Early modern life
Undergraduate Research at the Folger: The Birth of Mankinde
In this mock exhibition catalog entry for a writing class, Gabi, an undergraduate student at GWU, takes a closer look at early modern midwifery using The Birth of Mankinde.
Undergraduate Research at the Folger: Pain in the Teeth
A GWU undergraduate student shares their experience working at the Folger for their class project on Shakespeare and early modern dentistry an Art in the Age of Shakespeare course.
The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe
In his groundbreaking documentary, We Were Here, Folger Fellow Fred Kuwornu shares the diverse African presence in Renaissance Europe—princes, ambassadors, saints, artists, scholars, and knights—all revealed through art from the period.
Shakespeare and Italy
Shakespeare’s plays are well stocked with merchants of Venice and gentlemen of Verona, with one-third of his plays based in Italy. But what did Shakespeare—and his audiences—really know about such distant places and people?
Shakespeare and Mathematics
Many Shakespeare fans don’t think of themselves as “math people.” But in Shakespeare’s world, math and literature were deeply intertwined. Mathematician Rob Eastaway explores how numbers, patterns, and mathematical ideas shaped Shakespeare’s plays.
Women and early modern poison
What do we know about the historical reality of Aqua Tofana and other stories of women wielding poisons? The truth is very little. But like most historical parables, the myths are just as telling as the reality.
Musicians on ships in Early Modern Europe
A look at the many roles that musicians played aboard Early Modern ships.
Shakespeare and tennis
Shakespeare mentions tennis in seven of his plays. But would he recognize the game we enjoy today? A Tudor history of the game with Shakespeare quotes about tennis.
“A smale remembrance”: Elizabethan Posy Rings
A closer look at 17th century engraved rings in the Folger’s collection
Bess of Hardwick, Elizabethan power player
Bess of Hardwick was the other famous Bess in Elizabethan England, after “Good Queen Bess,” aka Queen Elizabeth. Fabulously wealthy and savvy, she outlived four husbands, rising in status with each one. Trace her evolving power in letters from her last three husbands.
Performing Race in the London Lord Mayors’ Show, 1660-1708
Fellow Jamie Gemmell explores how race was performed in the annual London Lord Mayor’s Show
Defining Beauty in Text and Image in the late Seventeenth-Century
Fellow Jean Marie Christensen explores beauty standards of the 17th century.