Cloth And Clothing In Medieval Europe

Describes the making and wearing of clothing in the Middle Ages.

A clear and accessibly written guide to the medieval cloth-making trade in England.

Examines the role of clothing in medieval society and discusses trends in clothing styles and the characteristic dress of different classes of people.

In this book, the author explores medieval society's fascination with the cross-dressed woman. The author examines a wide variety of religious, literary, and historical sources, which record interpretations of sartorial attempts to overcome gender hierarchy and also illustrate, mainly through the device of inversion, a remarkably sustained desire to examine and reexamine the nature of social gender identities.

To stripe a surface serves to distinguish it, to point it out, to oppose it or associate it with another surface, and thus to classify it, to keep an eye on it, to verify it, even to censor it. Throughout the ages, the stripe has made its mark in mysterious ways. From prisoners' uniforms to tailored suits, a street sign to a set of sheets, Pablo Picasso to Saint Joseph, stripes have always made a bold statement. But the boundary that separates the good stripe from the bad is often blurred. Why, for instance, were stripes associated with the devil during the Middle Ages? How did stripes come to symbolize freedom and unity after the American and French revolutions? When did the stripe become a standard in men's fashion? "In the stripe," writes author Michel Pastoureau, "there is something that resists enclosure within systems." So before putting on that necktie or waving your country's flag, look to The Devil's Cloth for a colorful history of the stripe in all its variety, controversy, and connotation.

The best new research on medieval clothing and textiles, drawing from a range of disciplines and with a special focus on reconstruction.

"One of the most celebrated painters of the eighteenth century, Jan van Huysum (Dutch, 1682-1749) gained immense fame and fortune for his meticulously rendered bouquets of flowers and fruit. With their precise botanical depictions, brilliant colors, and technical virtuosity, Van Huysums's elegant compositions were avidly collected by the elite connoisseurs throughout Europe."-- Publisher description.