible

and new liturgies. Duffy states

the burnings, while deplorable,

were “accomplishing what the

Marian regime” intended to do,

and that was bring order. The

fires were “slacking off” toward

the end of her reign and may

have soon ceased completely. It

does not justify the actions of her

government, but it does raise the

question of if Mary had not died

so young, whether history would

have seen her in a far different

light (without Reformist bias)

once she reformed the Church.

In Foxe’s Reformist eyes, Mary

was a loathed Papist murderer.

His prejudices have carried on

into modern times, reinforced by

ongoing distrust and hatred for

Catholics generated during the

English Reformation. In Duffy’s

eyes, as a self-confessed “cradle

Catholic,” she is neither saint nor

monster, but overshadowed by

the burnings of the period, which

prejudice the reader and make

them less inclined to see her as a

well-intentioned but misguided

advocate for a different brand of

religious reform in England that,

had it been allowed to continue,

might have been successful. Both

men are biased, but together they

present a complex woman about

whom, tragically, the entire truth

will never be known.

Reformist influences in England

and by extension, in the United

company of the period’s greatest

intellectuals. Though devout, she

loved art, literature, and music;

her court was known for dancing,

pageants, and entertainment.

Her love story with Henry is as

romantic and tragic as that of

Henry and Anne Boleyn… so why

has it never entirely been told?

Favoritism toward Elizabeth, her

mother, and Reform, and bias

against Mary, her mother, and

Catholicism is obvious… my

question is, now that we are

aware of it, when will it end? ♥

Having spent many years

studying how to effectively tell a

story, I am fascinated by the way

it still manages to be

recognizable as the Cinderella

story despite changing the time

period, setting, character details,

and so on. By setting Ever

After solidly in Renaissance

France, the filmmakers are able

to keep many of the physical

trappings of a fairy tale: beautiful

dresses, royalty, coaches and

horses and country estates. But

they can also update the

sensibilities of the characters. An

educated, intelligent,

argumentative, outspoken

woman like Danielle (Drew

Barrymore) would feel out of

place in the more medieval

setting that typical fairy tales use.

Ever After had characters and

themes we could all appreciate.

It's 2015 now. I've been married

for over a decade; I have three

children; I'm living my own

happily-ever-after. And I still

love this movie. However, my

reasons for loving it have

changed a bit over the years.

Initially, I loved getting lost in

the triumphant story of how a

patient, hard-working, intelligent

girl is rewarded with love and

honor. It's what I love about

every retelling of the Cinderella

story, and I do still like it for

those reasons. Now, however,

I'm also drawn to Ever

After for the creative way it goes

about spinning the familiar tale

in new ways.

T he summer before I left for

college, my three friends and

I went to see Ever After, the

last movie we ever saw together

in a theater. After that summer,

we were never all four together

again. Life took us our separate

ways, and I've lost all contact

with one of those girlhood

friends, though I see the other

two once or twice a year . But at

the very end of July, 1998, we

were still friends, four girls who

had yet to fall in love with

anyone, who enjoyed fairy tales,

who wanted to wear Drew

Barrymore's butterfly dress and

lose ourselves in a sparkling

whirl of imagination.

It was a rare occurrence, all four

of us loving the same movie, but

BY RACHEL KOVACINY

But in the Renaissance, when

everything in the known world

was changing, when everyone

was fascinated with knowledge

and learning -- such a woman fits

quite nicely there.

And then there's Prince Henry

(Dougray Scott). He's also

intelligent, an emerging

intellectual, and initially more

interested in discussing abstract

concepts of love than in finding a

wife. Still

charming, but

not exactly the

easily-

enamored type

who will fall in

love with a

stranger the

minute she

steps into the

ballroom in a

pretty dress.

Which leads to

one of the

things I like

best

about Ever

After: no love

at first sight.

Call me unromantic, or boring,

or overly modern, but I am not a

fan of the idea of "love at first

sight." Attraction at first sight?

Sure. Lust at first sight? Sure.

