The Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles is a superb reference work on all aspects of medieval dress and textile. The Encyclopedia’s scope takes in all that is known concerning medieval British dress, textiles, and items associated with dress (such as jewelry), as well as their production, use, and sale.
Among the broad topics the Encyclopedia covers are (in no particular order) arms and armor, ways of making cloth, tents, jewelry, ecclesiastical and secular dress, tapestries, beds and bed coverings, tools, saddles, sails, and the economics of the cloth trade. Entries will be found for authors whose works describe some aspect of dress or textiles, such as Chaucer, Langland, and Layamon, and for literary works, with authors known and anonymous.
Entries also define medieval terms referring to cloth and dress; for example, on page 103 the terms “burel” (a type of coarse woolen cloth), “burl” (a verb meaning to remove defects from new, finished cloth), and “burnet” (“a brown woolen cloth, or a description of a cloth or garment”) are defined and described in detail. The Encyclopedia is full of such information, useful to scholars of medieval dress or medieval literature and often difficult to find elsewhere. Entries in the Encyclopedia are written to be accessible to a broad range of readers, and also have excellent references so that a person using the Encyclopedia can easily follow up on the information given in the entries.
The Encyclopedia is illustrated with well-produced color and black-and-white illustrations (the color illustrations are in a special section in the middle of the book, while the black-and-white illustrations are dispersed throughout). While the alphabetical arrangement of the Encyclopedia means that most things can be quickly found, the index to the book is a further aid in navigating the wealth of detailed information the Encyclopedia contains.
There is one small bibliographical quirk about the book that is worth noting: the title appears as Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles ca. 450-1450 on the spine, front cover, and in the back jacket blurb, but as Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles in the British Isles ca. 450-1450 on the title page. Gale Crocker-Owen does not refer to the full title of the book in her preface or in her introduction, so it isn’t clear which is the intended tile.
The Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles in the British Isles ca. 450-1450 will quickly establish itself as an essential work for scholars of medieval British dress and textiles, as well as for students of dress and material culture in general. And, because costume, jewelry, tapestries, and other aspects of clothing, cloth, and textiles are so important in medieval British writing and culture, the Encyclopedia will be just as important for scholars of medieval British literature and history.
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[Review length: 463 words • Review posted on September 17, 2013]