An Epithalamion, or Marriage Song on the Lady Elizabeth and Count Palatine being Married on St Valentine’s Day (John Donne, 1613)

Frederick and Elizabeth, King and Queen of Bohemia Today marks the 404th anniversary of the marriage of Elizabeth Stuart (sister of Charles I) to Frederick, the Elector Palatine. The pair married on 14 February 1613, with lavish simultaneous celebrations in London and Heidelberg. John Donne was commissioned to write a marriage song to celebrate the occasion, so, for all those celebrating Valentine's Day, here it is ...

Re-imagining the Hortus Palatinus

The Hortus Palatinus, with Heidelberg Castle in the background, by Jacques Fouquier, c.1614-16

The Hortus Palantinus - the 'Garden of the Palatinate' - was once described as the 'eighth wonder of the word'. Designed by French engineer Salomon de Caus, it was commissioned by Frederick of Bohemia in 1614 as a gift for his new wife, Elizabeth Stuart - sister of Charles I of England - for their new home in Heidelberg.

Yet Germany's 'greatest Renaissance garden' was doomed never to be completed. The Thirty Years War came and wrecked its striking multi-level terraces, the married couple fleeing to the safety of the Hague.

Re-imaging the Hortus is not the forensic exercise it might have been, however, thanks to the survival of De Caus' original plans, indicative paintings and a helpful digital resource ...