Why did many thousands of men and women join a guild in medieval England? Gervase Rosser explores the conception and workings of these family-like societies through the experiences of their participants, setting them in a wider European context, and in relation to today's debates about individual identity and fulfilment in society.
Why did many thousands of men and women join a guild in medieval England? Gervase Rosser explores the conception and workings of these family-like societies through the experiences of their participants, setting them in a wider European context, and in relation to today's debates about individual identity and fulfilment in society.
Gervase Rosser read history at Oxford University before studying art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art. He has taught medieval history and art history in the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford. His research stems from his interest in how and why communities are formed. His doctoral research in London was published as Medieval Westminster 1200-1540 (1989), which was awarded the Whitfield Prize. He has since worked extensively on guilds in medieval England and Europe, with particular attention to their social functions. He has most recently researched and published, jointly with Jane Garnett, a book on cults of images thought to be miraculous, and how such cults can catalyse community: Spectacular Miracles. Transforming Images in Italy from the Renaissance to the Present (2013).