But love? Nope. Love is deeper

than just emotions and

pheromones. Those can bring

together two people who then fall

in real love, absolutely. Which is

what happens here. The prince

encounters a pretty woman

embroiled in a vehement

argument. He's attracted to her,

yes. But more than that, he's

and intellectual in a fairy tale

might seem incongruous at first,

but it works beautifully here. In

fact, he's what ties the updated

characters and setting together

with the traditional story so well.

He embodies all the new,

marvelous ideas and pursuits of

the Renaissance, and can bring

art, science, and philosophy very

naturally into the story. Without

him, such topics might seem like

convenient plot devices, not

organic parts

of the world,

but with

Leonardo da

Vinci on hand,

they make

complete sense

in the story.

And with his

help, Danielle

and Prince

Henry can find

their happily-

ever-after as

well.

I might not

have a great

desire to wear body glitter and

fairy wings anymore, but my

desire for a good story well told

has not diminished. I know I'll be

enjoying and learning from Ever

After for years to come. ♥

interested in her. She's unusual,

spouting philosophy and

economics instead of twittering

about feelings and fashion. And

so he pursues her not because he

is already in love with her, but

because he wants to understand

her, to get to know her. And by

doing those two things, he then

begins to fall in love with her.

Danielle is attracted to Prince

Henry physically as well, but she

likes him more because he takes

her seriously than because she

appreciates his appearance or

rank. She isn't out to snag a

prince, or out to have a good

time at a fancy party -- she wants

to get to know and understand

him too. There's just that one

pesky problem of her being a

common servant and him being a

prince.

Who better to solve such a

problem than the ultimate

Renaissance Man, Leonardo da

Vinci (Patrick Godfrey). Having

such a famous artist, inventor,

FUN FACT: This story is set in an

“alternate history” of the period.

Utopia was published in 1516.

Leonardo Da Vinci died in 1519.

King Francis’ son Henry (born in

1519) married Catherine

de’Medici. Charles, the Spanish

monarch, was in his 20’s and

unmarried. And the queen says

“divorce is only something they do

in England” a full decade ahead of

Henry VIII’s divorce.

11

I t is well known by

now that the term

"renaissance"

translates to "rebirth"

and it is fitting that the

word is now used to

refer to the period in

Europe from the 14th to

the 17th centuries which

saw a flourishing of

ideas and culture.

Though the concept of a

rebirth was supposed to

bring to mind the

advances of the ancient

period, the Renaissance

progressed society in at

least one way that was

quite new—women in

positions of power.

Women had been the

daughters, sisters,

mothers, and wives of

rulers before this era and

often acted as regent for

underage sons who

would be future

monarchs but it was

during the Renaissance

that the idea of a woman

in charge in her own

right would be set as a

historical precedent.

Near the end of the

Renaissance, England's

Queen Elizabeth I would

become history's most

significant examples of a

powerful female ruler.

The circumstances of

Elizabeth's birth and BY RACHEL SEXTON

later ascendance to the throne

are obviously just as well known

as her reign itself. Her father was

Henry VIII whose love life made

him notorious. He was single-

minded in his pursuit of a male

heir, so much so that he broke

with the Catholic Church in order

to divorce his first wife,

Catherine of Aragon, and marry

Anne Boleyn who would give

birth to Elizabeth. Anne would

be beheaded before Elizabeth's

third birthday. Though she

was a King's daughter,

Elizabeth actually assuming

the crown was a distant

possibility due to the fact that

Henry had a daughter from his

first marriage, Mary, and a son

from his third marriage to

Jane Seymour, Edward. After

Henry's passing, the sickly

Edward died as well. Though

Edward named a distant

cousin, Lady Jane Grey, his

successor, she was deposed.

Mary was only shortly on the

throne until her own death.

Elizabeth was now queen as

the only Tudor heir left.

