At Home in Renaissance Bruges: Connecting Objects, People and Domestic Spaces in a Sixteenth-Century City

This book explores the domestic culture of Bruges in the sixteenth century by analyzing probate inventories, focusing on the materiality of middle-class groups and evocatively illustrated with contemporary paintings and images. It emphasizes the importance of avoiding generalizations about evolution in material culture and consumption culture.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 29 March 2022
Publisher: Leuven University Press

In a remarkable European city, the study of domestic materiality offers a captivating window into the lives of its citizens during the sixteenth century. How did the people of Bruges create a home? What did an ordinary domestic interior look like in this period? And how can we explore the domestic culture of bygone times by analyzing documents like probate inventories? These questions may seem straightforward, but reconstructing a sixteenth-century domestic reality from written sources is a complex and challenging task.

This book takes full advantage of the inventory as a source, presenting household objects in their original context of use. Through meticulous connections between objects, people, and domestic spaces, the book introduces the reader to the rich material world of Bruges citizens during the Renaissance. It delves into their sensory experiences, religious practices, daily activities of men and women, and various social factors. By blending insights from material culture studies with urban history, At Home in Renaissance Bruges offers an appealing and holistic mixture of in-depth socio-economic, cultural, and material analysis.

Rather than relying on heavy-handed theories and stereotypes about the exquisite taste of aristocratic elites, the book focuses on the domestic materiality of Bruges' middling groups. Evocatively illustrated with contemporary paintings and images of furniture and textiles from Bruges and beyond, this monograph paints a nuanced picture of domestic materiality in this remarkable European city.

This publication is proudly labeled as GPRC (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content), ensuring the quality and reliability of its content.

In conclusion, the study of domestic materiality in Bruges provides a unique and insightful perspective on the lives of its citizens during the sixteenth century. By analyzing probate inventories and other written sources, we can gain a deeper understanding of the material culture, sensory experiences, and social factors that shaped the lives of ordinary people in this remarkable European city.

Weight: 755g
Dimension: 230 x 170 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789462703179