Lapidary- a text that investigates and chronicles the physical, magical and medicinal property of a stone. Pliny the Elder’s Natural History was admired in the Middle Ages for its compendium of minerals and metals. Marbodus, Bishop of Rennes, wrote one of the most famous lapidaries, Liper Lapidum Book of Stones, in 1067-81. In this book he [...]

This article discusses Renaissance and Baroque jewelry, but her ideas are useful when thinking of medieval jewelry. Rodini’s main points can be summarized: – though small in size jewelry signified the relationship between the wearer and society – During the Renaissance the world was considered to be infused with signs, and it was a necessary [...]

During the Middle Ages jewelry was connected intimately to showing social stature and rank. In the Early Middle Ages, the influence of massive chains from the Byzantine Empire combined with the Roman trend for beautiful intricate glass beads and metal disks. For women, their necklaces would have been covered up by the couvre-chef. Still, they [...]