Faith in Measurements: For a Necrophiliac History of Scale in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

Medieval measurements are usually studied by historians of economics, their traditional, legitimate realm being that of production or trade. Contrary to this approach, Dr. Emanuele Lugli reveals in this lecture how in the Middle Ages measurements were associated with relics and the corpses of venerated figures, thus contributing to their mystical auras. Measurements, which were patently displayed in the centre of towns or on the altars of churches, attracted gazes and demanded respect. Such a reverence started weakening only during the modern period, when authors such as Francesco di Giorgio and Alberti proposed a radically different conceptualisation of measurements, of their origins and their usage.