Showing Status

How did people in the late medieval period perceive and express social status? This volume brings together multi-disciplinary perspectives on representations of social difference in the Low Countries during a time of dynamic social change. The premise of the volume is that medieval social change may only be fully understood if hierarchies of wealth and power are examined alongside literary and artistic sources. Medieval texts and material culture expressed social standing and gave meaning to the experience of social change. The aim of the study is to recognise and translate the language of symbols used to encode and display status in the late Middle Ages.