What do you think?
Rate this book
The Middle Ages in 50 Objects
The extraordinary array of images included in this volume reveals the full and rich history of the Middle Ages. Exploring material objects from the European, Byzantine and Islamic worlds, the book casts a new light on the cultures that formed them, each culture illuminated by its treasures. The objects are divided among four topics: The Holy and the Faithful; The Sinful and the Spectral; Daily Life and Its Fictions, and Death and Its Aftermath. Each section is organized chronologically, and every object is accompanied by a penetrating essay that focuses on its visual and cultural significance within the wider context in which the object was made and used. Spot maps add yet another way to visualize and consider the significance of the objects and the history that they reveal. Lavishly illustrated, this is an appealing and original guide to the cultural history of the Middle Ages.
250 pages, Hardcover
Published June 22, 2018
4 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Elina Gertsman
16 books5 followersAssociate Professor in the Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University.
Professor Gertsman specializes in Gothic and late medieval art. Her research interests include issues of memory and perception; uncanny animation of inanimate objects; medieval image theory; performance/performativity; multi-sensory reception processes; late medieval macabre; materiality and somaticism; and medieval concepts of emotion and affectivity. Many of these topics are explored in the broad range of graduate and undergraduate courses she teaches at CWRU.
Prof. Gertsman is the author of The Dance of Death in the Middle Ages: Image, Text, Performance (2010) and Worlds Within: Opening the Medieval Shrine Madonna (2015). The Dance of Death, which was awarded the Medieval Academy of America subvention and the Samuel H. Kress Research Award from the International Center for Medieval Art, won the John Nicholas Brown Prize from the Medieval Academy of America for the best first book in medieval studies in 2014. Worlds Within was awarded the Millard Meiss Publication Grant and the Samuel H. Kress Research Award from the ICMA. Prof. Gertsman is the editor of Visualizing Medieval Performance: Perspectives, Histories, Contexts (2008) and Crying in the Middle Ages: Tears of History (2011), and co-editor of Thresholds of Medieval Visual Culture: Liminal Spaces (2012). Most recently, she guest-edited an issue of the journal Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural (published by Penn State Press), titled “Animating Medieval Art.”
Prof. Gertsman’s articles have appeared in many peer-reviewed collections and journals such as Gesta, Studies in Iconography, and Art History. A recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and the Kress Foundation, she was recently awarded a year-long fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies to pursue work on her third monograph. She currently serves on the board of directors of the International Center for Medieval Art.
Prof. Gertsman is working on several new projects including the monograph on emptiness in late medieval art, tentatively titled Figuring Absence; a focus exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art co-curated with Stephen Fliegel; and the book co-authored with Barbara Rosenwein, The Middle Ages in 50 Objects.
To learn more about Prof. Gertsman’s scholarship, please visit https://case.academia.edu/ElinaGertsman
Professor Gertsman specializes in Gothic and late medieval art. Her research interests include issues of memory and perception; uncanny animation of inanimate objects; medieval image theory; performance/performativity; multi-sensory reception processes; late medieval macabre; materiality and somaticism; and medieval concepts of emotion and affectivity. Many of these topics are explored in the broad range of graduate and undergraduate courses she teaches at CWRU.
Prof. Gertsman is the author of The Dance of Death in the Middle Ages: Image, Text, Performance (2010) and Worlds Within: Opening the Medieval Shrine Madonna (2015). The Dance of Death, which was awarded the Medieval Academy of America subvention and the Samuel H. Kress Research Award from the International Center for Medieval Art, won the John Nicholas Brown Prize from the Medieval Academy of America for the best first book in medieval studies in 2014. Worlds Within was awarded the Millard Meiss Publication Grant and the Samuel H. Kress Research Award from the ICMA. Prof. Gertsman is the editor of Visualizing Medieval Performance: Perspectives, Histories, Contexts (2008) and Crying in the Middle Ages: Tears of History (2011), and co-editor of Thresholds of Medieval Visual Culture: Liminal Spaces (2012). Most recently, she guest-edited an issue of the journal Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural (published by Penn State Press), titled “Animating Medieval Art.”
Prof. Gertsman’s articles have appeared in many peer-reviewed collections and journals such as Gesta, Studies in Iconography, and Art History. A recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and the Kress Foundation, she was recently awarded a year-long fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies to pursue work on her third monograph. She currently serves on the board of directors of the International Center for Medieval Art.
