Art and Society in the Middle Ages

This short book concisely illustrates the difference between our purely aesthetic pleasure in a piece of art and the original functional purpose of that artwork. The medieval artist was a craftsman whose job was to produce art to order, as an offering to God, as a teaching aid to the population, or as an emblem of a secular or ecclesiastical wealth and authority. The Bayeaux Tapestry is just one example of art intended to teach a lesson and reflect power. Duby ranges widely across Europe, from the fifth to the fifteenth century, choosing examples to illustrate his theme - Visigothic dress fittings, Anglo-Saxon abbeys and manuscripts and shows the affects of the Vikings on art - in the way that a master can. The book concludes with the wealthy patrons of early Renaissance Europe who were the first collectors of art. A detailed chronology and bibliography accompanies the discussion.