Overview

An astonishing number of medieval garments survive, more-or-less complete. Here the authors present 100 items, ranging from homely to princely. The book’s wide-ranging introduction discusses the circumstances in which garments have survived to the present; sets and collections; constructional and decorative techniques; iconography; inscriptions on garments; style and fashion. Detailed descriptions and discussions explain technique and ornament, investigate alleged associations with famous people (many of them spurious) and demonstrate, even when there are no known associations, how a garment may reveal its own biography: a story that can include repair, remaking, recycling; burial, resurrection and veneration; accidental loss or deliberate deposition. The authors both have many publications in the field of medieval studies, including previous collaborations on medieval textiles such as Medieval Textiles of the British Isles AD 450-1100: an Annotated Bibliography (2007), the Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles (2012) and online bibliographies.

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9789004288706

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Reviews

...The chapters following the introduction are a feast to the eye. [...] The strength of the book lies in its wide presentation of clothing from the Middle Ages. Many surviving garments are from a rich or ecclesiastical context, and it is these rich objects that generally receive most attention in research of medieval dress. Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker have attempted to level the scales by including a considerable amount of garments from the archaeological record [...] Clothing the Past: Surviving Garments from Early Medieval to Early Modern Western Europe is a book fit for a range of audiences. Its attractive illustrated layout makes the topic accessible for a wide public, but it is also a must-have for those studying clothing in this period. Chrystel Brandenburg in Costume, 53.1 (2019): 126-27

...The chapters following the introduction are a feast to the eye. [...] The strength of the book lies in its wide presentation of clothing from the Middle Ages. Many surviving garments are from a rich or ecclesiastical context, and it is these rich objects that generally receive most attention in research of medieval dress. Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker have attempted to level the scales by including a considerable amount of garments from the archaeological record [...] Clothing the Past: Surviving Garments from Early Medieval to Early Modern Western Europe is a book fit for a range of audiences. Its attractive illustrated layout makes the topic accessible for a wide public, but it is also a must-have for those studying clothing in this period. - Chrystel Brandenburg, in: Costume, 53.1 (2019): 126-27 Scholarly studies of textiles have multiplied over the last few decades. The interdisciplinary Clothing the Past: Surviving Garments from Early Medieval to Early Modern Western Europe is a welcome addition to this growing corpus . [...] This beautifully illustrated volume presents 100 surviving garments dating from c. 450 to c. 1575. Because the authors organized the attire by type, it provides an opportunity to compare like pieces across the centuries . [...] Medievalists as well as textile scholars and enthusiasts will profit greatly from reading this volume in its entirety, for it provides a valuable means of showing both the interconnectedness of the medieval world and its rich variety. It can serve as a useful introduction and provide new information even for experts. In sum, Clothing the Past should appeal to a wide range of readers and will hopefully inspire further study of medieval textiles . Valerie L. Garver, in The Medieval Review, September 2020.

Author Information

Elizabeth Coatsworth BA, MSc, Ph.D. was Senior Lecturer and, until recently, Honorary Research Fellow in the Manchester Institute for Research and Innovation in Art and Design (MIRIAD), Manchester Metropolitan University. Her books include The Durham Gospels (with Christopher D. Verey, and T. Julian Brown, 1980); The Art of the Anglo-Saxon Goldsmith (with Michael Pinder, 2002); and Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. VIII. Western Yorkshire (2008). Gale R. Owen-Crocker BA, Ph.D., FSA is Professor Emerita, The University of Manchester, where she was previously Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture and Director of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies. Her books include Dress in Anglo-Saxon England (1986, 2004); The Four Funerals in Beowulf (2000); and The Bayeux Tapestry: Collected Papers (2012). She is co-founder and co-editor of the annual journal Medieval Clothing and Textiles.

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