"Jewellery has always been of central importance to all human societies, but medieval jewellery is relatively less well-known. This book draws on the important collection at the V&A to focus on the heart of the medieval period from 1100 to 1500. The jewellery worn in medieval Europe was important as an indicator of the wearer's social status and wealth, faith and superstition, allegiances and literacy. Royalty and the nobility wore gold, silver or precious gems, the costliest jewellery, while humbler ranks wore base metals, copper or pewter, sometimes set with coloured glass, in imitation of gems. The themes of love, religion and magic inspired the creation of much medieval jewellery. Gems were chosen for their colour, size and the magical or healing powers they were widely believed to bestow upon their wearers. Until late in the Middle Ages gems were not faceted, but simply polished. Sapphires, pearls, garnets and amethysts were popular, rubies the most highly prized. This richly illustrated book looks at the jewels themselves and contemporary portraits and sculpture to place the jewellery in its cultural context." --Book Jacket.

Discussion of display through a range of artefacts and in a variety of contexts: family and lineage, social distinction and aspiration, ceremony and social bonding, and the expression of power and authority. Medieval culture was intensely visual. Although this has long been recognised by art historians and by enthusiasts for particular media, there has been little attempt to study social display as a subject in its own right. And yet, display takes us directly into the values, aspirations and, indeed, anxieties of past societies. In this illustrated volume a group of experts address a series of interrelated themes around the issue of display and do so in a waywhich avoids jargon and overly technical language. Among the themes are family and lineage, social distinction and aspiration, ceremony and social bonding, and the expression of power and authority. The media include monumental effigies, brasses, stained glass, rolls of arms, manuscripts, jewels, plate, seals and coins. Contributors: MAURICE KEEN, DAVID CROUCH, PETER COSS, CAROLINE SHENTON, ADRIAN AILES, FRÉDÉRIQUE LACHAUD, MARIAN CAMPBELL, BRIAN and MOIRA GITTOS, NIGEL SAUL, FIONN PILBROW, CAROLINE BARRON and JOHN WATTS.

From women's medicine and the writings of Christine de Pizan to the lives of market and tradeswomen and the idealization of virginity, gender and social status dictated all aspects of women's lives during the middle ages. A cross-disciplinary resource, Women and Gender in Medieval Europe examines the daily reality of medieval women from all walks of life in Europe between 450 CE and 1500 CE, i.e., from the fall of the Roman Empire to the discovery of the Americas. Moving beyond biographies of famous noble women of the middles ages, the scope of this important reference work is vast and provides a comprehensive understanding of medieval women's lives and experiences. Masculinity in the middle ages is also addressed to provide important context for understanding women's roles. Entries that range from 250 words to 4,500 words in length thoroughly explore topics in the following areas: · Art and Architecture · Countries, Realms, and Regions · Daily Life · Documentary Sources · Economics · Education and Learning · Gender and Sexuality · Historiography · Law · Literature · Medicine and Science · Music and Dance · Persons · Philosophy · Politics · Political Figures · Religion and Theology · Religious Figures · Social Organization and Status Written by renowned international scholars, Women and Gender in Medieval Europe is the latest in the Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages. Easily accessible in an A-to-Z format, students, researchers, and scholars will find this outstanding reference work to be an invaluable resource on women in Medieval Europe.

The study of medieval clothing and textiles reveals much about the history of our material culture, as well as social, economic and cultural history as a whole. This book makes use of archaeological finds and text references in order to examine this history, providing on overview of historic fashions.

This is the first reference work to cover the archaeology of medieval Europe. No other reference can claim such comprehensive coverage--from Ireland to Russia and from Scandinavia to Italy, the archaeology of the entirety of medieval Europe is discussed.