Locations of events.

What does an Augustinian priest who left his monastery spend his time doing? Among other things, he deals with the question of whether it’s possible to lead a Christian life outside the monastery. And if your name is Erasmus of Rotterdam, these considerations become a best seller.

Today we go on a little scavenger hunt. We start with an undated book on the Sons of Aymon, meet Charlemagne and, after many bloody battles, end up with Saint Reinold of Cologne, who went on to become the patron saint of Dortmund. Follow me!

For Roman aristocrat Pliny, it wasn’t enough to fulfil his duties obediently, he was thirsty for eternal glory. For this purposes, he created a new literary genre: the letters written for publication. For the humanists, Pliny’s letters were the ultimate example for their intense correspondence.

The field of classical studies was first established in the 19th c. The foundations for the work of scholars such as Mommsen and Curtius were initially laid by teachers like E. Th. Hohler, who produced illustrated introductory books to nudge their knowledge-hungry pupils, who loved pictures, in the right direction.

In 1546, Heinrich Petri printed a luxury edition of the completed work by the Roman scholar Boethius. Boethius once rose to the highest political ranks – only to fall to rock bottom, at which point, he was moved to write his philosophical work ‘Consolation of Philosophy’, which remained a best seller for centuries.