Tombs (Medieval Studies)

W o r d a n d i m a g e i n t h e L i b r o d e a L e x a n d r e Clara Pascual-argente georgetoWn universit y La CorÓniCa 38.2 sPring 2010 71-98 the first of two extant illustrations of the Libro de alexandre (alexandre), both found in the late thirteenth-or early fourteenth-century codex known as manuscript o, is a very simple drawing showing a statuesque alexander the great flanked by two groups of diminutive soldiers (fig. 1). 1 the illustration, which occupies two thirds of fol. 45 v under stanza 761, 2 marks the end of a long passage in which alexander recounts the story of the trojan War to his 1 the alexandre has survived in two complete manuscripts. the first is ms vit. 5-10, kept at the Biblioteca nacional in madrid, where it arrived in 1886 as part of the collection of the dukes of osuna and infantado, and is therefore known as o. manuscript o's second illustration in fol. 53 v depicts alexander's soldiers mourning their king as they take him out of the Cydnus river, where he has almost drowned. the second codex, ms espagnol 488, is kept at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris and known as p; it dates from the fifteenth century. there also exist fragmentary testimonies for some parts of the poem. For a full description of the manuscripts, see raymond s. Willis ix-xx; for a listing and description of the fragments, see Juan Casas rigall's edition (Libro de alexandre 74-75). 2 throughout the study i quote from, and use the stanza numbers provided by, Juan Casas rigall's edition of the Libro de alexandre. stanza 761 corresponds to 716 in manuscript o, according to Willis's numeration.

Colóquio Internacional "Intervir na Memória. Restauros de época moderna em monumentos funerários medievais (sécs. XV-XX)" . Lisboa, Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, 25 e 26 de Setembro de 2019 | International Colloquium "Interventions in Memory. Modern Era Restorations of Medieval Funerary Monuments (15th-20th centuries)". Lisbon, Faculdade de Belas-Artes, Universidade de Lisboa, 25-26 September 2019.

Die Trierer Liebfrauenkirche ist für alle Epochen der Architektur-, Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte von herausragender Bedeutung. Sie steht im Mittelpunkt des Bandes, doch ist ihre Bau- und Ausstattungsgeschichte nur im europäischen Vergleich nachzuvollziehen. Der Sammelband mit 41 Autorinnen und Autoren unterschiedlicher Disziplinen beleuchtet die Geschichte des Baus in seinen vielfältigen Facetten. Hierzu zählt ebenso das umfangreiche Skulpturenprogramm, der bauplastische Schmuck, die reiche frühneuzeitliche Ausstattung, Fragen der liturgischen Nutzung sowie die rechtshistorische Stellung als Annexkirche des Doms. Fragen der frühchristlichen Vorgängerbebauung und bisher wenig beachtete Aspekte, wie die denkmalpflegerischen Eingriffe des 19. Jahrhunderts sowie die Anpassung in die liturgischen Konzepte schon vor dem zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil kommen ebenfalls zur Sprache.

In dem Artikel geht es um Maßstäblichkeit von Architektur und deren Beschreibung. Chronisten geben die Größe von Architektur an und analysieren deren Maßstäblichkeit im Vergleich zur Großarchitektur (Makroarchitektur). Daraus folgt, so meine abschließende These, dass diese sogenannte und generell in der Forschung abgewertete „dekorative Regellosigkeit“ keinesfalls sinnlos oder zufällig ist, sondern eine reflektierte Wahrnehmung von Architektur und Raum widerspiegelt, die besonders in der Kleinarchitektur zum Tragen kam. Wenn auch ein neuer Gattungsbegriff „Mikroarchitektur“ meines Erachtens nicht wirklich unabdingbar ist, um dieses Phänomen einzuordnen, so hilft er doch, es wahrzunehmen und zu beschreiben.