Prof. Gertsman is working on several new projects including the monograph on emptiness in late medieval art, tentatively titled Figuring Absence; a focus exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art co-curated with Stephen Fliegel; and the book co-authored with Barbara Rosenwein, The Middle Ages in 50 Objects.
To learn more about Prof. Gertsman’s scholarship, please visit https://case.academia.edu/ElinaGertsman
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 6, 2018
Normally, I review books focused on the ancient world but I received an email from Cambridge University Press asking if I would be interested in receiving a review copy of their new release "The Middle Ages in 50 objects." Even though the Middle Ages is not the period of my personal research, I still enjoy examining art and artifacts from the Middle Ages when I photograph the permanent collections of of the museums I visit, so I agreed to give it my attention.
As promised, the book was lavishly illustrated with full page color photos of the artifacts selected for inclusion. I was surprised that all of the objects came from a single museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, though. Most world-class museums have galleries of medieval art so I was not expecting a single museum not devoted to that historical period, to have the breadth needed to encompass an entire age.
But Professor Elina Gertsman of Case Western Reserve University and her co-author, Professor Barbara Rosenwein of Loyola University Chicago, have certainly selected objects that are representative of their four focus areas, The Holy and the Faithful, The Sinful and the Spectral, Daily Life and Its Fictions, and Death and Its Aftermath.
Most objects are Christian-themed, but several artifacts from Islamic regions are also included. I was particularly surprised to find a sculpture dated as early as 280-290 CE to be the first object discussed, though. I usually consider the Middle Ages a period from the fifth to fifteenth centuries CE, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and lasting into the early Renaissance. But, as a scholar of the ancient period, I was, of course, anxious to read what these distinguished art historians had to say about the piece.
The piece, entitled Jonah Cast Up, was a bit baffling to me. Most of us are quite familiar with the tale of Jonah being swallowed by a a huge fish (New International version, King James version) or dag gadol - great fish (Hebrew). But here, the "fish" has the head and forepaws of a wolf, typically symbolic of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, the male figure has the hair style and beard often seen in Roman art depicting Jupiter.
The authors, too, recognized the resemblance of the Jonah figure to Zeus (Jupiter in the Roman pantheon).
"A strong muscular man with an abundant beard and wild curly hair, Jonah dives out from the jaws of the beast, arms up, the movement of his torso echoing the direction of the sea creature's pricked up ears and scrunched snout. The broad-shouldered Jonah, with his copious curls and robust arms, is reminiscent of images of Zeus, the Greek god of Thunder and the ruler of Olympus."
But they say nothing about the symbolism of the wolf other than to observe that the great fish of the Jonah story has sometimes been interpreted as a sea monster (in later Greek translations of the scriptures).
I thought, perhaps, the archaeological context could provide additional insight.
The authors point to collateral finds as possible evidence of a patron with Christian leanings.
"This sculpture seems to have formed part of an ensemble. It was supposedly found buried in a very large jar alongside six paired portrait busts, an image of Christ the Good Shepherd, and three other representations of Jonah in prayer, under the shade plant, and being swallowed by the sea monster. The patrons therefore appear to have had Christian leanings."
The dating appears to be tentative and the authors speculate whether it was produced a little later than the date given, perhaps during Diocletian's persecution of Christian believers in 302 CE.
"Soldiers were ordered to sacrifice to the Roman gods or face discharge; Christian churches were destroyed; books of scripture were confiscated and burned; and Christians were stripped of their rank if they did not conform, making them liable to torture or execution. Whether carved before the Great Persecution or at some point during it, the marble image of the rebellious Jonah - not only saved from drowning but also finding himself cast safely ashore - must have been exceptionally reassuring."
I would offer a slightly different interpretation as another possibility. I think the sculpture could have been produced a little later still, during the reign of Constantius II. Although seemingly an image representing the Jonah story, I think it could have been carved to represent the expulsion of paganism from the Roman Empire itself. That would account for the human figure's resemblance to Zeus (Jupiter) and for the wolf's head on the sea monster's body - still probably reassuring to a Christian-leaning patron who may have suffered during the Great Persecution.
I definitely agree with the author's summary conclusion, however.
