The Middle Ages were marked by dramatic social, economic, political, and religious changes. Diverse regional and local conditions, and varied social classes - including peasant, artisan, merchant, clergy, nobility, and rulers - resulted in differing needs for furniture. The social settings for furniture included official and private residences both grand and humble, churches and monasteries, and civic institutions, including places of governance and learning, such as municipal halls, guild halls, and colleges. This volume of A Cultural History of Furniture explores how furniture contributed to the social fabric within these varied spaces. The chronological range of this volume extends from the fall of the Roman Empire through to the early Renaissance, a period which exhibited a wide array of types, styles, and motifs, including Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance. Rural and regional styles of furniture are also considered, as well as techniques of furniture manufacture. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

Autorentext

Erin J. Campbell is Professor of Early Modern European Art at the University of Victoria,
Canada.

Stephanie R. Miller is Associate Professor of Art History at Coastal Carolina University,
USA.

Inhalt

List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Series Preface
Editors' Acknowledgements
Introduction: Furniture and Culture, Erin J. Campbell, University of Victoria, Canada and Stephanie R. Miller, Coastal Carolina University, USA

1. Design and Motifs, Evanthia Baboula, University of Victoria, Canada
2. Makers, Making, and Materials: Materials, Tools, Techniques, and Organization of the Trade, Claudio Paolini, Ministero italiano per i Beni Culturali, Italy
3. Types and Uses: Medieval Furniture in Social Context, Christopher Pickvance, University of Kent, UK
4. The Domestic Setting, Stephanie R. Miller, Coastal Carolina University, USA
5. The Public Setting, Matthew M. Reeve, Queen's University, Canada
6. Exhibition and Display, Leah R. Clark, Open University, UK and Caroline Campbell, National Gallery, UK
7. Furniture and Architecture, Ethan Matt Kavaler, University of Toronto, Canada
8. Visual Representations: Setting the Stage - The Structural Roles of Furniture in Medieval Art and Illustration, Diane J. Reilly, Indiana University, USA and Elizabeth Moore Hunt, Boise State University, USA
9. Verbal Representations: Making 'an Honest Bede' - Encountering God in Bed in Late Medieval England, Hollie L. S. Morgan. University of Lincoln, UK
   Notes
   Bibliography
   Index