Elizabeth I assumed the crown

at the age of 25 and reigned for

nearly 45 years. Perhaps the

most important fact about her

time as a monarch is the fact that

she never married or had

children. She kept all the power

she wielded in her own hands

until she died; she seemed to

know that in a patriarchal world,

any husband she took would

become the ruler instead of her.

Her reign has also been called

"the Golden Age" and the reason

her reign. Though historically

inaccurate, the drama is

deliciously presented. After

initial setbacks, the audience

sees a consolidation of power for

the new Queen play out that

rivals those in organized crime

stories like The Godfather. Cate

Blanchett plays Elizabeth and

her performance is stunning. The

other film is Shakespeare in

Love and an aging Queen takes a

small but commanding role

in the narrative. Played by

Dame Judi Dench, Elizabeth

is on screen for less than 10

minutes but viewers sense

her imperiousness,

mischievousness, and love

for art. The quality of both

productions cannot be

overstated: Shakespeare in

Love won the Oscar for Best

Picture that year and both

ladies were nominated for

Oscars in their respective

categories, with Dench

winning in hers.

Queen Elizabeth I remains

one of the most powerful

women of the past, and is a

true Renaissance queen,

reigning near the end of that

period and being an unshakable

part of the growth of culture that

defines that time. Other women

wielded power during the

Renaissance, such as Mary

Queen of Scots and Catherine de

Medici, and England has had

Queen Victoria and the current

Elizabeth II on the throne since,

but in the scope of history

Elizabeth I still rules. ♥

why is what firmly sets it as a

part of the Renaissance. In the

military arena, England's defeat

of the Spanish Armada in 1588

ranks as one of the best victories

in the country's history and its

maritime dominance under

explorers like Francis Drake was

well established. Drama in

England reached a staggering

peak as well, with the Bard

himself, William Shakespeare,

and also Christopher Marlowe

working during this time.

In terms of screen time in film

and television, Elizabeth I gets a

vast share. The year 1998 was a

particular high point with

regards to this; it saw the release

of two films in which her

character was a significant part.

Elizabeth is a sumptuous

production covering her coming

to the throne and early years of

13

the project becomes a battle of

wills fueled by artistic and

temperamental differences

that form the core of this

movie. The Agony and the

Ecstasy is ultimately an

intimate film about an epic

work. Heston and Harrison

are excellent, and the process

of creating a masterpiece is

fascinating. Alex North’s score

gives heart and humanity to

divine inspiration. The film was

nominated for an Oscar in

Cinematography and named one

of the year’s best films by the

National Board of Review.

Michelangelo “sketched his

roughhewn young contandino

just in from the fields, naked

except for his brache, kneeling to

take off his clodhoppers; the

flesh tones a sunburned amber,

the figure clumsy, with graceless

bumpkin muscles; but the face

transfused with light as the

young lad gazed up at John.

Behind him he did two white-

bearded assistants to John, with

beauty in their faces and a

rugged power in their figures.

He experimented with flesh

tones from his paint pots,

enjoyed this culminating

T he Agony and the Ecstasy

(1961) is a biographical

novel of Michelangelo

Buonarroti and his troubles

while painting the Sistine Chapel

at the urging of Pope Julius II,

written by American author

Irving Stone. Stone lived in Italy

for years, visiting many of the

locations in Rome and Florence,

worked in marble quarries, and

apprenticed himself to a marble

sculptor. A primary source for

the novel is Michelangelo’s

correspondence, all 495 letters of

which Stone had translated from

Italian by Charles Speroni and

published in 1962 as I,

Michelangelo, Sculptor.

Part of Stone’s novel was adapted

to historical drama in a film by

the same name in 1965, starring

Charlton Heston as Michelangelo

and Rex Harrison as Pope Julius

II. When the pope commissions

Michelangelo to paint the ceiling

of the Sistine Chapel, the artist

initially refuses. Virtually forced

to do the job by Julius, he later

destroys his own work and flees

to Rome. He evades the pope’s

guard and flees into the

mountains, where he becomes

inspired. Eventually resumed,

BY MARIANNA KAPLUN

“The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.” — Michelangelo

Unknown believed portrait of Michelangelo

“Pope Julius II” by Raphael

physical effort of bringing his

figures to life, clothing them in

warm-colored lemon-yellow and

rose robes.”

