hrj

(Sponsor: DISTAFF)

Note: the "Lexis of Cloth and Clothing" project is a massive database of cloth and clothing terminology in the British Isles.

Depiction and Description: Dress across Media Boundaries -- Cordelia Warr, Univ. of Manchester

Examination of connections across boundaries: textual vs. visual, mortal vs. immortal, etc. Story about notary and women apparently breaking sumptuary conventions -- when challenged about garments that appear to violate the conventions, the women redefine the garments in a way that avoids the proscribed attributes. Clothing that fulfills multiple roles across boundaries even the boundary of life and death: anecdote about monk who dies without wearing his cowl because he was ill; he was re-dressed in his cowl after death but the monk comes back to life the next day because he was refused entry to heaven in "working clothes" rather than in his religious habit. Discussion of the physical varieties of cowl-as-attached-hood vs. cowl-as-separate-hood. Further morality tales regarding visions of clothing after death that relate to clothing worn in life. Marks of martyrdom described in the language of garments being "worn". White garments as absence of sin. Contrast between "rich clothing" in life indicating vanity/worldliness and "rich clothing" in heaven as a reward for virtue. Contrast between literary description of people in heaven "not needing clothing" vs. paintings depicting heaven using iconic clothing to identify the inhabitants.

Showing Status on Funeral Monuments -- Pam Walker, Univ. of Manchester

Scratched.

Grand Designs, Grand Behinds: Description and Uses of Cushions and Pillows in Anglo-Saxon and Early Medieval England -- Linda Sever, Univ. of Manchester

When archaeological remains are scarce, important to connect textual evidence with visuals. Brief catalog of cushion/pillow evidence from AS bed-burials. Manuscript depictions of tubular bolster-type pillows used on seats. Can we distinguish between different functions (e.g., sitting-pillows vs. sleeping pillows)? Problems of artistic style influences -- do images depict local usage or deeper artistic sources? Sample of database catalog of images of cushions. Trends in richness of cushions associated with importance of sitter. Evidence from AS wills: indicate relative values of furnishings but little or no description. Example of database entries for lexemes. How do we interpret it when a lexeme drops out of use but the artifact we associate it with continues to be represented? AS ms art is rich in images of cushioned thrones and pillowed beds. Cushions define the importance of a chair as a throne.