1st Edition
De Re Metallica The Uses of Metal in the Middle Ages
De Re Metallica brings together a wide variety of perspectives on metal use in the Middle Ages, a topic that has received less systematic scholarly attention than it deserves, given its central importance for medieval culture. Because of its strength, beauty, and prestige, metal figured prominently in many medieval contexts, from the military and utilitarian to the architectural and liturgical. Metal was a crucial ingredient in weapons and waterpipes, rose windows and reliquaries, coinage and jewelry. The 23 essays presented here, from an international team of scholars, explore the production and use of such objects, from the early Middle Ages to the sixteenth century, and from the British Isles, Iceland, and Scandinavia, to France, Germany, Spain and Italy. This thematic, chronological, and geographical scope will make this volume into a valuable resource for historians of art, technology, and culture.
Biography
Robert Bork is Associate Professor of Art History, University of Iowa, USA.
'The level of scholarship in this work is high... The argumentation is precise and thorough... The editor, Robert Bork, should be commended not only for bringing together a group of meticulously argued papers, but also for the quality of the book as a whole. Numerous figures and images clarify the articles and inform the reader. The copyediting is excellent; translations are written in clear style, and the thorough index is more than welcome. These articles will be key for future research on the individual topics they treat and, in themselves, demonstrate the variety of ways that metal artifacts can be used as historical evidence.' Bulletin for the History of Chemistry