Raphael: For what is an artist in

this world but a servant, a

lackey for the rich and

powerful? Before we even begin

to work, to feed this craving of

ours, we must find a patron, a

rich man of affairs, or a

merchant, or a prince or... a

Pope. We must bow, fawn, kiss

hands to be able to do the things

we must do or die. We are

harlots always peddling

beauty at the doorsteps of

the mighty.

Michelangelo: If it comes

to that, I won't be an

artist.

Raphael: [scoffs] You’ll

always be an artist. You

have no choice.

After Ghirlandaio looks at

Michelangelo’s sketches of

Christ drawn with a

stonemason as the model,

he tells Michelangelo the story of

Donatello showing his newly

carved crucifix to Brunelleschi,

who observes that it seems to

him Donatello has, “put a

plowman on the cross, rather

than the body of Jesus Christ,

which was most delicate in all its

parts.” Donatello, upset by his

friend’s criticism, challenges

Brunelleschi to make Christ’s

figure himself. When

Brunelleschi presents his own,

newly finished crucifix,

“Donatello, who could not take

his eyes off the beautiful Christ,

answered, ‘It is your work to

make Christs, and mine to make

the Pope’s army is threatened by

French and German forces, and

cardinals recommend fleeing

Rome to safer territory. The

painting scaffolds are torn down,

and the commission is given to

Raphael. Insulted and beaten,

Michelangelo packs for Florence.

Raphael, impressed with the

work done, pleads with

Buonarroti to finish his work.

Contessina de’Medici, a former

lover, convinces Buonarroti to

beg the Pope for the commission

again. A battle-bruised

Pope is convinced a sacking

of Rome is in order, but

gives permission to

continue painting.

Late at night in Rome, a

war-torn and ailing Pope

criticizes the images of God

and Man (in The Creation

of Adam), claiming they are

too serene. The Pope

becomes bedridden, and

denies a request to stop

painting the chapel ceiling.

The conclusion is a Mass

where the congregation is shown

the completed ceiling. After the

congregation leaves, the Pope

offers Michelangelo work on

painting the lower walls, but

seeing his own life fading, the

Pope rescinds and asks him to

complete the tomb.

As Michelangelo once said: “In

every block of marble I see a

statue as plain as though it stood

before me, shaped and perfect in

attitude and action. I have only

to hew away the rough walls

that imprison the lovely

apparition to reveal it to the

other eyes as mine see it.” ♥

plowmen.’ ” Michelangelo,

familiar with both carvings, tells

Ghirlandaio that he, “preferred

Donatello’s plowman to

Brunelleschi’s ethereal Christ,

which was so slight that it

looked as though it had been

created to be crucified. With

Donatello’s figure the crucifixion

had come as a horrifying

surprise…”

On a battlefield, Michelangelo

convinces the Pope to change the

grand design and paint not just

the panels of the ceiling, but the

entire vault. The work proceeds

nonstop, even with mass in

session. Months turn to years.

Michelangelo is accused of

blasphemy and heresy by

portraying Pagan symbols and

myths but is allowed to continue.

Buonarroti suffers from

blindness as a result of paint

poisoning and fatigue from

overwork. While recovering, the

Pope’s architect Donato

Bramante pressures the Pope to

use Raphael to finish the ceiling.

But Michelangelo garners the

strength to continue. Meanwhile,

15

Katharine had to learn how to

run a proper household. She

became a living Proverbs 31 wife.

On top of that, she had to be the

encourager and the strong one

for a temperamental man prone

to depressions and eccentricities.

Somehow they balanced each

other out. He liberated Katharine

from a life of service and showed

her there was another way to

live. Half-teasing and half-

respectful, Luther called her “my

lord Katy.”

