The expression "golden age", originally signifying a mythical period in history when our ancestors lived in plenty and harmony and bliss, has become a fairly technical term in the hand of historians, especially of culture, to designate not so much peace and plenty as cultural flourish. The Golden Age of Moslem Spain, as well as of Christian Spain, are the paradigms, but the age of Pericles, the high Renaissance in Italy in the sixteenth century and in the Low Countries in the seventeenth century, primarily in the works of historians of the plastic arts, are not less celebrated. What makes for a golden age?