The Central Middle Ages - Europe 950–1320 (The Short Oxford History of Europe)

The period from the late tenth to the early fourteenth centuries was one of the most dynamic in European history. Latin Christendom found a new confidence which has left its mark upon the landscape in the form of the great cathedrals and castles, while thousands of new towns and villages were founded. The continent was carved up into dynastic kingdoms and principalities from which the European state system would evolve.

An age of great religious enthusiasm, it developed a darker side in the form of the Crusades and the persecution of heretics and Jews. In this book seven experts in the field examine how Europe was transformed in the Central Middle Ages. Thematic chapters analyse the political, social, economic, religious and intellectual history of Latin Christendom, and trace its expansion to the north, south and east.

As well as many familiar topics the authors discuss less well known aspects of the period such as the popular experience of religion or the new kingdoms of east-central Europe. The book includes a chronology of developments, a glossary, maps, illustrations and guidance for further reading.

CONTENTS

List of Maps
List of Contributors
Introduction
Why the ‘central Middle Ages’?
Europe in the central Middle Ages: climate and environment
The faultlines of European culture
The political divisions of Europe
Europe around the year 1000: a continent transformed?
An age of expansion

1 Society
Scholarly discourses versus social realities
The castellan aristocracy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
A ‘nobility of privileges’ in the thirteenth century
The peasantry: servitude and freedom
Proud to be merchants
The poor and marginalized
The family
The village and the lordship

2 Economy
The first phase of rural economic expansion (to c.1180): an agricultural revolution?
The towns and the development of a market economy
The expansion of the rural economy: the second phase (c.1180 - c.1330)
The coinage revolution
The commercial changes of the thirteenth century
The situation of Italy
Credit and banking
The fairs
The ‘commercial revolution’ of the late thirteenth century?

3 Politics
The political geography of Europe
Qualifications for kingship
The theory and practice of kingship
The community of the realm
The means and ends of political communication

4 Religion
Sources
The Church’s ancien rйgime: bishops and ritual c.1000
The process of transition
Law and the Church hierarchy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
The lay experience of religion
Monks, nuns, regular canons, and friars
Heretics
Jewish communities
Muslims in Spain

5 Intellectual and Cultural Creativity
Education and learning: the schools
Education and learning: the universities
Historians and (auto)biographers at work
Vernacular culture
A twelfth-century Renaissance?

6 The Expansion of Latin Christendom
Christianization in Scandinavia and central Europe
The new polities of central Europe
The new polities of northern Europe
Iberia
Crusades
Travels, mission, and discoveries

Conclusion
Further Reading
Chronology
Glossary
Maps
Index