Plus Ultra | Further Beyond:
Innovation, Discovery, and Change in the Early Modern Period
Introduction
Plus Ultra—literally “further beyond”—was the motto chosen by Charles V (1500-1558). It is a direct allusion to the phrase Non Plus Ultra (“nothing further beyond”) allegedly inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules (the classical name for the Strait of Gibraltar) and used on some medieval maps to indicate that there was no land to the West of the Mediterranean Sea. The explorations of Christopher Columbus negated this claim and the literary discoveries of the Renaissance denied the broader implication that it was unsafe to stray beyond the confines of what is traditionally known and accepted. Plus Ultra exemplifies the spirit of the early modern period, a spirit that prompted discoveries and often rapid developments and changes in science, art, politics, religion, and other facets of life and civilization.
Virtual Tour of the Exhibition
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