The Significance of Sameness: An Overview of Standardization and Imitation in Medieval Art

Abstract

This introductory article considers the various forms in which sameness manifests itself in the art of the Middle Ages. By examining approaches to sameness (both scholarly and artistic) in the context of copying, appropriation, production and market demands, it reveals that, as a methodology, the study of sameness can shed light on the significance of how and why so much medieval art appears to share so many similar characteristics. Although artists of the Middle Ages copied, they did so for various reasons. Thus through an investigation of the varying forms sameness takes in medieval art, a clearer understanding of the medieval creative process can be gained.

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