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Do we know the names of any medieval craftsmen? (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I know the answer is yes, but I'm having a hard time finding it. All I ever get from searches is "Life of the Medieval Craftsmen", etc.

IIRC his name was found in an inconspicious part of a tympanum in a french cathedral and I think some other places in southern and northern England.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

Not an historian, but i asked my father whose work was to restore woodworks in churches/cathedrals in France.

His answer: "We know very few names from this era, the act of signing started at the Renaissance for tax reasons." He gave me those names :

Gildouin made the altar of the basilica St Sernin (Toulouse) during the XI century
the master of Villadonna made the cryptic of the same basilica during the XIII century
Cabestany made the column capital of St Papoul during the XI century
the Flemish sculptor Sluter in the region Bourgogne
then there are the Gothic painters : Eyck, Grotte and Stoss

Also I asked him for "ébéniste" of the medieval era, which is the French word for his job. He told me that the job only appeared at the Renaissance. Before that the closest job that existed was "tablettier". Otherwise the tables and chests were made by the "charpentiers de la petite cognée" (carpenters of the little axe) who are the ancestors of the "menuisier".

I hope it helps or give you some leads to continue your research!