Medieval History
Jeremy Irons looked up from the latest tiny cigarette he?d rolled and raised an eyebrow. It?s amazing how much meaning some people can convey with one bit of facial hair. We?d been talking about the licentiousness of Rodrigo Borgia, the character Irons plays in the new nine-part series The Borgias, who schemed his way into the Vatican as Pope Alexander VI in 1492. Rodrigo caroused, slept around, left his by-blows all over Spain and Italy. It really was a different time, wasn?t it? Right?
?He did have a mistress,? said Irons in that famous, just-rolled-out-of-the-wrong-bed voice ? the voice of Scar, the bad lion, and Claus von Bulow, the bad husband, and now Borgia, the bad pope. ?But I have a Cardinal friend at the moment who's had a mistress for 12 years. He's a Cardinal today, and a great man!?
Click here to read this article from the Globe and Mail
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Medieval History
Jeremy Irons on finding the good side of bad guys
Jeremy Irons looked up from the latest tiny cigarette he?d rolled and raised an eyebrow. It?s amazing how much meaning some people can convey with one bit of facial hair. We?d been talking about the licentiousness of Rodrigo Borgia, the character Irons plays in the new nine-part series The Borgias, who schemed his way into the Vatican as Pope Alexander VI in 1492. Rodrigo caroused, slept around, left his by-blows all over Spain and Italy. It really was a different time, wasn?t it? Right?
?He did have a mistress,? said Irons in that famous, just-rolled-out-of-the-wrong-bed voice ? the voice of Scar, the bad lion, and Claus von Bulow, the bad husband, and now Borgia, the bad pope. ?But I have a Cardinal friend at the moment who's had a mistress for 12 years. He's a Cardinal today, and a great man!?
Click here to read this article from the Globe and Mail
- When Did 'interdisciplinary' Become The Adjective We Can't Live Without?
By Anatoly Liberman Anatoly Liberman is a professor at he University of Minnesota, where he has taught medieval culture, German and other languages since 1975. Everything should be interdisciplinary, right? Read the ads for the few openings in the humanities,...
- Book Review: 1494: How A Family Feud In Medieval Spain Divided The World In Half
In one of cinema?s most beloved scenes, Charlie Chaplin?s Great Dictator plays in his office with a beachball-sized balloon representing the globe ? and his own insane pretension. The game and the sentiment were not, alas, unprecedented. In 1493, the...
- The Borgias Renewed For Second Season
Showtime has renewed The Borgias ? the story of intrigue and murder set in 15th century Italy ? for a second season. David Nevins, President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks, announced that ten more one-hour episodes will be filmed this summer and...
- Book Reproduces Famous Documents From The Vatican Secret Archives
With millions of documents filling almost 53 miles of shelf space, the Vatican Secret Archives obviously still hold some secrets. Despite the aura of mystery surrounding the archives, the Vatican actually encourages academics to research its holdings...
- Happy Birthday, Oliver
These ten days between Eleanor's birthday and Oliver's are always the craziest: turning grades in, saying good-bye to students, graduation, cleaning out the office, oh and there's a wedding anniversary in there somewhere. This summer,...