Rulers on Display
Tombs and Epitaphs of Princes and the Well-Born in Northern Europe 1470–1670
Edited by Ethan Matt Kavaler Edited by Birgit Ulrike Münch
Hardback (Forthcoming)
(August 2026)
ISBN: 9782503597911
Price: $188.00
Out of stock
During the sixteenth and seventeenth century princes and the high nobility found tomb sculpture an effective means of refashioning their identity and promoting their interests in a rapidly changing society.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth century princes and the high nobility found tomb sculpture an effective means of refashioning their identity and promoting their interests in a rapidly changing society. Enormous funds were spent on these monuments, either by the occupants of by their heirs, for whom the sepulchers became a generalized marker of family status. Epitaphs were also fashioned of words, penned in ink and published as well as engraved in stone. Poetical tributes and eulogies to rulers gave them another type of public persona. This venue was particularly important as the role of the nobility changed in Europe from a primarily military class serving their liege lord in battle to a group charged with the administration of territories within a royal or imperial realm. Traditional coats of arms were still featured. And military achievements might be represented in astonishingly ‘realistic’ detail. Yet intellectual learning and an awareness of cultural and aesthetic trends in the wider European sphere also became important elements of these monuments.These papers will explore the ways tombs and epitaphs helped establish a viable image for leading families and facilitated participation in important networks. We will discuss the ways in which these works took part in the debates fostered by the Reformation and the Catholic response. We will examine how adherence to different religions was reflected and often advocated in tomb sculpture and written memorials.
- Edited by Ethan Matt Kavaler
- Edited by Birgit Ulrike Münch
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