From the Paper
"Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) was a Portuguese warrior and navigator who was sent by his king, Manoel I, to discover the sea route to India that the kingdom had already spent several decades trying to find. Da Gama set sail in July 1497 and finally arrived at the Indian city of Calicut in May 1498. The document studied here is an excerpt from da Gama's journal of his trip; a portion that recounts the Portuguese explorers' arrival at Calicut and the events of their first week when they met the Hindu ruler of the region and began to raise the question of Portugal's participation in the lucrative spice trade.
Following the mission that is described, in part, in this document ,the Portuguese faced great difficulty in finding a way into the trade system of the Indian Ocean region. They were desperate to do so since it was a means of circumventing the ..."

Abstract
A discussion of da capo aria from Handel's "Messiah. The paper includes an explanation of the form and how it is used in the "Trumpet" aria to achieve emotional effect.

From the Paper
"The purpose of this research is to explicate the da capo aria, a form of vocal music often found in Baroque compositions, not least those of Handel, notably in the oratorio, the "Messiah". The plan of the research will be to set forth a working definition of the da capo aria and then to discuss how it is elaborated in Baroque music in general and in Handel's music in particular, with a view toward showing the importance of the influence of the musical form on subsequent musical..."

Tags:Handel's Messiah, The Trumpet Shall Sound, Baroque music, da capo aria form

Abstract
This paper discusses da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and the painting that inspired it, plus a painting that it inspired, discussing the painter's technique and iconography.

From the Paper
"Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the "Mona Lisa", stands on its own as one of the most recognized and celebrated paintings in the world. However, this does not mean that Leonardo was not influenced by previous artists, nor that his painting failed to influence his contemporaries or the artists that came after him. As a matter of fact, Leonardo's Mona Lisa was influenced by a painting done by Verrocchio, "Lady with a Bunch of Flowers" which was painted in approximately..."

Tags:art, Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, iconography, sfumato

Abstract
This is a book review that provides an in depth summary of the novel "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown and finishes with a brief discussion on the Christian themes that present itself in the novel. The Christian themes discussed are on the historical accuracy and the legitimacy of his basic claims. Such things as the marriage of Jesus and the suppression of certain gospels are all themes that arise and are refuted or discussed by competing scholars on the subject.

Outline:
Overview
Christian Themes

From the Paper
"It is important to be aware that "The Da Vinci Code" is literary fiction; the appearance of historical accuracy is only superficial. Brown's book is a minefield of disinformation for the unwary reader. He disturbs scholars of history and theology alike with his claims to legitimate scholarship, when evidence suggests that his sources are often from latter-day mystics rather than from reliable academic research. (Burstein, 2004) There is, however, a consistent reality behind Dan Brown's fictionalized Church and art history: For instance, the Church has, indeed, suppressed alternative Gospels, many written by sects denounced as heretical a few centuries after Christ. (Brown, 2003)
"The discriminating reader may notice that the book is a somewhat formulaic mystery, and not a notably executed representative of the genre. Still, it was on The New York Times best-seller list for more than two years and was made into a film starring Tom Hanks. Brown's achievement is that he has made ecclesiastical history exciting for the general public. He has also created a cottage industry of refutation against his claims regarding apocryphal writings. While these early writings do suggest that Jesus intended a more active role for women than what subsequently developed, none claim that Jesus was married as the novel does. A married Jesus is, at best, an unlikely possibility among serious students of early biblical history. (Robinson, 2005)"

Tags:dan brown, the da vinci code, theology, christianity

Abstract
This paper discusses Leonardo da Vinci's contribution to the modern world and how his creative thinking and inventions were based on his study of nature and its principles.

From the Paper
"Leonardo Da Vinci made a tremendous contribution to the modern world not only in terms of his art-which was exquisite-but also in terms of his mathematical and scientific thinking and the marvelous inventions that he designed. Da Vinci was a thinker ahead of his time and this was largely because he made a point of always being a student. He studied nature, mathematics and science, learning the interconnected relationships among them and the scientific bases for natural phenomena. This..."

Tags:Leonardo da Vinci, science, inventions, nature, sketches

Abstract
This paper gives an account of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci, most famous for his paintings the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper". A description of Da Vinci's beginnings is included as well as his rise in the art circle in Italy. The author also notes that although Da Vinci had a prominent career as an artist, he created a lasting impact on more than just the art world. Da Vinci was also actively researching on topics such as botany, anatomy, medicine and architecture. In closing, the paper describes Da Vinci as a forerunner to many new areas of study and was a vital contributor to the development of modern science and technology.

