Fashion in the Middle Ages

by Margaret Scott

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.

• ISBN10: 1606065858
• ISBN13: 9781606065853
• Publish Date: 11 September 2018 (first published 19 May 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Getty Trust Publications
• Imprint: Getty Publications
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Fashion in the Middle Ages was originally published as an exhibition catalog accompanying a historical retrospective at the J. Paul Getty museum in 2011. The book was apparently organized in relation to the physical exhibits in the museum, because it's not arranged in any obvious relation to time period, culture, or world location. This causes some amount of confusion and 'cultural whiplash'. I did enjoy Dr. Scott's commentary on sumptuary laws and the use of different materials.

There are interesting and well written notations about the curated objects. Many of the illuminated pages are very well notated with interesting observations about the depictions being of a different culture or time period from that in which the objects were produced.

I received an electronic galley of this book and many of the illustrations were so pixellated and unclear as to be virtually unusable. The historical notes were very clear and well written, so I assume that a print copy of this book would solve the problems which plague the e-book. Roughly 1/3 of the illustrations in the electronic version are sub-optimal. As noted before, the exhibit notes are well written and accessible and the illustrations could be better.

I enjoyed this small volume. I would have liked to have seen the original display.

Three and a half stars, most likely more (4 - 4.5) for the paper versions with better illustration reproductions.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.