This multidisciplinary collection of essays draws on various theoretical approaches to explore the highly visual nature of the Middle Ages and expose new facets of old texts and artifacts. The term "visual culture" has been used in recent years to refer to modern media theory, film, modern art and other contemporary representational forms and functions. But this interest in visuality is not only a modern phenomenon. Discourses on visual processes pervade the works of medieval theologians, scholastics, and secular poets alike. The Middle Ages was a highly visual period in which images,...

"A Courtier s Mirror" establishes the unique importance of Thomasin von Zerclaere's" Welscher Gast "as a document of social practices and concerns in medieval German-speaking court society. This epic-length illustrated didactic poem enjoyed immense popularity in the Middle Ages, resulting in twenty-five redactions produced over two hundred and fifty years. Through a detailed study of word and image, Kathryn Starkey argues that this poem offered instruction, affirmation, and an evolving image cycle in which courtly behaviors were effectively conveyed. As the first book-length study in English,...