They had six children, one of

which died young. Through all of

life’s challenges, the opposition

and dark times, they were able to

keep faith in the Lord. Their

union was considered a fine

example of how a Christian

marriage should operate, one

complementing the other. Their

None of her suitors… well, none

of her suitors suited her. She

teased Luther that she was only

interested in marrying him. He

had been toying with the notion

of matrimony as of late. When he

went to visit Katharine, he would

refer to her as “my Katy.” There

may not have been a grand,

passionate romance between

them in the beginning, but there

was something there.

Accepting his offer of marriage,

Luther and Katharine were wed.

Luther was 42 and Katharine was

26. Life was not to be easy for the

Luthers. While Martin Luther

was a famous reformer, in the

eyes of many he was an infamous

heretic. From opposing forces,

together they faced the threat of

death every day. Since she had

never been taught in the convent,

B ehind every great man is a

great woman. Often

enough these ladies go

unnoticed or are forgotten. But

even the smallest contributions

leave their mark.

Katharine von Bora was born in

1499 and in all likelihood lost her

parents at a young age. She was

sent to the monastery, first for

education, but then later became

a nun. Years passed. Whispers of

a new reformation reached even

the convent she was interned at.

Six miles away, Martin Luther

was preaching to the common

man straight from the Bible.

Katharine was one of the nuns

who soon came to believe that

forgiveness, grace and salvation

could only come directly from

God. Soon she and nine other

nuns no longer felt the call to

serve God in a convent. They felt

led to serve Him in a different

capacity. Upon delivering a

message to Martin Luther

himself, he arranged for a rescue

wagon to be sent to the convent.

The nine former-nuns huddled

down in a wagon carrying barrels

of herrings and managed to

escape unnoticed. They were

finally free to live their own lives.

Luther placed them in families

and went as far as arranging

marriages for the majority of

them. Except for Katharine.

BY VERONICA LEIGH

lives together continued on for 21

more years. Then in February of

1546, on a trip to his birthplace

to settle a dispute, Luther fell ill

and died before Katharine could

be brought to him. Her husband,

friend and helpmate was gone.

Having to flee their farm due to

war and heavy taxes, the

remainder of her days were spent

in poverty; she and the children

were supported through the

generosity of others. In 1552,

when another outbreak of the

Black Plague struck, she was

forced to leave the city of

Wittenberg.

Katharine was involved in an

accident at the city gates. Having

been thrown from a wagon

and into a body of icy water,

she was carried out, her body

covered in bruises. Her

health never recovered. On

her deathbed three months

later, she was purported to

say, “I will cleave to my Lord

Christ as the burr to the

cloth.”

From the casual observer, it

may seem that Katharine had

very little influence on the

world. Most of what we do

know of her comes from

Martin Luther himself. Even

so, she had the heart and ear

of the man who led the

Protestant Reformation. ♥

17

uttered to this very day, through

popular culture, parody, or

everyday dialogue: “To be or not

to be”, “My kingdom for a horse”,

“All the world’s a stage”, and

“What’s done is done”

just to name a few.

Shakespeare’s works

continue to be a

source of study in that

it crosses boundaries

and classes. The

characters that

inhabit his works

come from a broad

spectrum of society:

his characters were

members of royalty,

well-off merchants,

foot soldiers, holy

men and women, and

peddlers. His works

comment on a wide

range of issues, from

carrying out the law

(Measure for

Measure) to religious

discrimination (The

Merchant of Venice)

and divine right

(Richard II) to filial

love and obedience

(King Lear). His works of course

reflected much of the times he

lived in, such as Elizabethan

politics (Julius Caesar), recent

history (Richard II) and

written in, Shakespeare’s usage

of the language has, in some

ways, solidified its place in the

language as a whole. He even

created words that have found

places in contemporary English

such as “lacklustre”, “frugal”, and

“star-crossed.” Additionally, he

coined a number of phrases and

expressions that continue to be

D ramatist Ben Jonson

once praised William

Shakespeare in a poem,

declaring that he “was not of an

age, but for all time!” Indeed

William Shakespeare,

the playwright from

Stratford-upon-Avon

who lived from

c1560s to 1616, very

much embodied the

burst of creativity and

art that came out of

England during the

sixteenth century.

