Women, Art and Patronage from Henry III to Edward III

In Britain in the high middle ages women played an active and significant role as artistic patrons. This study considers who these women were, their social status, the sources of their wealth and their motives for acting as they did, in addition to examining the various buildings, tombs and artefacts which they commissioned. Their piety, interests and concerns, and the cultural and social context of their lives are discussed in the context of the evidence offered by surviving buildings, tombs, manuscripts and seal impressions, together with relevant wills, documents and contemporary texts. LOVEDAY LEWES GEE was formerly photograph librarian in the history of art department, University of Warwick.