Medieval castles have traditionally been explained as feats of military engineering and tools of feudal control, but Abigail Wheatley takes a different approach, looking at a range of sources usually neglected in castle studies. Evidence from contemporary literature and art reveals the castle's place at the heart of medieval culture, as an architecture of ideas every bit as sophisticated as the church architecture of the period.
This study offers a genuinely fresh perspective. Most castle scholars confine themselves to historical documents, but Wheatley examines literary and artistic evidence for its influence on and response to contemporary castle architecture. Sermons, seals and ivory caskets, local legends and Roman ruins all have their part to play. What emerges is a fascinating web of cultural resonances: the castle is implicated in every aspect of medieval consciousness, from private religious contemplation to the creation of national mythologies. This book makes a compelling case for a new, interdisciplinary approach to castle studies.
ABIGAIL WHEATLEY studied for her PhD at York University's Centre for Medieval Studies.
- ISBN10 1281949930
- ISBN13 9781281949936
- Publish Date 1 January 2004
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 17 February 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Boydell & Brewer
- Format eBook
- Pages 174
- Language English