LUCAS Explains #3: Why does apple pie with whipped cream affect your museum experience?

What makes art taste good? By serving cake, museums might help you along. Why does apple pie with whipped cream affect your museum experience? Nynke Feenstra explains how a museum visit is part of a complex interplay of experiences that transcend the time and place of your visit.

Nynke Feenstra • March 10, 2020

Hustling in Holland: Representing the Rural in Hip-hop and ‘Hollands Hoop’

The Dutch television series Hollands Hoop aired its final season on February 9. Comparing the series with hip-hop from the popular Dutch music collective ‘Boerenjongens’, we see how both rap and series depict the rural ‘underdogs’ of the Netherlands, hustling their way through the countryside.

Aafje de Roest • February 27, 2020

LUCAS Explains #2: What would happen to Brexit negotiations if the EU put the Roman emperor Trajan in charge?

On January 31st, the United Kingdom formally left the European Union. Negotiations were, and continue to be, long and difficult. Could things have turned out differently? Renske Janssen explains how a Roman emperor might have approached the situation.

Renske Janssen • February 25, 2020

A medieval multicultural court

How were Sicily's various artistic traditions preserved by Roger II's tolerant cultural policy?

Elvira Tamus • February 20, 2020

LUCAS Explains #1: Where would you bring your Tinder date on 3 May 1646?

On 14 February, it will be Valentine's Day! When choosing what to do, you might decide to bring your Tinder date to the movies. But were would people have brought their date in the 17th century? Tim Vergeer explains that this would have been a Spanish play.

Tim Vergeer • February 11, 2020 • 1 comment

The Cat in Medieval Western Europe

How come cats were worshipped in ancient Egypt and reviled in medieval times? It seems that the spread of Christianity is to be blamed. Fortunately for the cat, the feline folklore is still going strong.

Johanna Feenstra • February 06, 2020

Curse and Comfort: Classics and the First World War

Can ancient texts be relatable to those who have just gone through the traumatic experience of armed combat? Well, according to some of the poets who composed their works during the First World War they can – while others suggest that they really can’t.

Renske Janssen • January 30, 2020

A Theatrical Whodunit II: Was this Sherlock mistaken?

In the second instalment in the hunt for the source of the Dutch translation of Calderón’s ‘La vida es sueño’, I will consider an alternative source that might have been used by Schouwenbergh for his Dutch translation made in Brussels in 1647.

Tim Vergeer • January 23, 2020 • 1 comment

A Theatrical Whodunit

How did Calderón’s popular play 'La vida es sueño' come to the Low Countries? It seems that the Flemish-Portuguese printer Paulo Craesbeeck is responsible for this. In 1647, he published an anthology of Spanish plays, including Calderón's masterpiece.

Tim Vergeer • January 09, 2020