Overview

English Church Monuments in the Middle Ages offers a comprehensive survey of English church monuments from the pre-Conquest period to the early sixteenth century. Ground-breaking in its treatment of the subject in an historical context, it explores medieval monuments both in terms of their social meaning and the role that they played in the religious strategies of the commemorated. Attention is given to the production of monuments, the pattern of their geographical distribution, the evolution of monument types, and the role of design in communicating the monument's message. A major theme is the self-representation of the commemorated as reflected in the main classes of effigy-those of the clergy, the knights and esquires, and the lesser landowner or burgess class, while the effigial monuments of women are examined from the perspective of the construction of gender. While seeking to use monuments as windows onto the experiences and lives of the commemorated, it also exploits documentary sources to show what they can tell us about the influences that helped shape the monuments. An innovative chapter looks at the construction of identity in inscriptions, showing how the liturgical role of the monument limited the opportunities for expressions of self. Nigel Saul seeks to place monuments at the very centre of medieval studies, highlighting their importance not only for the history of sculpture and design, but also for social and religious history more generally.

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9780199215980

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[An] excellent book: lucid, scholarly and wide-ranging. Southern History Society Impressive... This admirably clear and well-researched book will constitute a new starting point for all students of English medieval tomb monuments. Phillip Lindley, The Burlington Magazine

Saul's text is of a richness which deserves close and repeated reading. Nicholas Rogers, Journal of Ecclesiastical History ... a rich and comprehensive survey ... a superb study... D. M. Palliser, English Historical Review ...Nigel Saul, in a work of impressive scope and scholarship, has raised the study of medieval monuments to a new level ...This is a most enlightening addition to a dark subject, and it will enlarge the understanding and sharpen the eyes of all medievalists. Graham Parry, Ecclesiology Today [a] superb study... There is no better place for Nigel Saul's splendid volume than on the book shelf of every reader interested in medieval people and their monuments. Roger Rosewell, Vidimus This authoritative study is a tour de force. Northern History [An] excellent book: lucid, scholarly and wide-ranging. Southern History Society Impressive... This admirably clear and well-researched book will constitute a new starting point for all students of English medieval tomb monuments. Phillip Lindley, The Burlington Magazine A remarkable achievement...up to date, valuable and stimulating Philip J Lankester, Church Monuments

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