Description
Book SynopsisThis volume takes a comprehensive look at the many types of city spectacles that entertained the masses and confirmed various messages of power in late medieval Europe. The authors reveal a public cognizant of the power of symbols to express its goals and achievements.
Table of ContentsPart 1 Ritual significance in municipal and royal politics: Configurations of the community in late medieval spectacles - Paris and London during the dual monarchy, Lawrence Bryant; Civic liturgies and urban records in northern France 12th-14th centuries, Brigitte Bedos-Rezak; La grant fest - Philip the Fair's celebration of the knighting of his sons in Paris at Pentecost of 1313, Elizabeth A.R. Brown and Nancy Freeman Regalado. Part 2 Public and private religious expression in the urban context: Icons, altarpieces, and civic ritual in Siena Cathedral 1200-1530, Bram Kempers; The liturgy of the Count's advent in Bruges from Galbert to Van Eyck, James Murray; The spectacle of suffering in Spanish streets, Maureen Flynn. Part 3 Harmony and dissonance in the urban ceremonial community: Ceremony and oligarchy - the London Midsummer watch, Sheila Lindenbaum; Social separateness and urban ceremony - the guild of St George, Benjamin McRee; The politics of welcome - ceremonies and constitutional development in later medieval English towns, Lorraine Attreed. Part 4 The political overtones of public entertainment: The Duke and his towns - The power of ceremonies, feasts, and public amusement in the Duchy of Guelders (east Netherlands) in the 14th and 15th centuries, Gerard Nijsten ; In the pit of the Burgundian Theatre state - urban traditions and princely ambitions in Ghent, 1360-1420, David Nicholas. (part contents).
