Smithsonian Magazine

These 17th-Century Poems Painted Pictures on the Page—and Defied the Church of England’s Rejection of Religious Images

George Herbert’s shaped poetry subtly pushed back against the iconoclasm of the English Reformation V.M. Braganza - Historian, Harvard University George Herbert’s pictures aren’t just decorative. They ...

Quakers at a glance: A look at the faith's beliefs and the tradition of activism and silent worship

Do Quakers quake? Do Quakers eat Quaker Oats? Are Quakers still around today? These are some of the questions that visitors often ask at the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia. Many ...

10,000 Tales From a 17th-Century Crypt

In Milan, bones that piled under a hospital over a half-century shed light on the health and habits of some of the ...