English Aristocratic Women and the Fabric of Piety, 1450-1550

The Fabric of Piety

Barbara Harris

This study uncovers the active role played by women in the evolution of religious art and architecture. Their preferred art, Barbara J. Harris shows, reveals their responses to the religious revolution and signifies their preferred identities.

Table of contents

• Table of Contents
• Abbreviations
• Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1. Tombs: Honoring the Dead
• 2. Chantries: The Quest for Perpetual Prayers
• 3. Building for the Congregation: Roofs, Aisles, and Stained Glass
• 4. Adorning the Liturgy: Luxury Fabrics and Chapel Plate
• 5. Almshouses and Schools: Prayers and Service to the Community
• 6. Defining Themselves
• 7. Epilogue: Destruction and Survival
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1.Patrons of the Fabric of the Church
• Appendix 2.Patrons of Tombs
• Appendix 3.Location of Tombs in Churches
• Appendix 4.Choice of Burial Companion
• Appendix 5.Women Who Commissioned Chantries
• Appendix 6.Commissions of Stained-Glass Windows
• Appendix 7.Additions or Major Repairs to Churches
• Appendix 8.Bequests of Vestments
• Appendix 9.Patrons of Almshouses or Schools
• Glossary
• Select Bibliography
• Archival Sources