"Jonah Cast Up stands as a perfect witness to the cultural and religious complexity of the late third [and early fourth] century."
I also found a gilt-silver arm reliquary of the Apostles, circa 1190 CE, from lower Saxony interesting too. Although I view the veneration of bits of human corpses to be a macabre practice, I have admired beautiful reliquaries, strictly from an artistic perspective, at a number of museums I have visited. As an ancient scholar, though, the thing I found really intriguing was the authors' observation that often reliquaries do not house the body part they represent, although this one did. It seems deception has plagued religions for thousands of years as I have read that ancient Egyptian votive mummies depicting various animals rarely contain the animal they represent either.
I found the background information on a 14th century French ivory mirror case depicting a couple playing chess quite eye-opening. In fact, the authors' description of some of the symbolism represented by this particular mirror and chess as a metaphor for courtship made me blush!
"Such mirrors were popular in French and German wealthy households, surviving in large numbers. The subjects carved on their cases were almost always secular, some featuring the God of Love, others the Castle of Love Under attack still other scenes of courtship and narratives from romances. The game of chess, very popular in medieval literature, was particularly favored for mirrors, which were given as gifts and often formed part of a trousseau."
I'll definitely have to keep my eye out for more of these little marvels in my museum travels!
I found the authors' background information and symbolic interpretation of the selected artifacts in "The Middle Ages in 50 Objects" quite fascinating and highly recommend this text.
As promised, the book was lavishly illustrated with full page color photos of the artifacts selected for inclusion. I was surprised that all of the objects came from a single museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, though. Most world-class museums have galleries of medieval art so I was not expecting a single museum not devoted to that historical period, to have the breadth needed to encompass an entire age.
But Professor Elina Gertsman of Case Western Reserve University and her co-author, Professor Barbara Rosenwein of Loyola University Chicago, have certainly selected objects that are representative of their four focus areas, The Holy and the Faithful, The Sinful and the Spectral, Daily Life and Its Fictions, and Death and Its Aftermath.
Most objects are Christian-themed, but several artifacts from Islamic regions are also included. I was particularly surprised to find a sculpture dated as early as 280-290 CE to be the first object discussed, though. I usually consider the Middle Ages a period from the fifth to fifteenth centuries CE, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and lasting into the early Renaissance. But, as a scholar of the ancient period, I was, of course, anxious to read what these distinguished art historians had to say about the piece.
The piece, entitled Jonah Cast Up, was a bit baffling to me. Most of us are quite familiar with the tale of Jonah being swallowed by a a huge fish (New International version, King James version) or dag gadol - great fish (Hebrew). But here, the "fish" has the head and forepaws of a wolf, typically symbolic of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, the male figure has the hair style and beard often seen in Roman art depicting Jupiter.
The authors, too, recognized the resemblance of the Jonah figure to Zeus (Jupiter in the Roman pantheon).
"A strong muscular man with an abundant beard and wild curly hair, Jonah dives out from the jaws of the beast, arms up, the movement of his torso echoing the direction of the sea creature's pricked up ears and scrunched snout. The broad-shouldered Jonah, with his copious curls and robust arms, is reminiscent of images of Zeus, the Greek god of Thunder and the ruler of Olympus."
But they say nothing about the symbolism of the wolf other than to observe that the great fish of the Jonah story has sometimes been interpreted as a sea monster (in later Greek translations of the scriptures).
I thought, perhaps, the archaeological context could provide additional insight.
The authors point to collateral finds as possible evidence of a patron with Christian leanings.
"This sculpture seems to have formed part of an ensemble. It was supposedly found buried in a very large jar alongside six paired portrait busts, an image of Christ the Good Shepherd, and three other representations of Jonah in prayer, under the shade plant, and being swallowed by the sea monster. The patrons therefore appear to have had Christian leanings."
The dating appears to be tentative and the authors speculate whether it was produced a little later than the date given, perhaps during Diocletian's persecution of Christian believers in 302 CE.
"Soldiers were ordered to sacrifice to the Roman gods or face discharge; Christian churches were destroyed; books of scripture were confiscated and burned; and Christians were stripped of their rank if they did not conform, making them liable to torture or execution. Whether carved before the Great Persecution or at some point during it, the marble image of the rebellious Jonah - not only saved from drowning but also finding himself cast safely ashore - must have been exceptionally reassuring."
