A survey of medieval clothing, offering an understanding of the cultural and social conditions of western Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. It draws on paintings and sculpture, documents and literature, surviving clothing, textiles, jewellery and armour.
Explore medieval fashions through illuminated manuscripts—from the luxurious garments worn by royalty to the modest clothes of the peasantry. From the costly velvets and furs worn by kings to the undyed wools and rough linens of the peasantry, the clothing worn by the various classes in the Middle Ages played an integral role in medieval society. In addition to providing clues to status, profession, and/or geographic origin, textiles were a crucial element in the economies of many countries and cities. Much of what is known about medieval fashion is gleaned from the pages of manuscripts, which serve as a rich source of imagery. This volume provides a detailed look at both the actual fabrics and composition of medieval clothing as well as the period’s attitude toward fashion through an exploration of illuminated manuscripts in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The last portion of the book is dedicated to the depiction of clothing in biblical times and the ancient world as seen through a medieval lens. Throughout, excerpts from literary sources of the period help shed light on the perceived role and function of fashion in daily life.
Margaret Scott presents a fascinating narrative of the history of European clothing for roughly 600 years from the tenth century onwards. Illuminated manuscripts are a treasure trove of information on the clothing people wore, or wanted to be seen to wear, in greater or lesser European courts, but she reminds us that written records, like household accounts, are a valuable complement to the pictures.
Describes clothes and crafts throughout the Middle Ages in Europe while also discussing the everyday life of the people, their technological skills, and social and economic systems.
This absorbing survey of medieval clothing makes an important and unique contribution to our understanding of the cultural and social conditions of western Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Drawing on paintings and sculpture, documents and literature, surviving clothing, textiles, jewelry, and armor, Fran oise Piponnier and Perrine Mane show that garments and accessories of the middle ages reveal much about life and society of the time. The authors examine the sources for clothing: what clothes were made of, why, and from where the materials came. They provide a chronology of changes in western European dress during the period, investigating the development and spread of "fashion." They explore the differences between the clothing of men and women, explaining that changes in fashion for women were less spectacular than those for men because of the secondary position of women in medieval society. The authors also discuss the changing significance of clothing to people as they progressed through life, how clothing related to status, the varied work attire of such professionals as lawyers, academics, and members of religious orders, and the clothing of carnival and disguise. Elegantly written and attractively presented, the book will be of interest not only to students of medieval history but also to anyone fascinated by clothes and fashion.
During the medieval period, people invested heavily in looking good. The finest fashions demanded careful chemistry and compounds imported from great distances and at considerable risk to merchants; the Church became a major consumer of both the richest and humblest varieties of cloth, shoes, and adornment; and vernacular poets began to embroider their stories with hundreds of verses describing a plethora of dress styles, fabrics, and shopping experiences. Drawing on a wealth of pictorial, textual and object sources, the volume examines how dress cultures developed – often to a degree of dazzling sophistication – between the years 800 to 1450. Beautifully illustrated with 100 images, A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion in the Medieval Age presents an overview of the period with essays on textiles, production and distribution, the body, belief, gender and sexuality, status, ethnicity, visual representations, and literary representations.
More than a pictorial archive of medieval dress and decoration, this beautiful collection is also valuable for its discerning scholarship. A magnificent compilation of artwork from Henry Shaw's detailed study of court life in the Middle Ages, this splendid book provides a grand display of medieval figures and fashions of the times. Reproduced directly from Shaw's original, hand-colored plates and identified by brief captions, more than 200 superb illustrations depict knights in battle, ladies in waiting, kings, queens, popes, and commoners, as well as armor and weapons, jewelry, and other decorative accessories. Skillfully adapted from rare paintings, illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, textiles, and stained glass windows, these lovely illustrations will be invaluable to fashion historians and costume designers. Craftworkers will find them equally useful.
Dangerous and difficult for both mother and child--what was the birth experience like in the Middle Ages? Dependent, in part, on social class, what pastimes did children enjoy? What games did they play? With often uncomfortable and even harsh living conditions, what kind of care did children receive in the home on a daily basis? These are just a few of the questions this work addresses about the day-to-day childhood experiences during the Middle Ages. Focusing on all social classes of children, the topics are wide-ranging. Chapters cover birth and baptism; early childhood; playing; clothing; care and discipline; formal education; university education; career training for peasants, craftsmen, merchants, clergy and nobility; and coming of age. In addition, three appendices are included. Appendix I provides information on the humoral theory of medicine. Appendix II offers examples of medieval math problems. Appendix III covers a unique episode in medieval history known as "The Children's Crusade." Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.