History Main / OlderThanSteam

* PascalsWager: The original wager appeared in ''Pensées'', a collection of Blaise Pascal's [[AuthorExistenceFailure notes for an unfinished Christian apologetic piece]] which were published posthumously in 1670.

** ''Art/{{Allegory of the Seasons|Manfredi}}'', by Creator/BartolomeoManfredi

and Creator/BartolomeoManfredi's .

*** ''Art/TheCreationOfAdam''

* Creator/WilliamShakespeare (see JustForFun/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples), Creator/ChristopherMarlowe and other authors of Elizabethan/Jacobean drama.
* The works of Creator/JonathanSwift.
* The plays of Creator/{{Moliere}}.

* ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'', the codifier of Myth/ArthurianLegend
* The Italian CommediaDellArte farces, establishing many comedy-related tropes we enjoy to this day.
* ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' by Creator/JohnMilton.

* The plays of Tāng Xiǎnzǔ (see ''Theatre/ThePeonyPavilion'')
* ''[[Art/SistineChapel The Creation of Adam]]'', the ''Art/{{David}}'', and other works by Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti.
* {{Paintings}} from UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance such as Creator/LeonardoDaVinci's ''Art/TheLastSupper'' and Creator/BartolomeoManfredi's ''Art/{{Allegory of the Seasons|Manfredi}}''.

\\

* DramaticWind: Creator/AlexandreCabanel's ''Art/TheFallenAngel'' captures TheClimax of Lucifer's story. Being cast from Heaven after a long war against his beloved God is the turning point for his descent into [[{{Pun}} full-blown]] villainy. Among other things, this is conveyed by the wind tousling his mop of hair. It's {{justified}} because, for added RuleOfDrama, Lucifer is nested atop a mountain, so strong winds are no strange occurrence. This also serves to justify why his locks aren't obscuring his eyes, which are the {{painting|s}}'s main element.

* Creator/AlexandreCabanel, with his iconic ''Art/TheFallenAngel'' and his take on ''Art{{The Birth of Venus|Cabanel}}''.

* CornerOfWoe: ''Art/TheFallenAngel'', by Creator/AlexandreCabanel's. Lucifer is atop a rocky mountain, scrunched up with his arms protecting his face, and doing some major sulking because he's no longer welcome in Heaven.

* Artworks from UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance such as Creator/LeonardoDaVinci's ''Art/TheLastSupper'' and Creator/BartolomeoManfredi's ''Art/{{Allegory of the Seasons|Manfredi}}''.

* Creator/AlexandreCabanel, with his iconic ''Art/TheFallenAngel'' and his taken on ''Art{{The Birth of Venus|Cabanel}}''.

* ''[[Art/SistineChapel The Creation of Adam]]'', the ''Art/{{David}}'', and other works by Creator/{{Michelangelo}}.

* TheBurlesqueOfVenus: ''[[Art/TheBirthOfVenusBotticelli The Birth of Venus]]'' by Sandro Botticelli was created by 1486, Botticelli himself seen as a lesser-known contributor of the Italian Renaissance.

* GodivaHair: Botticelli's 1486 painting "The Birth of Venus", if not earlier with Lady Godiva herself.

* MobileShrubbery: ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''. "I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought, / The wood began to move."

* HobbesWasRight: ''Literature/ThomasHobbesLeviathan'', 1651

* ''Literature/ThomasHobbesLeviathan''

Notable works and authors from this time period include:

----

* ''Art/TheLastSupper'' and other works by Creator/LeonardoDaVinci.

* NotHisBlood: ''Theatre/((Macbeth}}'', 1606

* BefriendingTheEnemy At least as old as the tales of Myth/KingArthur when Sir Lancelot befriends Prince Galehaut to end a war over disputed territories.

* [[MadScientist Mad Alchemist]]: The precursor to the modern mad scientist.

* MagnificentBastard: The eponymous character of Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'', and Iago in ''Othello''. {{Satan}} in ''Literature/ParadiseLost''.