Fashion In The Age Of The Black Prince

A close study of clothes worn by aristocratic families and their households at the time of the Black Prince - and of Chaucer - showing Europe-wide influences. 1340 to 1363 were years remarkable for dramatic developments in fashion and for extravagant spending on costume, foreshadowing the later luxury of Richard II's court. Stella Mary Newton broke new ground with this detailed study, which discusses fourteenth-century costume in detail. She draws on surviving accounts from the Royal courts, the evidence of chronicles and poetry (often from unpublished manuscripts), and representations in painting, sculpture andmanuscript illumination. Her exploration of aspects of chivalry, particularly the choice of mottoes and devices worn at tournaments, and of the exchange of gifts of clothing between reigning monarchs, offers new insights into thesocial history of the times, and she has much to say that is relevant to the study of illuminated manuscripts of the fourteenth century. STELLA MARY NEWTON's lifelong interest in costume has been the mainspring of her work, from early days as a stage and costume designer (including designing the costumes for the first production of T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral) to her later work at the National Gallery advising on the implications ofcostume for the purpose of dating, and at the Courtauld Institute where she set up the department for the study of the history of dress.

This fully updated second edition uses the career of Edward the Black Prince to explore key developments in the history of late medieval Europe. The eruption of the Hundred Years War, the arrival of the Black Death, England’s first religious heresy, and major innovations in the role of parliament all took place during Edward’s lifetime. As king-in-waiting and one of the most significant noblemen in the realm, the prince was a major influence over local and international politics, and his example helped reshape concepts of lordship throughout the Plantagenet estates. This thoroughly revised edition includes new sources and builds on the wealth of scholarship which has been published in recent years about the fourteenth century. It includes considerations of the prince’s military career in France and Iberia, his household and the ‘colonial’ characteristics of his administrations in Wales and Aquitaine. The prince’s career also reveals the influence of the chivalric ethic and the importance of Gascony to the English crown, while his relationship with Joan, ‘the Fair Maid’ of Kent is suggestive of the changing character of female agency in the later middle ages. Drawing on central themes such as plague, chivalry, lordship, parliament, gender, and religion, Edward the Black Prince is essential reading for all students and scholars concerned with society, culture, and power in medieval Europe.

One of the most charismatic and enigmatic personalities of the High Middle Ages, Edward the 'Black Prince' commanded an English division at the battle of Crecy at just 16 years old. But despite his battlefield exploits, romantic reputation, and popularity among the people, Edward has become notorious as a proponent of 'scorched earth' campaigns, or chevauchee. These expeditions amounted to little more than the licensed plunder of undefended towns and the murder of non-combatants. The premature death of Edward saw his infant son ascend to the throne and led, eventually, to the fraticidal chaos of the Wars of the Roses and the emergence of the Tudor dynasty. In this startling reappraisal of the prince's life, David Green assesses his actions in their historical context and examines what might have been had Edward the Black Prince become King Edward IV.

As a child he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of sixteen, he helped defeat the French at Crécy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England’s dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility and drew them like moths to the flame of his cause. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as “the Black Prince.” His military achievements captured the imagination of Europe: heralds and chroniclers called him “the flower of all chivalry” and “the embodiment of all valor.” But what was the true nature of the man behind the chivalric myth, and of the violent but pious world in which he lived?

The Middle Ages were a time of great innovation, artistic vigor, and cultural richness. Appearances mattered a great deal during this vibrant era and hair was a key marker of the dynamism and sophistication of the period. Hair became ever more central to religious iconography, from Mary Magdalen to the Virgin Mary, while vernacular poets embellished their verses with descriptions of hairstyles both humble and elaborate, and merchants imported the finest hair products from great distances. Drawing on a wealth of visual, textual and object sources, the volume examines how hairstyles and their representations developed-often to a degree of dazzling complexity-between the years AD 800 and AD 1450. From wimpled matrons and tonsured monks to adorned noblewomen, hair is revealed as a potent cultural symbol of gender, age, sexuality, health, class, and race. Illustrated with approximately 80 images, A Cultural History of Hair in the Middle Ages brings together leading scholars to present an overview of the period with essays on politics, science, religion, fashion, beauty, the visual arts, and popular culture.

A fascinating recreation of the world of one of England's most charismatic monarchs, from award-winning author and historian Richard Barber The destruction of the French army at Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite. The young Edward III's triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crécy anything seemed possible - Edward's claim to be King of France could be pressed home and, in any event, enormous rewards of land, treasure and prestige were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible. It was to enshrine this moment that Edward created one of the most famous of all knightly orders, the Company of the Garter. Barber writes about both the great campaigns and the individuals who formed the original membership of the Company - and through their biographies makes the period tangible and fascinating. This is a book about knighthood, battle tactics and grand strategy, but it is also about fashion, literature and the privates lives of everyone from queens to freebooters. Barber's book is a remarkable achievement - but also an extremely enjoyable one. Reviews: 'Barber [has an] infectious passion for and deep knowledge of his subject matter ... elegant prose and rigorous historical analysis ... a valuable and thorough addition to the body of work on this most impressive of English monarchs' Sunday Times 'In Edward III and the Triumph of England [Barber] has written the kind of book that the king would have enjoyed: full of battles, glitter and ceremony ... he has an original eye and an elegant pen' Jonathan Sumption, Literary Review 'Barber share's his hero's love of chivalry ... The book sparkle[s] with some of Edward's own glitz' Telegraph 'This absorbing book is layered rather than linear, sifting with uncommon sensitivity through challenging sources to test the boundaries of what we can and cannot know ... We discover the complexity of the world in which Edward and his commanders lived' Helen Castor, The Times About the author: Richard Barber has had a huge influence on the study of medieval history and literature, both as a writer and as a publisher. His major works include The Knight and Chivalry (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine, The Penguin Guide to Medieval Europe and The Holy Grail: The History of a Legend. He lives in East Anglia.

This illustrated survey of 600 years of fashion investigates its cultural and social meaning from medieval Europe to twentieth-century America. Breward's work provides the reader with a clear guide to the changes in style and taste and shows that clothes have always played a pivotal role in defining a sense of identity and society, especially when concerned with sexual and body politics.