Dear Colleague,
We would like to thank you very sincerely for your presentation at the international symposium, entitled “Unguentarium. A terracotta vessel form and other related vessels in the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine Mediterranean in Izmir, Turkey”. Between May 17 and 18, 2018 we have hosted c. 50 participants from 15 countries and 34 papers dealing with terracotta unguentaria were presented in these two days of symposium. We ask you to send us your paper, if it deals with terracotta unguentaria. The Editorial Board asks you kindly to provide an original, previously unpublished and scientific paper, dealing with unpublished materials from excavated or surveyed sites or from the museums with previously unpublished photos without copyright problems.

Artykuly recenzyjne i recenzje w celu uzyskania korzystnego dla strony zakonnej wyroku sadu arbitrazowego z 8 II 1410 r. (s. 6), bowiem orzeczenie owo wydane w duchu legalistycznym przy wracalo stan prawny wynikajacy z tresci ukladow pokojowych zawartych przez obie strony konfliktu przed jego wybuchem38. Odnosnie bitwy pod Koronowem 10 X 1410 r. wypada zauwazyc, ze nie walczyly w niej kontyngenty inflanckie (s. 9)39.

Die Grabdenkmäler der Erzbischöfe von Trier, Köln und Mainz bilden drei einzigartige Denkmalserien, die bereits in der Romanik einsetzen und in der Gotik, der Renaissance und dem Barock zahlreiche Meisterwerke der Bildhauerei von europäischem Rang hervorbrachten. Der vorliegende Band stellt erstmals die Geschichte der erzbischöflichen Grablegen vom hohen Mittelalter bis zum Ende des Alten Reichs in vergleichender Perspektive dar, wodurch die Unterschiede, aber auch die Gemeinsamkeiten deutlich hervortreten. Inhaltlich steht die Frage der Grabmaltopographie, der Orte des Gedenkens in der Kathedrale, im Mittelpunkt. Einen weiteren Schwerpunkt bildet die Typengeschichte, die Herausbildung bestimmter Traditionen in Trier, Köln und Mainz, ihrer Botschaft und ihrer Korrespondenz mit den Denkmälern anderer Herrschaftsträger. Der Seriencharakter der Monumente wird als überzeitliche kirchenpolitische Botschaft gedeutet.
Die Studie bietet einen ebenso umfassenden wie anschaulichen Überblick zur Entwicklung des Bischofsbildes, der individuellen Frömmigkeit und der Amtsmemorie der Inhaber des ranghöchsten geistlichen Amtes im mittelalterlichen Reich, gleichzeitig aber auch ein Panorama von neun Jahrhunderten europäischer Kunstgeschichte.

In 1894 the Garden Tomb Association concluded the purchase of a small property outside of the Old City of Jerusalem. The site in question was known as 'Skull Hill' or 'Gordon's Calvary' and was reputed to be the real site of the burial place of Jesus. This case study of a land transaction in Ottoman Jerusalem reveals several important themes from the period. The purchase by foreigners of sites in Palestine was a circuitous process that sometimes involved the intervention of foreign consuls and it sheds light on the Ottoman land laws. The Garden Tomb, a unique property, was part of a larger process of the development of new holy places in Palestine by Europeans. Lastly, the association that purchased the site was primarily funded, initiated and run by notable English women, illustrating their increasing involvement in 19th century religious and activist movements.

Nella scheda si analizza la parte scultorea della tomba di M. Morosini, eletto doge di Venezia nel 1382 e morto dopo soli quattro mesi di governo. Nonostante la brevità del dogado, a lui venne eretto, per opera dell'illustre famiglia, un monumento che, per sontuosità e ricchezza, non aveva allora precedenti nell'arte gotica veneziana e che è stato considerato un'importante tappa per l'avvio della cultura del "gotico" internazionale.

