A Companion to the Medieval World

The European Middle Ages are an extraordinarily rich field of interdisciplinary study. Cultural forms and institutions central to European identity took shape during this period. The rise of Europe from an obscure backwater to cultural and colonial expansion on the world stage found it origins in the Middle Ages. In this volume 26 distinguished scholars examine major issues in the study of medieval Europe. Much recent scholarship has sought to identify and strip away later intellectual categories and seek a fresh understanding of medieval culture and society on its own terms. That approach is reflected in the articles in this volume on questions such as the end of late antiquity, reform, the crusades, the family, chivalric culture, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, Christianization and heresy. It addresses key themes such as sexuality, gender, and power and class. More traditional topics are also explored including economic and demographic expansion and change, urban politics, kingship, hospitals, education, and scholasticism. The volume is vital for European specialists and an important resource for comparative world history.

Notes on Contributors. PART I THE MIDDLE AGES. 1 The Idea of a Middle Ages (Edward D. English and Carol Lansing). PART II EARLY MEDIEVAL FOUNDATIONS. 2 Economies and Societies in Early Medieval Western Europe (Matthew Innes). 3 Politics and Power (Hans Hummer). 4 Religious Culture and the Power of Tradition in the Early Medieval West (Yitzhak Hen). PART III POPULATIONS AND THE ECONOMY. 5 Economic Takeoff and the Rise of Markets (James Paul Masschaele). 6 Rural Families in Medieval Europe (Phillipp R. Schofield). 7 Marriage in Medieval Latin Christendom (Martha Howell). 8 Gender and Sexuality (John Arnold). 9 Society, Elite Families, and Politics in Late Medieval Italian Cities (Edward D. English). PART IV RELIGIOUS CULTURE. 10 New Religious Movements and Reform (Maureen C. Miller). 11 Monastic and Mendicant Communities (Constance H. Berman). 12 Hospitals in the Middle Ages (James W. Brodman). 13 Popular Belief and Heresy (Carol Lansing). 14 Jews in the Middle Ages (Kenneth R. Stow). 15 Muslims in Medieval Europe (Olivia Remie Constable). PART V POLITICS AND POWER. 16 Confl ict Resolution and Legal Systems (Thomas Kuehn). 17 Medieval Rulers and Political Ideology (Robert W. Dyson). 18 Papal Monarchy (Andreas Meyer). 19 Urban Historical Geography and the Writing of Late Medieval Urban History (Teofi lo F. Ruiz). 20 Bureaucracy and Literacy (Richard Britnell). 21 The Practice of War (Clifford J. Rogers). 22 Expansion and the Crusades (Christopher Tyerman). PART VI TECHNOLOGIES AND CULTURE. 23 Romanesque and Gothic Church Architecture (Stephen Murray). 24 Aristocratic Culture: Kinship, Chivalry, and Court Culture (Richard E. Barton). 25 Philosophy and Humanism (Stephen Gersh). 26 Philosophy and Theology in the Universities (Philipp W. Rosemann). PART VII THE EUROPEAN MIDDLE AGES. 27 Medieval Europe in World History (R. I. Moore). Index.

Carol Lansing is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on medieval Italian politics, society, and culture. Previous publications include T he Florentine Magnates: Lineage and Faction in a Medieval Commune (1991), Power and Purity: Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy (1998) and Passion and Order: Restraint of Grief in the Medieval Italian Communes (2008). Edward D. English is Executive Director of Medieval Studies and Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is finishing the first of two volumes on the society and politics of Siena in the fourteenth century. His other publications include Enterprise and Liability in Sienese Banking, 1230–1350 (1988) and The Encyclopedia of the Medieval World , 2 volumes (2005).

“Nonetheless, this Companion is an excellent manual for those who have never (or only partially) studied medieval history, as it provides clear outlines of extremely complex issues, a thought–provoking insight into historiographical and methodological trends, as well as an extremely rich bibliography to assist further investigation.”  ( English Historical Review , 1 January 2013)  "This is a great legacy––not one of reaction or anachronism––and we should be proud to sit upon the shoulders of such giants and to be able to survey so much of a landscape that they helped map out." ( The Medieval Review , September 2010)