Having written over

thirty six plays and

numerous poems and

sonnets, his works

not only encapsulated

the fervour of the

English Renaissance

but have also endured

the test of time.

The staying power of

his works and

continued prevalence

in today’s culture—

from English studied

to theatre and

popular culture—lies

in several factors.

There is of course its

contribution to the English

language. Despite of the obvious

difference in usage from today’s

English and the style that it is

BY LIANNE M. BERNARDO

incorporating Scottish politics

and lore (Macbeth), but the

issues he presented continue to

resonate today as our societies

continue to struggle against

discrimination, poverty, and war

and confront moments of

conflict, anger, and mercy.

Whether it is Hamlet

contemplating life and death or

Viola pleading her case for the

strengths and constancy of

women or Shylock listing out the

injustices made against him,

Shakespeare’s plays provides an

earnest grasp of a situation,

leaving his characters and the

audience to come to their own

conclusions and opinions.

What is also very compelling

about Shakespeare and why he

continues to endure despite of

the times is the fact that his

stories and the themes he

grapples with are universal and

timeless: love, ambition,

betrayal, guilt, pride, losing loved

ones. Even when one is

scratching one’s head

deciphering the language and the

deeper meanings (or lewd jokes)

behind the dialogue, one can

easily relate to what the

characters are going through. His

plays reveal a whole range of

emotions and situations that cast

light on the human condition,

the dilemmas of decision-

making, the conflict of different

goals, ideas, and desires: Do you

save one’s brother at the expense

of your principles? Do you go

against the king, God’s appointed

on earth, in the name of justice

and the goodwill of the people?

Do you allow nature to take its

course or do you seize destiny in

Shakespeare’s works continue to

endure and continue to be

performed in our day and age.

His work, inspired from other

sources, have gone on and

inspired many playwrights,

artists, and novelists after him.

His works resonate because of

the story arcs that the characters

undergo, connecting the modern

audiences to their experiences

despite the time gap. They also

resonate because despite the

difference in life and times, some

things have not changed: war,

sickness, love, hate, guilt—the

human condition remains the

same. That Shakespeare was

able to encapsulate these

feelings and emotions

rightfully places him at the

head of great English

playwrights to emerge in

the English Renaissance. ♥

your hands? These individuals

may have completely different

life experiences from ourselves—

Richard II’s Bolingbroke,

Othello’s titular character, Much

Ado About Nothing’s Beatrice—

but we know what it’s like to fall

in love, how difficult it is to make

a life-altering decision, what it’s

like to hold a grudge. Their

emotional responses to the

dilemmas they face are what

enables the modern reader and

viewer to connect with them over

the course of their stories.

In the end,

despite the fact

that these plays

were written in

a time vastly

different from

our own and

written in a

way that is

different

from

modern

plays,

19

Sack of Rome, by Francisco Javier Amérigo Aparicio, 1884

U pon the arrival of

Katharine of Aragon

to the great city of

London, as she progressed

through the streets at the side of

a child Henry Tudor, she saw a

number of pageants at each point

blending the virtues of faith with

chivalry and symbolism of the

period. Her arrival was such a

lavish event that her mother

expressed some concern that

“too much expense” had been

made, in “honoring” a humble

daughter of Spain. But pageants,

tournaments, and suchlike were

a popular form of entertainment,

for nobility and peasants alike.

Thousands flocked to observe

them and just as many made

annual pilgrimages to shrines

and churches across Europe,

observing religious imagery and

symbolism along the way (the

pilgrimage being representative

of our journey from salvation

onwards). And once Katharine

reached the palace, there she

found hundreds of tapestries

illustrating Biblical events for her

continual study and pleasure.

