Introduction

Medieval society, much like today's culture, heavily depended on physical objects. As inherently corporeal beings, we use the physical world to further our influence on the material as well as the abstract realm. One example of the latter is the use of luxurious goods to display social status.

 

 

How do we use objects? 

Much of the time, we attach items to our bodies to accomplish a task our body could not achieve without these pieces of material. In this way, the object serves almost as a prosthetic limb. 

 

 

 

 

Does this "limb" only affect the physical realm?

We mentioned the use of objects for incorporeal purposes above. Interestingly, several medieval scholars were concerned with the body as an allegory for the social framework of medieval society. If the body itself functions on a social level, then the items a person attaches to his body to extend his limbs take part in this social form.

This idea suggests that objects have social connotations and consequences. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through the following exhibit, we hope to explore these ideas and themes in an interactive and inquisitive way, and invite you to think about the middle ages and objects in general through a new lens. 

To help you in your navigation, here's a road map for where we're going and some questions to get you thinking:

 

  • What does the body signify? John of Salisbury and Christine de Pizan's body politic. 
  • How do we use objects? Physical entities and their relationship to the body as "prosthetic."
  • What do objects signify? Items as symbols for the nonphysical.
  • Considering these three questions, what happens when we think about the use of physical objects, through the body, in the social realm?

 

 

Introduction