ABSTRACT
Any work of art or architecture that has survived for numerous centuries can be considered to have “lived a long life.” When Fernand Braudel coined the term longue duree, he was not thinking of medieval artifacts, but of larger social systems such as economics. Ironically, the very conditions that have allowed the survival of “original” medieval works have required their transformation through alterations, augmentations, and restorations. In some cases, the original work has been entirely replaced with new material. When longue duree works are written about medieval art and architecture they readily take the form of large-scale biographies with the work as the central subject. Although the medieval works extend beyond human lifespans, they are inextricably linked with those who paid for, made, altered, demolished, and reused them. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