Modern audiences are familiar

with religious symbolism

presented in allegorical form in

Pilgrim’s Progress, which takes

the metaphorical journey of life,

salvation, death, repentance, and

the divine and transforms it into

a literal journey through which

the characters mature and grow,

some reaching their end through

martyrdom before the others,

who must take the harder, slower

path. In the middle ages, this

kind of spiritual pageantry and

artistic expression was common,

not merely in events but in the

art of the churches themselves. A

peasant might, on a good year,

observe a number of staged

events in which virtues and vices

were portrayed as characters,

illustrating the need for salvation

and repentance. In their local

church, they would encounter a

number of carvings, paintings,

and other artwork outlining the

seven deadly sins or bringing to

life pertinent spiritual passages.

Above the altar might be the

Stations of the Cross (significant

The Renaissance Catholic Church

BY CHARITY BISHOP

moments in Christ’s journey) in

stained glass; or it might be the

apostles, surrounding the Virgin

and Her Holy Child. Martyrs and

saints would be honored through

remembrance as a reminder that

martyrdom is for a cause greater

than oneself and is a holy and

divine choosing.

As the printing press came into

full use, Biblical paraphrases and

rewritten Bible stories, famous

sermons, loose translations of

scripture, 10 Commandments,

the Lord’s Prayer, and essential

doctrinal teachings were made

available as pamphlets, along

with scholarly works from the

great philosophers and thinkers

of the period.

Though the Medieval Catholic

Church brought on Reformation

through its refusal to debate

doctrine with Martin Luther, it

also employed hundreds of

thousands of artisans throughout

the middle ages and renaissance

in the continual building and

beautification of churches across

Europe. Faith was so entwined

with beliefs of the time that they

were inseparable in the minds of

many; those who renounced

Catholicism also sadly inevitably

renounced art, a practice which

lasted for centuries and is still

obvious in some Protestant

denominations, where the

Church building is devoid of

anything that might be seen as

“imagery to be worshipped.”

Leaving that argument aside,

such imagery kept the disciples,

the apostles, Christ, and other

Biblical figures (and their vices,

virtues, sins, and atonement)

of the pure divine creativity of

generations of people must have

grieved the heart of God. After

all, we are “made in His image,”

for no other creature on earth is

a conscious creator of art in any

form; the spider does not think

how beautiful her web will be

glistening with dew in the first

light of dawn, nor does the zebra

choose where to stand to make

the most striking impact on the

observer. It is humans who use

their divine gifts in a multitude

of ways to celebrate creation, through their own creativity—

music, art in all its many forms,

literature, poetry, and dance. We

alone take pleasure in the beauty

of God’s creation, which is much

more majestic than ours. It is not

God who wants to destroy art or

creativity, but the forces of evil.

While the Reformation had a

tragic impact on art, the Catholic

tradition of blending elements of

faith, of transforming virtue into

living entities in art, in capturing

the essence of a being over its

true likeness, has continued ever

since in drama, literature and

film. J.R.R. Tolkien famously

wove his faith throughout his

stories of Middle-earth, a tale in

which there is no religion, for the

religion itself is woven into the

characters and their stories. The

longstanding tradition of

merging art, beauty, and the

divine continue to influence

artists, filmmakers, novelists,

and storytellers in unique ways,

as a reminder not only of the

enormous impact such teachings

have upon our lives, but the

power of art as a storytelling

technique. ♥

present in the minds of laymen

as well as the wealthy. What a

peasant might not have in daily

life, they might glimpse in the

Church… for their Church was as

glorious and majestic as the

Church of the Kings and Queens.

When Martin Luther’s teachings

began to spread across Europe,

famous martyr and philosopher

Sir Thomas More feared the

repercussions on the Church…

and his fears became reality.

