Medieval theories of the creative act

Essays in this volume explore medieval perceptions of the role of human creativity and the nature of creation. Drawing on examples from literature, art, music, and philosophy, and across the Western European tradition, the contributors consider how medieval craftsmen, writers, artists and composers understood their activity in relation to the works of past masters, and of the ultimate creator, God. The interdisciplinary nature of the collection and its chronological range facilitate a nuanced re-examination of shifting attitudes to individual artistic creativity across the medieval period and into the early modern.