The Early Modern Commons

Writing the Renaissance

Recent Posts

French Renaissance Treasures at San Francisco's Legion of Honor

25 January 2023

It's always a thrill to discover sixteenth century artifacts in twenty-first century America. This past weekend, I visited one of San Francisco's art museums, the Legion of Honor, for...

Party Central: L'Art de la Fête à la cour des Valois

14 May 2022

Renaissance courtiers loved a good party. Fêtes, or celebrations, at court lasted for days and included any number of events: lavish banquets, jousts and mock battles, dramatic spectacles,...

Review: DOWN A DARK RIVER by Karen Odden

15 November 2021

Any novel that quoted Victorian poet Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" would be a favorite of mine, but when one of the victims in Karen Odden's just-released mystery DOWN A DARK RIVER...

Diane de Poitiers: Big Stars on the Small Screen

6 October 2021

Fans of sixteenth century France, rejoice! A new miniseries about Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henri II, is currently under production for France 2. Filmed on location at...