The rediscovery of this book -- out of print for more than a century -- is a major publishing event. Originally published in 1858, Henry Shaw's Dress and Decoration of the Middle Ages was an essential work for the study of the life and times of the Middle Ages. Shaw was the dean of Medieval scholars during the British Gothic Revival days of the mid-nineteenth century. His extraordinarily detailed study of the nuances of life during the Middle Ages is an extremely important document; much of the work he did in the nineteenth century utilized original source material that has been lost or is unavailable to scholars today.Shaw captures the essence of Medieval civilization from the point of view of a scholar who had access to a staggering variety of original source material from throughout Britain and Continental Europe. He approaches his study through a series of biographies of the major monarchs of the Middle Ages, discussing the nuances of court life and how styles and sensibilities varied from Britain to France to Flanders to Burgundy.Dress and Decoration of the Middle Ages is illustrated with over 200 beautiful color illustrations, including portraits, full figure royal and ecclesiastical costume illustrations, details of crowns, crown jewels, and religious artifacts. Shaw's own authoritative text is accented by exquisite initial caps and decorative devices taken from Medieval illuminated manuscripts. Each illustration is reproduced directly from Shaw's original hand-colored plates.