France is fabulously rich in incised effigial slabs and this book is the first study written in English to examine in detail their unique qualities in a particular region, the five départements of the Pays de la Loire. It uncovers their various meanings, as gravemarkers and tools to encourage intercession for those they commemorate, and how they were commissioned by a socially diverse range of patrons, from ecclesiastical grandees to the lesser clergy, and from knights and esquires to widows and members of the professional classes. The corpus even includes some royal tombs, for branches of the French national family and the ducs de Bretagne. The book records 187 known slabs in the region, dating between the thirteenth and the seventeenth centuries. First there are seven chapters providing an incisive introduction to the social and artistic history of the artform (pages 1-237), followed by a detailed inventory recording each slab in turn, with full analysis and references (pages 238-370), followed by glossary, bibliography and index and then a generous secton of nearly 250 colour plates, photographs of surviving slabs and reproductions of the famous drawings by Roger de Gaignières, courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The author lives in the Pays de la Loire and has researched the subject for several decades. The book is written in English for an international academic audience with all quotations and transcriptions given in their original form with a translation. The book is now ready for printing and is on a lavish scale: 446 pages of text plus 224 pages of colour plates on art paper, all to be properly sewn and bound in cloth.

Evidenced by their establishment and patronage of the Franciscan Monastery in Donegal, and dependence on Franciscan spiritual and material guidance in exile, the princely dynasty of the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell has long had a special relationship with the Franciscans in Ireland and abroad. The friars were also the spiritual counselors of the ruling O'Donnell dynasty, and educators of their children. Indeed the role of the Franciscans as confessors and moral authorities over the O'Donnells, from youth to old age and at death is well documented and O'Donnell princes were often laid to rest in Franciscan robes. Now, new challenges lie ahead to preserve this spiritual, monumental and intangible cultural heritage.

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

R Ré és su um mé é : : Maison aristocratique influente de la Bourgogne médiévale, la famille de Saulx inhuma plusieurs de ses membres dans un rayon de 25 km autour de la capitale ducale de Dijon. Les vingt-sept sépultures connues pour les XIII e et XIV e siècles attestent du statut privilégié des défunts. Se trouvant à l'intérieur des églises, généralement près d'un autel, et possédant le plus souvent un monument funéraire, ces tombes sont le lieu de stratégies tant sociales que sotériologiques. Par leur emplacement et par leur matérialité, elles permettent d'affirmer l'auctoritas du défunt et de son groupe social au sein des vivants tout en provoquant chez ces derniers les gestes d'intercession (entretien de la memoria, suffrages). Ces préoccupations temporelles et spirituelles trouvent leur parfaite expression matérielle dans les plates-tombes de la famille. Entre l'horizontalité de la dalle et la verticalité de l'iconographie, celles-ci opèrent une dialectique qui permet de traduire visuellement le statut transitoire des défunts. En effet, à travers l'évocation du corps inhumé, la représentation du corps catégoriel ou social et l'anticipation du corps glorieux, c' est la transmutatio spirituelle de ceux qui ont trépassé de ce monde que les plates-tombes parviennent à mettre en image.

About a half kilometer northeast of the village of Kotli Maqbara, the Abdul Nabi Khan Mausoleum rises elegantly from the fields. It was likely constructed in the era of Shah Jehan, but no definitive historical evidence links it to any particular person. The Pakistani travel writer Salman Rashid notes that "Built as it is in the middle of a great nowhere and in the absence of any accessible historical reference to it, it has quite naturally acquired a metaphysical complexion and the locals attribute it to the jinns"

Medieval tomb slabs have aroused, during the Modern Age, a varied interest (of historical, genealogical, epigraphic, antiquarian nature), which found in Rome one of its main centres. The paper deals with the most important steps of this reception, between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. A turning point in the direction of a more complex interest in these artifacts and their more accurate reproduction can be identified in the unpublished treatise by Francesco Gualdi "Delle memorie sepolcrali" (1640-1644), which had to be illustrated by a hundred woodcuts reproducing almost entirely tomb slabs. On the wake of Gualdi other authors, Roman (Gigli, Valesio) or foreigner (Millin), were engaged in the documentation of plates preserved in the churches of Rome, up to the great scholar of Roman inscriptions, vincenzo Forcella, whose monumental catalogue was originally intended to be accompanied by printed reproductions of tombstones.

