The Suffering Middle Ages. Gift Edition

Before you is the third, revised gift edition of The Suffering Middle Ages. This book will tell how in Christian art the sacred intertwined with the comic, the monstrous, or the indecent. It will discuss not only the past but also how to read medieval images today. Where do the monsters in monastic robes come from on the pages of Psalters and Hours? Why were lovers depicted in indecent poses on the walls of temples? Why were Satan and the Antichrist sometimes represented with halos, like saints? How did Christ become an allegory for the philosopher's stone in alchemical treatises? It is commonly believed that artists of that time operated within strict limits set by church canon, the will of patrons, and ancient examples. But in reality, medieval masters had room for visual experimentation with sacred themes. Together we will explore where the boundary lay in medieval art between permissible laughter and sacrilege. This book was created at the initiative of the community The Suffering Middle Ages, which has united more than half a million subscribers.