This introduction gives a brief account of the conceptual framework and the topics of the case studies, especially the connection between the psychological concept of trauma applied in the social sciences and the characteristics of the historical analysis of traumatic events or processes, the link between the patterns of consolidation and the regimes of memory, and the context of the chosen case studies of this focus.

There have been dozens of interpretations of Las Meninas but most critics assume that either the Royal couple, or their portrait in the Velazquez's large canvas shown in the picture, is actually reflected on a back mirror. I shall provide evidence, however, to support the view that this mirror never existed. And there is no evidence whatsoever that the double portrait was ever painted. In view of these facts I shall make a new proposal about the way the picture was painted and about the painter's intentions. I shall show evidence that the king was adamant that he did not want his portrait painted, since he did not want to show his age (he was more than double the age of his queen). It is thus reasonable to assume that Velázquez, in order to assuage the King's qualms, created the mirror, thus allowing him to produce a very diffuse picture of the royal couple, where no evidence of aging could possibly be discerned.

Is a common approach to knowledge about man and nature possible? With Leonardo da Vinci as our starting point we will explore this question. Leonardo was much more than a painter; he was a sharp observer of man and nature. What he saw (structures) and what he did (using his miraculous left hand as syntax) was translated into insights and methods of constructions as recorded in his notebooks. His view was holistic, as witnessed by his study of the eye; from the anatomy of the eye he proceeded outwards to a theory of perspective, and inwards to an understanding how perception and the mind are grounded in the brain. In this we see similarities to current studies of language, mind and brain. It is possible to see a kind of proto-version of the art and science of mathematical modelling in Leonardo. This is a methodology of wide scope, extending far beyond physics and engineering. With a sufficiently broad understanding of the key concepts of structure, syntax and algorithms we have a method strong enough to allow for a common approach to knowledge of man and nature, to what there is and how we know.

Although tracing its origins back to antiquity, a distinctly new kind of alchemy emerged in mid-16th-century Europe. This new tradition developed out of the teachings of Paracelsus (1493–1541), a German medical practitioner who challenged the authority of university-trained physicians. He sought to establish a reformed kind of medicine based on first-hand experience of the natural world rather than dry scholastic texts. Alchemy was at the heart of this new medicine, a body of experimental practice and theory that not only held out the promise of improving the health of individuals but could also be applied to wider sicknesses of society.

The Netherlands is not known for its opposing regimes of memory. There are two exceptions to this rule: the history of the German Occupation during the Second World War and the Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery. The relatively low numbers of survivors of the Holocaust in the Netherlands, as well as the volume and the profitability of the Dutch slave trade and slavery, and the importance of slave resistance in abolishing slavery in the Dutch Caribbean have produced conflicting views, especially between professional historians and the descendants of slaves living in the Netherlands.

This contribution focuses on the spirit and the associated behaviours belonging to Belgian society. It deals with the past and, more specifically, with the legacy of the two world wars. In which way did Flemings and Francophones interact? What is the real nature of their relations described from the roots of the many issues and embedded consequences seen even today? Why is there a different vision of the past and how did the situation evolve with the federalization within the country?

This article is part of a larger project on the interaction between Natural/Life Sciences and Literature, and is a first attempt to scout the area through concentrating on Degeneration, a book that sees Literature through the eyes of Medicine. Max Nordau, the author of the book, was a turn-of-the-twentieth-century German physician who read contemporary movements in Art and Literature as Disease. He was an adversary of pre-modernist and modernist movements such as aestheticism, decadence, impressionism, and so on, and failed to recognize their avant-garde character. The article examines how Nordau reads certain features of literary texts and works of art which he cannot understand as symptoms of the malfunctioning of the nervous system of the painters and writers concerned. Moving from the body of the text to the body of the artist, Nordau reads particular artistic features as signs of bodily disease of the artists, and he does so by opposing the rationalist discourse of Medicine to the figurative language of Literature.

Finnish political culture is known for its peacefulness and is characterized widely as consensual. This does not, however, mean that Finnish history and Finnish historiography are less burdened with conflicts and controversies than the general European pattern. At the same time, the rising populist discourse questions the fundaments of the consensus, and its nationalism poses a challenge to the mainstream political language. The analysis of the electoral programme of the populist True Finn party shows that this populist nationalism relies on the terminology of the mainstream political discourse to a remarkable extent, while it does not lay a heavy emphasis on memory politics.

At the end of the 15th century, Italian painters explored the new effects made possible by the use of the oil medium. They created a sense of depth and relief by following the Flemish technique of glazes, which allowed the spreading of very thin and translucent layers, rich in medium and with low pigment content. A striking example is given by the realization of the shadows in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci: the Master used the so-called ‘sfumato’ technique based on the use of glazes to obtain a ‘smoky’ aspect for the creation of flesh tones, with very subtle contours that seem to have no hard edges. Since the 16th century, his technique was famous due to the perfection of the works of art that glazes have allowed artists to reach. Analytical characterizations of painting materials have helped us to improve our knowledge about this technique. X-ray fluorescence measurements were carried out on seven paintings by Leonardo da Vinci preserved in the Louvre museum. This technique is widely used for qualitative determination of the pigments but it is very difficult to interpret the data quantitatively in the case of layered structures such as easel paintings. As well as the characterization of the palette, we obtain in-depth information on how Leonardo modelled his shadows. Comparisons between the different paintings of Leonardo highlight the specific features in the Leonardo technique.

Today Europe consists of a great number of nation states – some large like Germany, some small like Latvia – where nationhood coincides with statehood. This situation is the result of political upheavals, such as the Italian resorgimento and the waning of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, and the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the collapse of the Soviet Union and Communist Yugoslavia in the twentieth century. The process is still going on and the United Kingdom may one day be divided into three nation states, England, Scotland and Ireland. The author explores the origins of the modern state after Europe had passed through the tribal and feudal phases (fifth–twelfth centuries) and the role of the Church in the success of the late medieval monarchies, while making clear that the Church also thwarted their ambition to achieve full sovereignty. The author finally wonders what encouraged the European peoples to achieve independence and national statehood.

The relations between different countries and continents have always been important politically and scientifically. This applies in particular to relations between Turkey and Europe. Through centuries, the Ottoman Empire was seen as the main enemy of ‘Christian Europe’. In this paper, three topics are discussed: (1) European, and in particular Austrian and German, attitudes towards Turkey's membership in the European Union. It is argued that the dominantly negative attitudes in this regard do not indicate a generally negative attitude towards Turkey. (2) Some of the reasons for the negative view of Turkish EU-membership in many EU countries are discussed. (3) In conclusion, three issues are taken up: the relevance of Turkish EU-membership; the reasons and persistence of national and ethnic stereotypes; the relevance of the time factor in international relations.

Science provides the best way of understanding the world. Public understanding of science is limited: science goes against common sense, the earth moves round the sun. Paranormal beliefs are all too common and they go completely against science, there is a mystical element in our brains. Unlike religion, science is universal and is almost entirely independent of the particular culture in which it is performed. It had is origin in ancient Greece. Whenever a new technology is introduced it is not for the scientists to take an ethical decision about how it should be used, but they must make public the implications.