This paper examines ways in which identity in the later Middle Ages could have been displayed through the means that paradoxically seemed to dissolve the very idea of identity – the image of the decomposed body. In the following pages it is argued that the transi monuments were considered to represent the true portraits of deceased individuals, emphasizing that those buried beneath were experiencing purgatorial pains. Special attention is devoted to the mechanisms which were employed in order for the transis to be fashioned as individual portraits. Even though cadaver monuments were not part of the experience of Italian art of Trecento and Quattrocento, it is argued that, albeit all the differences from its northern counterparts, the tomb slab of Antonio Amati should be considered as a true transi tomb as well as the true portrait of the deceased.

Chapters:
1. Purifying decay
2. Of flesh and clothes
3. Sum quod eris vs. memento mori
4. Epilogue

The book introduces the reader to the Estonian memorial and funeral culture of the Middle Ages and Early Modern era, which was examined by the exhibition of the same name at the Niguliste Museum from 2 November 2012 to 2 June 2013. Visitors to the exhibition were provided with the opportunity to see how Christian death culture is reflected in early ecclesiastical art in Estonia and to learn about the funeral and commemorative customs of the period. The exhibition catalogue explores these topics and presents the works of art and items that were on display.
The text of the richly illustrated book provides interpretations of the tombstones, epitaphs, coat-of-arms epitaphs and other works of sacral art exhibited at the Niguliste Museum. Artefacts of cultural history from collections of Estonian museums and churches, the majority of which are being introduced to the reader for the first time, provide additional information about the funeral ritual customs, and the ways they were conducted. These objects and works of art, most of which are from town churches, primarily represent the funeral and commemorative traditions of the upper class and wealthy middle class. The historical framework of both the exhibition and catalogue starts with the Middle Ages and ends with the 18th century, and includes visual material from both the Catholic and Lutheran periods.