From the Paper
"Leonardo Da Vinci, born in the Vinci region of Florence on April 15, 1452, came from modest beginnings. The illegitimate son of Piero Da Vinci, a notary, and Caterina, a peasant woman, little is known about his early years. It is not surprising, however, that Da Vinci's propensity for the arts and sciences was nurtured and able to flourish in Renaissance Italy. Tuscany, the area surrounding Florence, produced the great minds of Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Niccolo Machiavelli, and was a center of Italian culture throughout the Middle Ages."

Tags:art, science, artist

Abstract
This paper examines how the fifteenth century represents a zenith in global exploration and discovery and perhaps harbours the most dramatic explosion of geographical possibility of any age. It looks at how Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, Vasco da Gama's rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and Sebastien del Cano's circumnavigation of the globe were all significant steps in the localisation of the fifteenth century world.

From the Paper
"The origins of European expansion are seen by many to lie in the capture by the Portuguese of the Moroccan city of Ceuta in 1415 . This foothold on African soil created the potential for European expansion, begun with the Portuguese advancement down the west coast of Africa and ultimately realized in 1498 with Vasco da Gama's rounding of the Cape of Good Hope. The capture of Ceuta is certainly significant in the context of this argument as it helped, in no small part, stimulate the mind of the fifteenth century western European individual towards new ideas of travel, exploration and discovery. However, the increase in physical possibility in the fifteenth century stems not solely from one event, but from a number of ideas and innovations formulated in part over a much longer period."

Tags:cartography, gama, marco, mediterranean, vasco

Abstract
The paper relates that the Portuguese, Spanish, British, French and Dutch peoples set out to discover a new world in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The paper discusses the various motives for exploration during this Age of Exploration. The paper looks at Cristobal Colon (Columbus), Ponce de Leon and Vasco da Gama. The paper relates that these explorers were financed by kings and queens who were eager to fund their adventures for potential economic, political and cultural treasures.

From the Paper
"There were several motives for exploration during the mid-to-late 15th century, which was rightly called the Age of Exploration. The first motivation was the willingness or the courage to learn and understand other cultures. Coming out of the Renaissance, wealthy Europeans longed to find out about new lands and new people, believing that wisdom might be found along with treasures of the monetary kind, and curious about what was out there in the rest of the world, once they began to realize it was round. Prior to this enlightened age, everyone thought the earth was flat and that if you came to the edge in a ship, you simply fell off and disappeared. It was no wonder that sailors had not wanted to go sailing off into the sunset."

Tags:Columbus, de, Leon, da, Gama, discovery, treasures, cultures, religion

Abstract
This paper explains that the first European explorer to reach India was Vasco da Gama of Portugal, who arrived in what is today Calcutta in 1498, giving the Portuguese control over Goa and other areas on the western coast of India. The author points out the writing of Ralph Fitch, who, in 1588, traveled to the Malay Peninsula and visited Malacca, now in Malaysia, where he learned much about trade with China and the Spice Islands, now the Moluccas. The paper presents the writings of traveler Edward Terry, who promoted the Christian morality to the English merchants in the East Indies, and of Ivo Kamps and Jyotsna Singh, who included a wide range of observations of the types of foods grown, the appearances of the various landscapes and cultural.

From the Paper
"By the 1350s, the whole imperial colossus of India was beginning to unravel. In 1398, it received a death blow from an invasion by Tamerlane, the great conqueror of central Asia. Tamerlane's incursion was brief, but it shattered India's central authority, laying waste to Punjab and leaving the Delhi Sultanate clinging to a small area around its pillaged capital. In time, the sultanate recovered some of its earlier power, but it never again approached all-Indian dominion. However, its rule had a lasting impact by bringing about an intermingling of Muslim and Hindu peoples and ideas, mostly because of the policy of religious tolerance that circumstances required. It also brought about the use of Persian as the official language in place of the ancient Sanskrit."

Tags:muslim, seas, spice, morality, observations

Abstract
In this article, the writer provides a discussion of the age of exploration during the fifteenth century in Europe, focusing on Portuguese and Spanish exploration and explorers. The discussion looks at the difference in scope and purpose of Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the era.

From the Paper
"The fifteenth century was also known as the Age of Exploration with Portugal and Spain the leading explorer nations. The famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama explored routes from Spain to the East and back again proving the Indian ocean was connected to other waterways. As famous Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus set out to find a route to India and instead discovered the Americas. Despite the significant Portuguese and Spanish exploration during the fifteenth century these explorations were different in ..."

Tags:ships, Columbus, Americas, Arawaks, Vasco da Gama, India, Asian, oceans, navigation