The Project Gutenberg eBook, Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages, by Julia
De Wolf Addison

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Title: Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages
A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance

Author: Julia De Wolf Addison

Release Date: April 19, 2006 [eBook #18212]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

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ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES

A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments
of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in
the Early Renaissance

by

JULIA DE WOLF ADDISON

Author of "The Art of the Pitti Palace," "The Art of the National
Gallery," "Classic Myths in Art," etc.

[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF ECCLESIASTICAL METAL WORK]

INTRODUCTION

The very general and keen interest in the revival of arts and crafts
in America is a sign full of promise and pleasure to those who
are working among the so-called minor arts. One reads at every
turn how greatly Ruskin and Morris have influenced handicraft: how
much these men and their co-workers have modified the appearance
of our streets and houses, our materials, textiles, utensils, and
all other useful things in which it is possible to shock or to
please the aesthetic taste, without otherwise affecting the value
of these articles for their destined purposes.

In this connection it is interesting to look into the past, particularly
to those centuries known as the Middle Ages, in which the handicrafts
flourished in special perfection, and to see for ourselves how
these crafts were pursued, and exactly what these arts really were.
Many people talk learnedly of the delightful rev