Dieser Artikel ist Claude Blair anläßlich seines 80. Geburtstages gewidmet. Sein Verdienst um die Historische Waffenkunde als selbständigem Zweig der Kunstgeschichte ist außerordentlich. An dieser Stelle möchte ich insbesondere seine unermüdliche Unterstützung gerade für den waffenhistorischen Nachwuchs hervorheben, wovon auch ich profitieren darf, und wofür ich mich hiermit ausdrücklich bedanken möchte. Die figürliche Grabplatte des Konrad VIII. Schenk von Erbach ( † 1464) befand sich ursprünglich, zusammen mit der für seine Frau Anna von Bickenbach ( † 1451), in der Erbach'schen Familiengrablege in Kloster Schönau nahe Heidelberg. 1 Laut Schaefer waren beide jedoch "in Folge einer bedauerlichen Profanation lange Zeit verschollen, bis sie i. J. 1878 wieder an das Tageslicht kamen". 2 Angeblich waren beide Steine aber schon zwei Jahre zuvor in der Dunggrube des Schönauer Waldhüters Daniel Kuhn gefunden worden. 3 1878 wurden sie nach Erbach überführt und "in einer Nische des unteren Bergfried-Geschosses" im Erbach'schen Schloß aufgestellt. 4 Konrads Denkmal wurde dann zusammen mit drei weiteren Erbacher Grabplatten neben Waffen, Rüstungsteilen und Kunstgegenständen am 6. und 7. September 1932 in der Auktion ‚Gräflich Erbach'sche Waffensammlung' durch das Auktionshaus Galerie Fischer in Zürich versteigert. 5 Seit 1943 befindet sich die Grabplatte in der Sammlung des Hessischen Landesmuseums in Darmstadt, Abteilung für Kultur-und Kunstgeschichte (Inv.Nr. Pl 43:1). 6 Die Platte besteht aus rotem, leicht marmoriertem Sandstein und mißt etwa 208 x 110 cm. Wie auf der Abbildung im Auktionskatalog von 1932 deutlich zu erkennen ist, war der Stein zum Zeitpunkt seines Verkaufes stark beschädigt, neben Abplatzungen am rechten Seitenrand war er zusätzlich etwas unterhalb der Mitte durchgebrochen (Abb. 1 und 2). 7 Reste einer etwaigen ursprünglichen Bemalung ließen sich nicht mehr feststellen. Von den noch relativ zahlreich erhaltenen Grabmälern der Erbach'schen Familienzweige 8 ist die Gruppe der bis etwa zur Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts entstandenen Grabdenkmäler von eher minderwertiger Bildhauerqualität, worunter auch noch das hier zu beschreibende Denkmal Konrads fällt. Im relativ flachen Bildfeld ist der Verstorbene frontal und unproportional schlank in Rüstung dargestellt. Er steht auf einer verhältnismäßig kleinen Kreatur -ein Drache oder Hund?-9 und hält in der Rechten den Renn-oder Reisspiess 10 . Zu seiner Linken ist auf Kopfhöhe eine Tartsche gezeigt, während Konrads Linke die Helmzier des bis auf Kniehöhe reichenden Erbach'schen Vollwappens greift, das aus heraldischem Schild, Kolbenturnierhelm sowie Helmdecke und Zimier besteht. Das eigentliche Wappen ist noch einmal auf der Tartsche sowie auf dem Banner mit Schwenkel dargestellt. 11 Die Grabplatte wird von einem leicht erhöhten Rand eingerahmt, der nach außen wie innen durch eine zusätzliche eingemeißelte Linie markiert ist. Auf den oberen Rand, den rechten Seitenrand, sowie über die 156 Hälfte des unteren Randes ist in gotischen Minuskeln folgende, nach innen gewandte, heute nur noch in Teilen leserliche, lateinische Inschrift eingemeißelt: +Anno . dñi . m . cccc . lxiiii ./ […iu]nij [.] o . dñs . conra[dus] . p[incerna] . de ./ erpach . (mile?)s 12 . Bereits 1891 erwähnte Schaefer die zu vernachlässigende bildhauerische Qualität, verwies aber zugleich auch auf die historische sowie waffen-und kostümgeschichtliche Bedeutung der Grabplatte. 13 Seine damalige Behauptung, die Monumente Konrads und seiner Frau seien "die einzigen erhaltenen Grabsteine der 1503 ausgestorbenen jüngeren Linie Erbach-Erbach", muss allerdings seit dem Zutagetreten einer ganzen Reihe weiterer Grabmonumente in den letzten 100 Jahren revidiert werden 14 . Auch scheint er die tatsächliche Besonderheit der dargestellten Rüstung nicht voll erkannt zu haben, da selbst seine sehr kurze Beschreibung fehlerhaft ist. Weil der ebenso knappe Katalogeintrag der Galerie Fischer wie auch die spärliche übrige Literatur in einigen Details inkorrekt ist, soll das Denkmal hier noch einmal eingehend iko-Dirk H. Breiding

Alabaster has many proverbial qualities, as evident in Shakespeare's 'smooth as monumental alabaster' (Othello, V, ii). Tomb monuments are a prominent feature in Kim Woods’ new monograph 'Cut in Alabaster' (2018) on the uses of this translucent material in the period 1350 to 1550. Yet the scope of this book is much wider, both thematically and geographically.  With the increased interest in materiality, this is a welcome – and impressive – addition to the literature on medieval sculpture and on alabaster in particular.

As imagens publicadas na presente obra foram cedidas pelos autores dos textos que a compõem, que se responsabilizam exclusivamente pelas mesmas. Coleção promovida em parceria com o DEG-Programa de Doutoramento em Estudos Globais/CEG/UAb e com a Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, e em associação com a Theya Editores do IECCPMA. coleção de estudos globais direção de Guilherme d'

A royal dynasty cultivates its traditions above all through the commemoration of its ancestors. Tombs play a central role in this. This study examines the tombs of the royal house of Anjou erected in the Kingdom of Sicily (Naples) by the first of the ruling generations in the second half of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century.
The monuments had concretely tangible political and legitimising functions, but they can also be explained by the piety and the understanding of rule of their time. Both aspects are dealt with in this book. The study contributes to the systematic research of the two fundamental functions of funerary monuments, the memoria of the deceased and the representation of the kingdom by the royal family.
The tombs of the royal house of Anjou present themselves as a form of a well planned, public staging of their own lineage.

