Ab Aquilone. Nordic studies in honour and memory of Leonard E. Boyle Edited by Marie-Louise Rodén. Published by the Swedish Institute of Classical Studies in Rome and the National Archives of Sweden. Distributed by Astrom Editions. Abstract Ab Aquilone. This well known inscription beneath the fresco of the North Wind in the Vatican Torre dei Venti, which in the 17th century was discreetly painted over for the impending visit of Queen Christina of Sweden, concisely expresses the relations of the northern, Protestant countries and Catholic Europe in the post-Reformation era. But these once problematic relations are today characterized by the broader acknowledgement of a common cultural heritage. Many Nordic scholars have profited from the possibility of pursuing research in the rich collections of the Vatican Library and Archives, and it is the aim of this anthology to present a selection of their results and current projects. Ab Aquilone contains fourteen contributions in the fields of archaeology, philology, history, church history, gender studies, library science and archival studies, ranging from the Middle Ages to modern times. The majority of the authors are active at institutions of learning in the Nordic countries, and they are joined by two European contributors with a…

Politics and culture in the age of Christina. Acta from a Conference held at the Wenner-Gren Center in Stockholm, May 4–6 , 1995 Edited by Marie-Louise Rodén Abstract Christina of Sweden (1626–1689) has been the object of both scholarly and popular interest in the three centuries that have passed since her death. This attention is related to the breadth of her influence on 17-th century European civilization. Thus, politics and culture in the age of Christina was the subject of a conference held in Stockholm in May 1995 and sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Center Foundation. The first section of the volume treats the relationship of politics and the arts in the age of absolutism as well as Christina’s political environment in Sweden and, from 1655, in Italy. Christina’s unfinished Autobiography is reexamined on the basis of previously unstudied manuscript variants and her religious profile is discussed. A second section treats Christina’s relationship to the arts. Christina’s role in Roman ceremonies and processions is examined. Contents Marie-Louise Rodén | Foreword Theodore K. Rabb | Politics and the arts in the age of Christina Jan Glete | Absolutism or dynamic leadership? The rise of large armed forces and the problem of political…