Since its invention by Andrea Alciato, the emblem is inextricably connected to the natural world. Alciato and his followers drew massively their inspiration from it. For their information about nature, the emblem authors were greatly indebted to ancient natural history, the medieval bestiaries, and the 15th- and 16th-century proto-emblematics, especially the imprese. The natural world became the main topic of, for instance, Camerarius’s botanical and zoological emblem books, and also of the ‘applied’ emblematics in drawings and decorative arts. Animal emblems are frequently quoted by naturalists (Gesner, Aldrovandi). This interdisciplinary volume aims to address these multiple connections between emblematics and Natural History in the broader perspective of their underlying ideologies – scientific, artistic, literary, political and/or religious. Contributors: Alison Saunders, Anne Rolet, Marisa Bass, Bernhard Schirg, Maren Biederbick, Sabine Kalff, Christian Peters, Frederik Knegtel, Agnes Kusler, Aline Smeesters, Astrid Zenker, Tobias Bulang, Sonja Schreiner, Paul Smith, and Karl Enenkel.

First published in 1622, Jeremias Drexel's 'Zodiacus christianus' (or 'Christian Zodiac') was a remarkable work of religious iconography and spiritual self-help. Raised a Lutheran but converting to Catholicism in his youth, Drexel (1581-1638) was well placed to publish a book that appealed to Protestants as well as Catholics, his 'Zodiac' appearing in multiple reprints, re-editions and translations across Europe during his lifetime and posthumously across the rest of the seventeenth century in an astonishing arc of popularity. The orbit of his readers' catchment was geographically - and denominationally - wide to a conspicuous degree. Drexel was among the most-read authors of that century, a genuine luminary in the culture of the German Baroque, and arguably the most published writer of the period. Offering the first modern translation into English since the early seventeenth century, this critical edition re-acquaints Anglophone audiences with a sample of the spiritual and philosophical writings of a figure whose significant publication record made him a bestseller during his lifetime and for many decades afterwards. As well as addressing issues of spiritual iconography with relation to 'signs of predestination', the book also has much to say about authorship, publishing and the dissemination of ideas. Including a scholarly introduction, full footnotes and an up-to-date bibliography, this new edition does much to help reveal these themes within the complex interconnections between religion, mysticism, iconography and scholarship in early modern Europe.

The art of the emblem is a pan-European phenomenon which developed in Western and Central Europe in the early modern period. It adopted meanings and motifs from Antiquity and the Middle Ages as part of a general humanistic impulse. Technological developments in printing that permitted the combination of letterpress with woodblock, and later copperplate, images, ensured that the emblem spread rapidly by way of printed collections. With time, emblematic ideas moved beyond Europe, conveying their insights and wisdom in the compact form of the book. These same books came to influence artists and designers working in the decoration of buildings, furniture, and household items, so that emblems entered personal life; they infiltrated festive culture, too. In such environments beyond the book, emblems were transported, adapted, and embedded in new functional contexts shaped by social, political, or religious conditions, but also by architectonical and regional art historical parameters. The results of these transformations are often of an intricate and complex meaning. The combination of word and image that constitutes the emblem still has resonance in contemporary art and architecture. The study of emblems allows us to look back at the collaborative endeavours of creative minds of earlier times from across Europe and beyond. At a time when that continent is under strain, and the world in general seeks to come to terms with globalization, emblems allow reflection on strongly shared cultural values and connections.

This volume examines, in English, the role of emblems in the Portuguese-speaking world, their distinctive qualities and their links with the wider European tradition. Luis Gomes brings together studies ranging over a wide corpus of material, in both Portugal and Brazil, from manuscripts to printed books to the famous azulejos."

Since its first publication in 1990, Brahms and His World has become a key text for listeners, performers, and scholars interested in the life, work, and times of one of the nineteenth century's most celebrated composers. In this substantially revised and enlarged edition, the editors remain close to the vision behind the original book while updating its contents to reflect new perspectives on Brahms that have developed over the past two decades. To this end, the original essays by leading experts are retained and revised, and supplemented by contributions from a new generation of Brahms scholars. Together, they consider such topics as Brahms's relationship with Clara and Robert Schumann, his musical interactions with the "New German School" of Wagner and Liszt, his influence upon Arnold Schoenberg and other young composers, his approach to performing his own music, and his productive interactions with visual artists. The essays are complemented by a new selection of criticism and analyses of Brahms's works published by the composer's contemporaries, documenting the ways in which Brahms's music was understood by nineteenth- and early twentieth-century audiences in Europe and North America. A new selection of memoirs by Brahms's friends, students, and early admirers provides intimate glimpses into the composer's working methods and personality. And a catalog of the music, literature, and visual arts dedicated to Brahms documents the breadth of influence exerted by the composer upon his contemporaries.