Medieval describes the period of European history between the end of the Western Roman Empire and the Renaissance, roughly from the fifth to the late fifteenth century. In England the term is usually taken to run from the Anglo-Saxon era through the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the accession of the Tudors in 1485, spanning the Romanesque and Gothic styles in architecture and the decorative arts.
Genuine medieval objects are scarce on the open market, and those most often encountered by collectors include oak chests and boarded coffers, carved wooden figures and fragments, floor tiles, pottery jugs, metalwork such as keys, buckles and candlesticks, seals, and architectural stonework from churches and abbeys. The period has had a huge influence on later design, especially through the Gothic Revival of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when architects and designers such as A. W. N. Pugin and William Burges reinterpreted medieval forms for country houses, churches and furniture. When considering any piece described as medieval, provenance, the evidence of construction and wear, and, where appropriate, scientific dating are all important, as many later copies and adaptations exist.
