Crown and Veil: Female Monasticism from the Fifth to the Fifteenth Centuries

Crown and Veil offers a broad introduction to the history and visual culture of female monasticism in the Middle Ages, from the earliest communities of Late Antiquity to the Reformation. Scholars from numerous disciplines offer a wide range of perspectives not to be found in any other single book on the subject, placing the art, architecture, literature, liturgy, religious practices, and economic foundations of these communities within a wide historical and cultural context. Long considered marginal to mainstream history, nuns and canonesses in fact had a profound influence on medieval culture. Revered and admired as models of piety, they commanded considerable prestige and exercised a significant degree of political power. Whether acting as producers or patrons of art, nuns were widely celebrated for their imaginative accomplishments. Focusing on the visual culture of female monastic communities in the German Empire, Frankish Gaul, Langobard Italy, and Anglo-Saxon England, this volume underscores the richness of largely unfamiliar material and its role in shaping distinctive forms of religious life. Review I recommend [Crown and Veil] to all readers interested in the history of art, women and religion (Anke Bernau Times Higher Education Supplement) The first broad survey of the history of female monasticism and its effect on medieval culture... Recommended. (Choice) A most readable and enlightening volume on the main issues of female monasticism. (Bulletin Codicologique) With its broad chronological, thematic, and geographical coverage and its scholarly but accessible contributions, this collection provides an ideal starting point for anyone with an interest in female spirituality and the religious lives of medieval women. (H-Net Reviews) With its broad chronological, thematic, and geographical coverage and its scholarly but accessible contributions, this collection provides an ideal starting point. (Karen Stoeber H-German) A stimulating conversation that will hopefully... instigate further research and thought... The material covered is breathtaking. (Laura Swan Magistra) "I recommend [ Crown and Veil] to all readers interested in the history of art, women and religion" -- Anke Bernau, Times Higher Education Supplement "The first broad survey of the history of female monasticism and its effect on medieval culture... Recommended." -- Choice "A most readable and enlightening volume on the main issues of female monasticism." -- Bulletin Codicologique "With its broad chronological, thematic, and geographical coverage and its scholarly but accessible contributions, this collection provides an ideal starting point for anyone with an interest in female spirituality and the religious lives of medieval women." -- H-Net Reviews "With its broad chronological, thematic, and geographical coverage and its scholarly but accessible contributions, this collection provides an ideal starting point." -- Karen Stoeber, H-German "A stimulating conversation that will hopefully... instigate further research and thought... The material covered is breathtaking." (Laura Swan Magistra) Well-written and wonderfully illustrated.... (Greg Peters Sixteenth Century Journal) A welcome contribution. (Ephrem Hollermann American Benedictine Review) With its broad chronological, geographical and thematic approach Crown and Veil provides a good and, overall, well-balanced introduction to a complex field of medieval religious history (Journal of Ecclesiastical History) Read more About the Author Jeffrey F. Hamburger is the Kuno Franke Professor of German Art and Culture in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. A scholar of medieval monasticism, mysticism, and manuscript illumination, he is a fellow of the Medieval Academy, and his books have received numerous awards, including the Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History, the Morey Prize of the College of Art Association, and the Roland Bainton Prize in Art and Music. Susan Marti is a scholar of the art of female monasticism and manuscript illumination and a curator for exhibitions on the Middle Ages. She has published research on medieval art in German-speaking countries and has collaborated on several important exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, and France.