Dress in the Middle Ages [Hardcover]

FranCoise Piponnier (Author), Perrine Mane (Author), Caroline Beamish (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1998

This absorbing survey of medieval clothing makes an important and unique contribution to our understanding of the cultural and social conditions of western Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Drawing on paintings and sculpture, documents and literature, surviving clothing, textiles, jewelry, and armor, Francoise Piponnier and Perrine Mane show that garments and accessories of the middle ages reveal much about life and society of the time.

The authors examine the sources for clothing: what clothes were made of, why, and from where the materials came. They provide a chronology of changes in western European dress during the period, investigating the development and spread of "fashion". They explore the differences between the clothing of men and women, explaining that changes in fashion for women were less spectacular than those for men because of the secondary position of women in medieval society. The authors also discuss the changing significance of clothing to people as they progressed through life, how clothing related to status, the varied work attire of such professionals as lawyers, academics, and members of religious orders, and the clothing of carnival and disguise.

Elegantly written and attractively presented, the book will be of interest not only to students of medieval history but also to anyone fascinated by clothes and fashion.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

Françoise Piponnier is director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Perrine Mane is head of research at the Centre Nationale des Recherches Scientifiques in Paris. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (February 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300069065
• ISBN-13: 978-0300069068
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,140,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a how-to book, December 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dress in the Middle Ages (Hardcover)

If you're looking for an overview of the evolution of style in the Middle Ages, this is not the book for you. If, on the other hand, you're looking for an overview of how clothes were perceived in medieval society and culture, you will find this book useful There are no patterns and only a few illustrations in this slim volume; the focus is instead on the people who made and wore medieval clothing. I think it tries to cover too much ground for such a short book, but I still recommend it to anyone who's trying to put medieval clothing into its cultural context.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Social history, October 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dress in the Middle Ages (Hardcover)

This is not a costume book in the usual style of "how to design your own medieval garb" but it is a good introduction to the crafts involved in making clothing in the late Middle Ages and the attitudes of the people wearing those garments. It is a social history rather than a manual, and it is very interesting. My only complaint is that a great number of the illustrations are from the early 16th century and so are better examples of transitional styles than purely medieval ones.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful information to the serious costume student, March 25, 2005

By 

Catherine Raymond (Malvern, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dress in the Middle Ages (Hardcover)

For a beginner who needs to learn the basics of what medieval costume looks like, and how it was made and worn, this book has little to give, as it has very few illustrations. However, Piponnier's book fills a different, but equally useful function by supplying details of costume for serious students of the subject who have already learned the basics elsewhere.