Elizabeth Sears here combines rich visual material and textual evidence to reveal the sophistication, warmth, and humor of medieval speculations about the ages of man. Medieval artists illustrated this theme, establishing the convention that each of life's phases in turn was to be represented by the figure of a man (or, rarely, a woman) who revealed his age through size, posture, gesture, and attribute. But in selectiing the number of ages to be depicted--three, four, five, six, seven, ten, or twelve--and in determining the contexts in which the cycles should appear, painters and sculptors were heirs to longstanding intellectual tradtions. Ideas promulgated by ancient and medieval natural historians, physicians, and astrologers, and by biblical exegetes and popular moralists, receive detailed treatment in this wide-ranging study. Professor Sears traces the diffusion of well-established schemes of age division from the seclusion of the early medieval schools into wider circles in the later Middle Ages and examines the increasing use of the theme as a structure of edifying discourse, both in art and literature. Elizabeth Sears is Assistant Professor of Art History at Princeton University. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The latest British Archaeological Association transactions report on the conference volumes at Beverley in 1983. Papers provide the latest thoughts on topics at Beverley Minster and in the surrounding area. Contributions include: Pre-Conquest Sculpture (J Lang); pre-13th century Beverley (R Morris & E Cambridge); 12th century sculpture from Bridlington (M Thurlby); Bridlington Augustinian church and cloister in the 12th century (J A Franklin); stained glass of Beverley Minster (D O'Connor); East Riding sepulchal monuments (B & M Gittos); St Peter's Church, Howden (N Coldstream); the Percy tomb workshop (N Dawton); architectural development of Patrington Church (J Maddison); Beverley in conflict: Archbishop Neville and the Minster Clergy, 1381-8 (R B Dobson); monumental brasses in the 14th and 15th centuries (S Badham); the misericords in Beveley Minster (C Grossinger).

In this unique collection of notebooks, letters, treatises, and contracts dealing with the art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the reader is given an extraordinary insight into the personalities and conditions of the times.

Each of these diverse essays confronts important issues in the study of medieval art, literature, and drama. The topics covered include the symbolism of scatological illustration in Gothic manuscripts (Karl Wentersdorf), connections between word and picture in religious art (Roger Ellis), and the relationship perceived between divine and human creativity (R. W. Hanning), while Clifford Davidson provides an exploration in the phenomenology of space and time in medieval theater.

These two volumes collect and update Professor Stones's papers on Arthurian manuscript illustration, one of her continuing passions. These essays explore aspects of the iconography of the romances of Chretien de Troyes in French verse, the lengthy Lancelot-Grail romance in French prose, and other versions of the chivalrous exploits of King Arthur's knights - the best-sellers of the Middle Ages. Illustrated copies of these romances survive in huge numbers from the early thirteenth century through the beginnings of print, and were read for their text and their pictures throughout the French-speaking world. Of special interest is the cultural context in which these popular works were made and disseminated, by scribes and artists whose work encompassed all kinds of books, for patrons whose collecting was wide-ranging, including secular books alongside works of liturgical and devotional interest.

In this authoritative, lively book, the celebrated Italian novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco presents a learned summary of medieval aesthetic ideas. Juxtaposing theology and science, poetry and mysticism, Eco explores the relationship that existed between the aesthetic theories and the artistic experience and practice of medieval culture. "[A] delightful study. . . . [Eco's] remarkably lucid and readable essay is full of contemporary relevance and informed by the energies of a man in love with his subject." -Robert Taylor, Boston Globe "The book lays out so many exciting ideas and interesting facts that readers will find it gripping." -Washington Post Book World "A lively introduction to the subject." -Michael Camille, The Burlington Magazine "If you want to become acquainted with medieval aesthetics, you will not find a more scrupulously researched, better written (or better translated), intelligent and illuminating introduction than Eco's short volume." -D. C. Barrett, Art Monthly