I would offer a slightly different interpretation as another possibility. I think the sculpture could have been produced a little later still, during the reign of Constantius II. Although seemingly an image representing the Jonah story, I think it could have been carved to represent the expulsion of paganism from the Roman Empire itself. That would account for the human figure's resemblance to Zeus (Jupiter) and for the wolf's head on the sea monster's body - still probably reassuring to a Christian-leaning patron who may have suffered during the Great Persecution.
I definitely agree with the author's summary conclusion, however.
"Jonah Cast Up stands as a perfect witness to the cultural and religious complexity of the late third [and early fourth] century."
I also found a gilt-silver arm reliquary of the Apostles, circa 1190 CE, from lower Saxony interesting too. Although I view the veneration of bits of human corpses to be a macabre practice, I have admired beautiful reliquaries, strictly from an artistic perspective, at a number of museums I have visited. As an ancient scholar, though, the thing I found really intriguing was the authors' observation that often reliquaries do not house the body part they represent, although this one did. It seems deception has plagued religions for thousands of years as I have read that ancient Egyptian votive mummies depicting various animals rarely contain the animal they represent either.
I found the background information on a 14th century French ivory mirror case depicting a couple playing chess quite eye-opening. In fact, the authors' description of some of the symbolism represented by this particular mirror and chess as a metaphor for courtship made me blush!
"Such mirrors were popular in French and German wealthy households, surviving in large numbers. The subjects carved on their cases were almost always secular, some featuring the God of Love, others the Castle of Love Under attack still other scenes of courtship and narratives from romances. The game of chess, very popular in medieval literature, was particularly favored for mirrors, which were given as gifts and often formed part of a trousseau."
I'll definitely have to keep my eye out for more of these little marvels in my museum travels!
I found the authors' background information and symbolic interpretation of the selected artifacts in "The Middle Ages in 50 Objects" quite fascinating and highly recommend this text.
July 19, 2020
Neil MacGregor's "History of the World in 100 Objects" has given rise to a book-publishing industry, of whose productions the present volume is a specimen. One has to dig a little way into the book to find that the objects all come from a single collection, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and this may account for the book's uneven coverage. Most objects are from Western Europe, and several are from the Middle East, but Eastern Europe and places further afield are either poorly represented or unrepresented. It seems we have here 50 assorted pieces of a larger jigsaw puzzle that don't fit together to tell a coherent history of the Middle Ages.
Each object has a full-page color image, with three pages of text setting it in the context of contemporary history and art; often there is a small-scale map showing the location of some key places and territories. The objects themselves are mostly unspectacular, and might not catch a casual museum visitor's eye, but it turns out there is a great deal to be said about them all, so reading the book could be even more rewarding than a museum visit. Nevertheless I am now eager to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art to acquaint myself further with these items and to see what else the collection offers.
Each object has a full-page color image, with three pages of text setting it in the context of contemporary history and art; often there is a small-scale map showing the location of some key places and territories. The objects themselves are mostly unspectacular, and might not catch a casual museum visitor's eye, but it turns out there is a great deal to be said about them all, so reading the book could be even more rewarding than a museum visit. Nevertheless I am now eager to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art to acquaint myself further with these items and to see what else the collection offers.
August 25, 2018
Stunning book that does an excellent job of looking at medieval material culture and contextualizing it for mainstream audiences. It’s not just an art book, it takes readers on a journey through medieval history and across the globe to fully understand the reason behind the creation of the objects and what role they fulfilled in society at that time. It was so enjoyable to read and truly beautiful to look at. Highly recommend.
October 21, 2023
Beautiful pictures of the objects in question, which the authors then use as a starting point to riff on various themes and stories of this period of history--mostly confined to western Europe, though occasionally getting as far east as modern-day Iran. All of these riffs are illuminating, though I frequently wished for less religious-focussed objects--but then perhaps this speaks to how intertwined religion (and its own preoccupations with death) was with daily life during the time.
July 14, 2023
Interesting non-fiction book showing 50 objects from the Middle Ages with the detailed history behind each one. The most interesting to me was a button made of rock crystal, garnet and granulated gold made sometime in the 500's. All objects can be see in The Cleveland Museum of Art's medieval collection.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews