Court and Culture - Dutch Literature, 1350-1450 (Hardcover)

Our common image of the Middle Ages is of a period when cultural activity in Europe came to a standstill. Van Oostrom challenges this notion by presenting evidence of a lively medieval court culture history. Not only is this a new chapter in Dutch literary and cultural history, but it also provides a new perspective on the larger court culture of medieval Europe. Van Oostrom interweaves dynastic history, documentary evidence, art, architecture and literature in his analysis of the medieval Dutch court. In expanding our knowledge of the period, this work confronts fundamental questions of how cultures shape themselves and how we can effectively reconstruct and define the past.