PICTURE THIS
MAGNIFICENCE AND PRINCELY SPLENDOUR IN THE MIDDLE AGES
by Richard Barber (Boydell and Brewer, £30)
MAGNIFICENCE AND PRINCELY SPLENDOUR IN THE MIDDLE AGES by Richard Barber (Boydell and Brewer, £30)
How do you show people that you are a king? Gorgeous architecture, sumptuous feasts and, of course, enviable fashion. Or at least that’s how they did it in the Middle Ages. This lavish bejewelled crown (pictured) was crafted for the Holy Roman Emperor’s coronation in the 10th century — what a statement piece!
This fascinating book explores how medieval monarchs demonstrated their right to rule and distinguished themselves from their subjects by projecting their own ‘magnificence’. These were the original PR gurus.