Titelpagina voor Roma Pertubata, 1706 1706 - 1707

This is the title page of “Roma Perturbata,” made in 1706 by Carel Allard, a Dutch printmaker active during a turbulent period in European religious and political history. The book critiques the Papacy and monastic orders, applying thirteen allegorical images to the Ten Commandments to expose what the authors saw as hypocrisy. The text points specifically to tensions between the Papacy and the States of the Netherlands. It alludes to Jansenism, a controversial theological movement within the Catholic Church. Printed in Leuven, now in Belgium, it reflects the intense religious debates and political alignments of the time. The book’s publication is part of a broader history of religious conflict and the struggle for power between different European states and religious factions. To understand this work, historians might consult religious pamphlets, political treatises, and institutional records from the period. The meaning of this title page is contingent on the complex interplay of social, religious, and political forces that shaped its creation and reception.