Description

In this authoritative, lively book, the celebrated Italian novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco presents a learned summary of medieval aesthetic ideas. Juxtaposing theology and science, poetry and mysticism, Eco explores the relationship that existed between the aesthetic theories and the artistic experience and practice of medieval culture.

“[A] delightful study. . . . [Eco’s] remarkably lucid and readable essay is full of contemporary relevance and informed by the energies of a man in love with his subject.” -Robert Taylor, Boston Globe

“The book lays out so many exciting ideas and interesting facts that readers will find it gripping.” -Washington Post Book World

“A lively introduction to the subject.” -Michael Camille, The Burlington Magazine

“If you want to become acquainted with medieval aesthetics, you will not find a more scrupulously researched, better written (or better translated), intelligent and illuminating introduction than Eco’s short volume.” -D. C. Barrett, Art Monthly

Publisher Review

"[A] delightful study. . . . His remarkably lucid and readable essay is full of contemporary relevance and informed by the energies of a man in love with his subject."-Robert Taylor, Boston Globe "A model of what a historical survey should be."-Richard J. Morris, Los Angeles Times "This survey of the aesthetics off medieval Latin civilization . . . reveals the insight and eloquence that would later gain him worldwide fame after the release of his novel, The Name of the Rose."-Alida Beccker, Philadelphia Inquirer "An original and illuminating synthesis of disciplines usually treated separately."-Sunday Times "The book lays out so many exciting ideas and interesting facts that readers will find it gripping."-Washington Post Book World "Fresh and useful in this highly readable translation. . . . A brief but accurate introduction to a vast field."-Library Journal "If you want to become acquainted with medieval aesthetics, you will not find a more scrupulously researched, better written (or better translated), intelligent and illuminating introduction than Eco's short volume."-D.C. Barrett, Art Monthly "A quarry of valuable material to be borne away in manageable pieces, each of which is to be examined in detail so that the complexities it suggests can be traced and explored."-Diane Collinson, British Journal of Aesthetics "This is a sober and learned study which can be recommended as a lucid exposition of alien ways of thinking."-Nicholas Penny, London Review of Books "A lively introduction to the subject."-Michael Camille, The Burlington Magazine "Translated into English for the first time, this collection of 20-year-old essays by the Italian novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco provides a sometimes startling tapestry of the art and aesthetics of the Middle Ages. . . . An interesting and thought-provoking volume, well worth reading for its original ideas as well as for the aspects shed on art and beauty during that time."-The Oxford Times