Description
Book SynopsisA close study of clothes worn by aristocratic families and their households at the time of the Black Prince - and of Chaucer - showing Europe-wide influences.1340 to 1363 were years remarkable for dramatic developments in fashion and for extravagant spending on costume, foreshadowing the later luxury of Richard II's court. Stella Mary Newton broke new ground with this detailed study, which discusses fourteenth-century costume in detail. She draws on surviving accounts from the Royal courts, the evidence of chronicles and poetry (often from unpublished manuscripts), and representations in painting, sculpture andmanuscript illumination. Her exploration of aspects of chivalry, particularly the choice of mottoes and devices worn at tournaments, and of the exchange of gifts of clothing between reigning monarchs, offers new insights into thesocial history of the times, and she has much to say that is relevant to the study of illuminated manuscripts of the fourteenth century. STELLA MARY NEWTON's lifelong interest in costume has been the mainspring of her work, from early days as a stage and costume designer (including designing the costumes for the first production of T.S. Eliot's
Murder in the Cathedral) to her later work at the National Gallery advising on the implications ofcostume for the purpose of dating, and at the Courtauld Institute where she set up the department for the study of the history of dress.
Trade ReviewSomething of a landmark in the history of dress... the period is notably rich in its documentation, and by carefully analysing both the manuscript sources and published accounts [the author] is able to produce an abundantly detailed narrative of the changes in fashion... Tighter clothes outraged moralists, incensed monastic chroniclers and stirred poets... in the last chapter the author discuss[es] the relationship of the garments she has meticulously reconstructed with their possible representations in manuscript illumination, sculpture and painting... Of lasting value... a pioneering book which will be of enduring value to historians of dress and art alike. * APOLLO *
The evidence for this scholarly and detailed study is drawn in the first instance from documentary sources... contemporary illustrations reinforce the written evidence... The book contains much that is of wider interest than the subject matter suggests: the various mottoes used by Edward III are discussed, and the problem of his expanding waistline is revealed; there are interesting sidelights on the new orders of chivalry. -- Michael Prestwich * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *
