Product Description

When it first came out in 1986, Gale Owen-Crocker's book was a milestone in costume studies, a foundation on which much work has subsequently been based. Nearly twenty years later, there is more to be said, and this updated edition is long overdue. An encyclopaedic study of English dress from the fifth to the eleventh centuries, it draws evidence from archaeology, text and art (manuscripts, ivories, metalwork, stone sculpture, mosaics), and also from re-enactors' experience. It examines archaeological textiles, cloth production and the significance of imported cloth and foreign fashions. Dress is discussed as a marker of gender, ethnicity, status and social role - in the context of a pagan burial, dress for holy orders, bequests of clothing, commissioning a kingly wardrobe, and much else - and surviving dress fasteners and accessories are examined with regard to type and to geographical/chronological distribution. There are colour reconstructions of early Anglo-Saxon dress and a cutting pattern for a gown from the Bayeux tapestry; Old English garment names are discussed, and there is a glossary of costume and other relevant terms. GALE OWEN-CROCKER is Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture at the University of Manchester. She has a special interest in dress throughout the medieval period - she advises on dress entries to the Toronto Old English Dictionary and has consulted for many museums and television companies. She is co-editor of the new journal Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Generously illustrated with 25 plates, 12 in colour, and 140 drawings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #463718 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 408 pages

Review
New material has contributed not only new examples but also deeper insights to this edition. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEWThis new version is doubly welcome, both as a largely intact reappearance of a valued text and a very substantial and deftly added text of totally new material.. Justif(ies) totally the term `encyclopaedic'... This most valuable up-dating is long likely to be an invaluable tool for historians of Medieval costume and (those) who have practical interests related to it. MEDIEVAL DRESS & TEXTILE SOCIETY NEWSLETTERA well-documented and clearly organized source for all aspects of medieval clothing. (...)a perfect companion for both the serious scholar of period dress and...enthusiasts who desire to wear historically authentic garments. RENAISSANCE MAGAZINE (US).Splendid...the major overview of Anglo-Saxon clothing and textile from the 5th to 11th centuries. (...) Owen-Crocker has become the authority reconstructors call upon... A wise and scholarly book. TOEBI Newsletter

MEDIEVAL DRESS & TEXTILE SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
This new version is doubly welcome […] Justif[ies] totally the term ‘encyclopaedic’.

RENAISSANCE MAGAZINE (US), September 2005
A perfect companion for both the serious scholar of period dress and…enthusiasts who desire to wear historically authentic garments.

Customer Reviews

A comprehensive, yet readable text, from the Settlement Period to the Conquest.
Owen-Crocker has collected a great deal of relevant archaeological, representational and linguistic evidence and discusses it knowledgeably.

The volume is well illustrated throughout with over 200 careful line drawings and a dozen colour and a dozen black & white plates. Usefully, the author covers hairstyles, footwear and dress items such as jewellery as well as clothing. Chapters are presented for men & women separately & for each period (C5th-C6th, C7th-C9th and C10th-C11th) with additional chapters on textile production & the social significance of dress perfect for Living History enthusiasts seeking to use or recreate the the correct weaves and techniques, though you will need more specialist guidance on dyeing. Where the evidence allows, she discusses regional variations as well as social ones.

It is well referenced, yet readable and so is ideal for serious re-enactors of the early medieval period as well as students.