Having demolished the Church

as an icon of God’s presence on

earth, and its servants as mere

mortals in the minds of the

masses, regard for the sanctity of

the Church all but disappeared;

the infamous “Sack of Rome” by

the out of control (German)

imperial army in 1527 leveled

most of the Churches and raped

and murdered thousands of

people (including priests and

nuns). Once Henry VIII enforced

the “new” religion in England,

working together with his Lord

Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell,

the Churches of England were all

stripped of their wealth and

much of their beauty, the profits

going straight into the royal

treasury. Irreparable damage

was done to most of the Catholic Churches in England—hundred

year old murals desecrated by

having the faces of apostles and

saints scraped off, limbs and

heads chiseled or broken off of

statues, and ornamentation torn

off walls and altars. Anything of

worth was sold for profit.

Though to modern eyes, restored

or intact Catholic Churches may

seem “gaudy,” such destruction

21

When she's not writing, Rachel Kovaciny passes the time by reading, baking, watching movies, crocheting,

blogging, and homeschooling her three children. Her least favorite activities are house-cleaning and wearing shoes, and she's been known to go to great

lengths to avoid both. She blogs about books, and also has a personal blog

that talks about movies and other important things.

Charity Bishop is fanatical about this time period in history and loves to bore her friends with it. Her free time is spent writing novels & movie reviews, blogging, and personality typing fictional characters on tumblr.

Jaime Donovan is a Christian and a university student. She loves to read, draw, write, and has a blog.

Rachel Sexton is from Ohio and has a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Arts. She loves her parents and her dog Lily. She has to have acting, film, reading, and dance in her life. She is described as quiet and her biggest vice is cupcakes. Her hobby is editing fan videos.

Marianna Kaplun was born in Moscow. She is a philologist

specializing in Ancient Russian drama and theatre. She’s also a film and television critic by calling and

librarian by profession. You can find her essays on her Facebook

page and on Lumiere. She also blogs in English and Russian.

Lianne Bernardo is a 20-something Canadian who loves history, period dramas, British TV, photography, and (European) football. She is an avid reader, from fantasy to literature to historical fiction, and extensively blogs about them on her website, When she isn't reading, she’s working on her writing projects. Her Twitter: @eclectictales.

Veronica Leigh is an aspiring novelist, who lives in Indiana with her family and six furbabies. Her obsessions range from Jane Austen to the Holocaust to Once Upon a Time. She has published two short autobiographical pieces and hopes to see more in print. She also lurks on her blog.

23

Young people gifted with supernatural abilities for a divine purpose encounter all manner of conflict and spiritual awakening in this terrific new book series by Femnista editor Charity Bishop.

A haunted assassin’s academy, a would-be-nun, an army of ghosts, and Napoleon Bonaparte feature in Ravenswolde

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A family curse, a band of Romani, the famous Dr. Joseph Bell, and Jack the Ripper feature in The Giftsnatcher

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A cleric with a closet full of weapons, a mysterious aunt she has never heard of, a villainous neighbor, and a cunning cat feature in Thornewicke

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A diabolical past, a possessed house, a secret organization, and the RMS Titanic feature in The Secret in Belfast

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Due to intense themes and violence, the series is recommended for ages 13+.

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE? Claim your topic before someone else does!

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“Classic Hollywood”

Actors, actresses, directors, and films from the early years of Hollywood. Promised: Audrey

Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story, Norma Shearer, Sorry Wrong Number, The Honeymooners, Judy

Garland, John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

AND THEN...

March/April: Keeping the Faith (Bible Stories, Martyrs, Christianity) Promised: Joan of Arc, Perpetua, Moses, Lydia, Augistine, Junia, One Night With the King, the dynamics of Peter & Paul) Suggestions: theology and significant theological figures, your favorite Biblical figures, the history of the Church, spiritual growth.

Need a suggestion? The costumes (how do they differ from reality?) Early silent screen actresses that are nearly forgotten Charlie Chaplain and how he changed Hollywood Significant early filmmakers and how they influenced art in cinema Before there were censors, and how there came to be a moral “code” The changing “fads” of Hollywood (musicals, Bible films, major epics) Historical epics and their financial impact on the studios (Cleopatra nearly bankrupted the studio) Your favorite actor and their body of work

Coming Feb 1st!