Medieval metalwork

This paper presents the results of an archaeological investigation undertaken by Wardell Armstrong Archaeology at Peter Gate, Cumwhinton, near Carlisle, Cumbria. The work has revealed significant evidence for pottery manufacture on, or very close to, the site which appears to have been established during the late twelfth century. This is significant as almost no other production sites are known in north Cumbria, especially outside the urban centre of Carlisle and the medieval ceramic traditions as a whole within the rural hinterlands of Carlisle remain poorly understood. One of the other significant outcomes of the excavation was the discovery of a substantial post-medieval corn-drying kiln.

Environmental analysis has revealed evidence for medieval and post-medieval cropping activity, corn-field weed ecology and construction methods associated with the corn-drying kiln, as well as the final function of the kiln, which was used for milling rather than threshing or brewing.

Tra il 2005 ed il 2010 il territorio di Montescudaio e il sito de La Badia  sono stati interessati da due ricognizioni archeologiche e sei campagne di scavo. La messe di materiali raccolti, che getta una luce nuova sui paesaggi storici di questa porzione di Toscana e sulle vicende del monastero di Santa Maria, ha suggerito di articolare la pubblicazione in due volumi: uno di taglio generale, che fornisse un valido compendio delle ricerche realizzate; uno incentrato sui risultati degli scavi archeologici nell’area dell’antico cenobio, con una presentazione tecnico-scientifica dei dati.

Between 2005 and 2010 the territory of Montescudaio and the site of La Badia were affected by two archaeological surveys and six excavation campains. The informations and the materials collected, which shed new light on the historic landscapes of this part of Tuscany and on the history of the benedectine monastery of Santa Maria, suggested to articulate the publication in two volumes: one of essays, that provide a useful summary of research made; an other focused on the detailed results of archaeological excavations in the ancient monastery, with a presentation of technical and scientific data.

A miniature in a Flemish manuscript of c. 1464 may show the impact of gilt copper alloy relief tomb monuments on contemporary imagination. A decade earlier Philip the Good had commissioned two such monuments: a triple tomb for his great-grandparents Louis of Mâle and Margaret of Brabant and his grandmother Margaret of Flanders in Lille, and a tomb for his great-aunt Joanna of Brabant in Brussels—the latter of stone and wood, however, but made to resemble gilt copper alloy. Other copper alloy monuments were later erected for Philip's daughter-in-law Isabella of Bourbon in Antwerp, his son Charles the Bold and his granddaughter Mary of Burgundy in Bruges, and Mary's husband Maximilian I in Innsbruck. These Burgundian memorials are part of a long tradition of copper alloy monuments that were once found across medieval Europe, starting with the tomb of Rudolph of Rheinfelden († 1080) in Merseburg. Unfortunately our perception of these sumptuous tombs is affected by numerous losses over the centuries, including the triple tomb in Lille and the presumed copper alloy one in Brussels. Thus, the survival of three clusters of medieval royal monuments in England has led to the mistaken belief that the use of "gilt bronze" was a specifically royal preference in England, whereas they were actually exceeded in number by such memorials to the nobility and the clergy. Yet the monument to Prince Afonso in Braga (Portugal) was probably inspired by these English royal tombs. A recently compiled corpus of extant and lost European examples up to 1430 demonstrates their former spread and patrons' choices of material.

The life-size bronze candelabra figure, generally referred to as "Wolfram" after the name in its belt inscription, is one of the unique pieces in the Erfurt Cathedral. Created in Romanesque times, it has long been the subject of research. Even the dating is controversial: For style-critical reasons, the candelabra and its base are usually dated around 1160; other authors see it being made twenty years later (1180).
In 2016, a group of researchers at the Max Weber College of the University of Erfurt gave a new impetus to study the extraordinary candelabra figure with the surprising hypothesis that it was originally a figure in the Erfurt synagogue which only reached the church of the Marienstift, today's cathedral, after the pogrom of 1349. This hypothesis triggered new, extensive investigations. They led to the new hypothesis being clearly and finally rejected at a scientific colloquium in 2016. At the same time, the investigations offered many new aspects and further approaches for future research.

This paper examines the mediality of embroidered images and the effect they exert on their beholders by way of a historical case study of one of the masterpieces of Florentine silk embroidery of the 14th century ("opus florentinum"). As stated in its prominent signature, the textile was made in Florence by the embroiderer Geri di Lapo, but it is verifiably documented since 1357 in the so-called Seu of Manresa in Catalonia. This study focuses on the correlation of production and reception, as well as their intermedial and transcultural connections. In using and defining the term "agency", it explores how technique, material and authorship shape the reception of embroidered images. The basis for this study is a thorough historical contextualisation of the object, that encompasses the investigation of the object’s patronage and donation, as well as a reconstruction of its function as an altar hanging, and finally its positioning in relation to other objects and media, such as precious metalwork, wall painting and drawing.