A Cultural History of Furniture in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

The Middle Ages were marked by dramatic social, economic, political, and religious changes. Diverse regional and local conditions, and varied social classes - including peasant, artisan, merchant, clergy, nobility, and rulers - resulted in differing needs for furniture. The social settings for furniture included official and private residences both grand and humble, churches and monasteries, and civic institutions, including places of governance and learning, such as municipal halls, guild halls, and colleges. This volume of A Cultural History of Furniture explores how furniture contributed to the social fabric within these varied spaces. The chronological range of this volume extends from the fall of the Roman Empire through to the early Renaissance, a period which exhibited a wide array of types, styles, and motifs, including Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance. Rural and regional styles of furniture are also considered, as well as techniques of furniture manufacture. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

Product details

• Authors: Erin J Campbell, Stephanie Miller
• Assisted by: Erin J. Campbell (Editor), Stephanie Miller (Editor)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 11.12.2025
• EAN: 9781350595545
• ISBN: 978-1-350-59554-5
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 166 mm x 244 mm x 22 mm
• Series: The Cultural Histories Series
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Interior design, design; HISTORY / Social History, Furniture Design, Social & cultural history, DESIGN / Furniture, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Social and cultural history, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, c 500 to c 1000 CE, Furniture & furnishings manufacture, HISTORY / Europe / Medieval, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE, HISTORY / Europe / Renaissance