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The illuminated world chronicle : tales from the late medieval city / Nina Rowe.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Rowe, Nina, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Cities and towns in art.
- City and town life in art.
- History in art.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, Austrian--History.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, Austrian.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, German--History.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, German.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval--Themes, motives.
- World history--Early works to 1800.
- World history.
- World history--Historiography.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (x, 208 pages) : 148 illustrations, color facsimiles
- Place of Publication:
- New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, [2020]
- Summary:
- A look into an enchanting, underexplored genre of illustrated manuscripts that reveals new insights into urban life in the Middle Ages. In this innovative study, Nina Rowe examines a curious genre of illustrated book that gained popularity among the newly emergent middle class of late medieval cities. These illuminated world chronicles, produced in the Bavarian and Austrian regions from around 1330 to 1430, were the popular histories of their day, telling tales from the Bible, ancient mythology, and the lives of emperors in animated, vernacular verse, enhanced by dynamic images. Rowe's appraisal of these understudied books presents a rich world of storytelling modes, offering unprecedented insight into the non-noble social strata in a transformative epoch. Through a multidisciplinary approach, Rowe also shows how illuminated world chronicles challenge the commonly held view of the Middle Ages as socially stagnant and homogeneously pious. Beautifully illustrated and backed by abundant and accessible analyses of social, economic, and political conditions, this book highlights the engaging character of secular literature during the late medieval era and the relationship of illustrated books to a socially diverse and vibrant urban sphere.
- Contents:
- Adam's Descendants and Urban Industry
- The Devil on Noah's Ark and Desire in the City
- Moses the Jew with an Ethiopian Wife in a Time of Plague
- Paris, Hector, Achilles, and the Civic Tournament
- Nebuchadnezzar's Idol and Waldensian Dissidence
- Alexander, Nero, Charlemagne, and Municipal Governance
- The Holy Family and Burgher Riches.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on print version record and online resource (A&AePortal, viewed on August 25, 2026).
- ISBN:
- 9780300313338
- OCLC:
- 1612942606
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