St Vitus' s Cathedral, founded in 1344, is a prime example of 14th-century cathedral Gothic, a product of the cooperation between the ingenious architect Peter Parler and his patron, Emperor Charles IV. The unusual layout consisted of a pair of choirs set side by side in the eastern section of the cathedral, an arrangement inspired by the earlier Romanesque double-choir basilica. One was dedicated to St Vitus and was used by the canons, the other to the Virgin Mary and operated by the mansionars. The royal and imperial necropolis was placed in the latter of the two choirs, with Charles IV's tomb-chest protected by a sculptured canopy and surrounded by the cenotaphs of deceased family members and later kings and queens. The form of two choirs is probably the result of an extensive rearrangement of the earlier project completed in the 1350s, when initial plans to locate the royal burial ground in the canons' choir were abandoned. The main choir contained a tabernacle of remarkable design, dating from c. 1365. There may originally have been plans for a third choir to be built around the tomb of St Adalbert located in the middle of the nave, the work on which was initiated in 1392.

The term 'chrysom' (or 'chrisom') is often used to describe effigies or subsidiary 'weeper' figures of swaddled babies on medieval and Renaissance tomb monuments, including brasses and incised slabs. However, the exact meaning of this word is often misunderstood and yet has seldom been queried. Moreover, there is the questionable assumption that these 'chrysom' figures represent babies who died before their mothers' churching and who were therefore buried in their baptismal clothes. This paper addresses the occurrence and meaning of this type of memorial to children who died in early infancy and who were remembered in the way that best befitted their stage in life - in their swaddling clothes.

"Representations", N. 129, Winter 2015.

The essay analyzes the project of maintaining the body of V. I. Lenin in the Mausoleum in Moscow for the past ninety years, focusing on the unique biological science that developed around this project, and the unexpected political role this body has performed.

Santa Maria Gloriosa de’ Frari is one of the best-loved and most celebrated churches in Venice, renowned for its imposing Gothic architecture and its rich display of works of art, but it is in no sense a museum.  Founded as the principal church of the Conventual Franciscan order in Venice, the church has been the setting for ritual, sacred music, prayer and preaching ever since the Middle Ages.  This book presents the rich and varied history of the church in a new light.  This is neither a guide book nor a catalogue of the works of art.  Instead, it is the first true monograph on the Frari, whose role included charitable and educational functions as well as devotional life.  Spanning eight centuries, the book explores the lives of the friars, worshippers, local residents and artists, both within its walls and round about.  A profusion of new colour photographs offers the reader the chance to appreciate many details that have never before attracted attention.
The book considers the Frari in the context of the immediate neighbourhood and its local concerns and activities.  The present church was begun in 1328, and the Franciscans continued to occupy its spacious cloisters until the Napoleonic suppression in 1806, which led to their banishment for more than a century.  At this point, the church became the centre of a parish, incorporating the nearby areas of San Tomà and San Polo.  Meanwhile, Titian’s famous Assunta, one of the masterpieces of Venetian Renaissance painting, was removed from the high altar, to be displayed for nearly a hundred years in the galleries of the Accademia.  The altarpiece was not returned to the church until 1920, just two years before the return of the Franciscans. Remarkably, the complete list of the Franciscan guardians and parish priests survives back to 1241 and is included in the book. 
The twenty-three chapters guide the reader through this complex history, allowing a new appreciation of the works of art, whether familiar or little known, in terms of their meaning and devotional function.  The patronage of chapels by prominent families, and by immigrant communities such as the Milanese and Florentines, has enhanced the rich variety of painting and sculpture.  The role of women patrons is highlighted in several cases.  The book examines the importance of relics as the focus of local devotion, and explores the role of the local confraternities (scuole) in the ceremonial and music. 
An important aspect of the Frari was the commemoration of prominent individuals, whose tombs and monuments adorn the walls and floor of the church.  Doges, military leaders, bishops, artists, musicians and businessmen found their last resting place within its walls.  Because of its size and beauty, the church has played a major part in the lives of local residents, and the memorials enshrined within have inspired generations of Venetians and visitors alike.  This uniquely interdisciplinary book contains a wealth of new material and insights into this long and complex institutional history.