{"product_id":"the-medieval-calendar-year-paperback","title":"The Medieval Calendar Year - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBridget Ann Henisch\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Medieval Calendar Year\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates the pictorial convention known as \"The Labors of the Months\" and the ways it was used in the Middle Ages. Richly illustrated and elegantly presented, it provides valuable insights into prevailing social attitudes and values and will fascinate all readers who are interested in the history and culture of medieval Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \"Labors\" cycle was most popular during the High Middle Ages (ca. 1200-1500). The traditional cycle depicts the year as a round of seasonal activities on the land. Each month has its allotted task, and each of these represents one stage in the never-ending process of providing food for society. The small scenes that made up the cycle were well-known and used widely throughout Europe. They were chosen to decorate both public and private spaces: churches and houses, town fountains, baptismal fonts, as well as books of devotion intended both for priests and for the laity. The cycle was sculpted in stone, carved in wood, painted on glass and on manuscript pages. Examples from such media are described, but most of the illustrations have been taken from manuscripts, primarily Books of Hours.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe author has spent the past fifteen years studying calendar after calendar, and one of her great strengths is her ability to see the social reality that lies hidden, even masked, behind the stylized presentation. In the chapter on winter, she shows how the image of this season, dreaded in the Middle Ages, was softened and sweetened by calendar artists to bring it more into harmony with the characteristic mood of the cycle as a whole. For autumn, she reveals how depictions of the harvest of grain, grapes, and livestock hint at a sophisticated market economy. Thematic chapters on children, women, and the hardship of work brilliantly cut through idealized conventions and assumptions to unveil the underlying complexities of life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \"Labors\" cycle and its social context have not hitherto been examined in depth and with the care they deserve. \u003ci\u003eThe Medieval Calendar Year \u003c\/i\u003eis a book worthy of the beautiful and beguiling tradition it describes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBridget Ann Henisch is the author of \u003ci\u003eFast and Feast: Food in Medieval Society \u003c\/i\u003e(1976) and the co-author, with Heinz K. Henisch, of \u003ci\u003ePositive Pleasures: Early Photography and Humor \u003c\/i\u003e(1998), T\u003ci\u003ehe Painted Photograph, 1839-1914: Origins, Techniques, Aspirations\u003c\/i\u003e (1996), \u003ci\u003eThe Photographic Experience, 1839-1914: Images and Attitudes\u003c\/i\u003e (1994), all from Penn State.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 248\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.68 x 9.02 x 6.01 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 15, 1999\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48465871077624,"sku":"9780271019048","price":48.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0698\/5629\/7208\/files\/PSsTDFOzW9780271019048.webp?v=1779335434","url":"https:\/\/barneysbooksellers.com\/products\/the-medieval-calendar-year-paperback","provider":"Barney's Book Sellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}