BristolConference - Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi

Introduction
Secular Patronage and Piety in the Later Middle Ages
The beginnings of greater involvement of the laity in church affairs may be
linked with the period of the Fourth Lateran Council, and its development
with the growth of towns, the increasing importance of Purgatory and the
concomitant need for intercession. Accordingly, the theme of our conference,
while clearly intended to focus on stained glass, is equally applicable to any
of the arts. Hence it was the intention of the organizers that we should extend
the study of stained glass to include wider contexts, to make comparisons
with other kinds of artefacts and to examine the social roots of the patronage
involved.
We have been extremely fortunate in the response from colleagues from
member countries, who have provided a wealth of most interesting subjects
for their lectures. It has been logical to divide them into General Topics and
Individual Case Studies - though the division is not always hard and fast.
The case studies fall naturally into two categories: royal and aristocratic
patronage and bourgeois patronage, the latter dominated by confraternities.
The formal lectures are supported and amplified by texts and images
on poster boards in the foyer of the lecture theatre, and these also include
contributions from colleagues in the field of conservation, who have been
working on two of the monuments that we shall be visiting (Fairford and
Gloucester).
We should like to thank all of the contributors and to offer the warmest
welcome to you as delegates.
Prof. C. M. Kauffmann
Chair, Corpus Vitrearum
Great Britain
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