CHRISTENDOM “is cladding
itself in a white mantle
of churches,” observed a
French monk in the 11th
century, noting how French,
Spanish, and Italian towns
were building magnificent
cathedrals, abbeys, and
monasteries in a new,
splendid style. Inspired
by the splendor of Rome’s
great past, Romanesque
architecture featured sturdy
walls, rounded arches, and
tall columns. Buildings
conveyed strength and
stability as the Holy Roman
Empire arose, the church
grew powerful, and the era
of the Crusades began.The Mummy Trade
Desired for practical purposes, Egyptian mummies were a
big business for European merchants by the 16th century.
Apothecaries sought them for medicinal use, while artists
wanted to grind them up into paint. European scholarly
demand for mummies only began to rise in the 19th century.Mother to the Great
A wife of Philip II of Macedon, Olympias was mother of
his son, the future Alexander the Great. Often depicted by
ancient historians as ruthless and cruel, Olympias used her
wits and ambition to gain the throne for her son.Rome’s Model Citizens
In ancient Rome, being a citizen meant something. Civitas
entitled people to participation in public life, protection of
their rights, and the pleasure of privilege. As Rome expanded,
questions of who could be a citizen provoked conflict as more
people sought to claim Roman citizenship for themselves.Next Issue
ROMANESQUE
REVOLUTIONIN MAY 2019 National Geographic
announced the discovery of the wreckage
of the schooner Clotilda, the last known
ship to bring enslaved Africans to the
United States. The international slave
trade had been outlawed since 1808,
but proslavery forces had been railing
against the law for decades, even resorting
to illegal human trafficking to bring in
more enslaved people. In 1860 Timothy
Meaher, a wealthy Mobile landowner
and shipbuilder, smuggled more than
100 Africans from present-day Benin to
Alabama aboard the Clotilda, which was
burned to the waterline by Captain William
Foster after the voyage was complete. The
shipwreck lay hidden in the waters of the
Mobile River for more than a century.RICH SCULPTURE ADORNS THE
ROMANESQUE PORTICO OF THE
MONASTERY OF SANTA MARÍA OF
RIPOLL IN NORTHEASTERN SPAIN.THE LAST AMERICAN
SLAVE SHIPTON
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