Connected worlds of Bruges

Abstract

"The story of Bruges reaches far beyond its city walls. From the Middle Ages, it was a place where worlds met: a hub for merchants linking northern Europe to distant maritime routes; a waypoint on the pilgrimages and Crusades that led to the Holy Land; a courtly focus for Europe's dynastic circles; and a vibrant cultural and artistic centre where masters such as Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling and Gerard David maintained their workshops. Drawing on remarkable artworks and objects from major collections, this volume explores how Bruges became one of the great crossroads of the medieval and early modern world. Peter Frankopan, Jan Dumolyn and other leading scholars reveal how the city was shaped by movement, exchange and imagination within the bigger picture of a world bound by trade, faith, power and art."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Introduction / Peter Frankopan -- Bruges and the sea. The role of Bruges and its connection with the North Sea world (c. 800-1000) / Wim De Clercq & Brigitte Meijns -- North Sea relationships (800-c. 1000) / Rory Naismith -- Brides and exiles in Flanders (c.900-c.1100) / Elizabeth van Houts -- Grain and garnets: markets of the early middle ages in North-Western continental Europe / Alexis Wilkin -- Bruges: gateway to the North Sea / Synnøve Midtbø Myking -- Bruges, pilgrimage and the Christian East / Peter Frankopan -- A shared history? Flanders, Bruges and the Latin Empire of Constantinople / Thérèse de Hemptinne -- Approaching the divine in late medieval Bruges / Andrew Brown -- Cosmopolitanism and wise kings in the medieval West / Jo Van Steenbergen -- Was medieval Bruges capitalist? / Jan Dumolyn -- Bruges, high-end boutique for late medieval princes, wealthy burghers and international merchants / Marc Boone -- Rituals of the Bruges elites: Linking past, present and future / Élodie Lecuppre-Desjardin -- Atlantic expansion and its significance for Bruges, Flanders and North-Western Europe / Jacques Paviot -- Bruges: the sunset years? / Peter Frankopan.