Lives Identities And Histories In The Central Middle Ages

Offers a new take on the identities and life histories of medieval people, in their multi-layered and sometimes contradictory dimensions.

This new and revised edition of Christian–Jewish Relations 1000–1300 expands its survey of medieval Christian–Jewish relations in England, Spain, France and Germany with new material on canon law, biblical exegesis and Christian–Jewish polemics, along with an updated Further Reading section. Anna Sapir Abulafia’s balanced yet humane account analyses the theological, socio-economic and political services Jews were required to render to medieval Christendom. The nature of Jewish service varied greatly as Christian rulers struggled to reconcile the desire to profit from the presence of Jewish men and women in their lands with conflicting theological notions about Judaism. Jews meanwhile had to deal with the many competing authorities and interests in the localities in which they lived; their continued presence hinged on a fine balance between theology and pragmatism. The book examines the impact of the Crusades on Christian–Jewish relations and analyses how anti-Jewish libels were used to define relations. Making adept use of both Latin and Hebrew sources, Abulafia draws on liturgical and exegetical material, and narrative, polemical and legal sources, to give a vivid and accurate sense of how Christians interacted with Jews and Jews with Christians.

At a time when the Battle of Hastings and Magna Carta have become common currency in political debate, this study of the role played by the Norman Conquest in English history between the eleventh and the seventeenth centuries is both timely and relevant.

Explores the multiple ways in which different conceptions of time and history have been used to understand politics since late antiquity, showing that no conception of politics has dispensed altogether with time, and many have explicitly sought legitimacy in association with forms of history.

Medieval Lives c. 1000–1292: The World of the Beaugency Family is a gateway into Europe during the Central Middle Ages. Through charting the lives of the Beaugency family, this book delves into the history of Western Europe and explores the impact of the changes and events of the period on those who experienced them. The Central Middle Ages were years of profound transformation, and through the two centuries in which they lived the Beaugency family experienced many of the key developments that have characterized the period, such as the launch of the crusades and the emergence of the commercial economy. By following the lives of the family, this book instills a deeper understanding of the significance that human experience has on our ability to truly comprehend the crucial historical events of the age. It personalizes the history of the Middle Ages and provides students with a unique insight into the culture of the period. Containing maps, genealogical tables, over thirty images, a large collection of previously unpublished archival sources used throughout the book, and accompanied by a companion website with interactive features, Medieval Lives c. 1000–1292: The World of the Beaugency Family is a portal into the lives of the Beaugency family and an ideal introduction to the Central Middle Ages.

Daniel Power traces the history of Europe in the central Middle Ages (950-1320), an age of far-reaching change for the continent. Seven contributors consider the history of this period from a variety of perspectives, including political, social, economic, religious and intellectual history.

What did medieval authors know about their world? Were they parochial and focused on just their monastery, town, or kingdom? Or were they aware of the broader medieval Europe that modern historians write about? This collection brings the focus back to medieval authors to see how they described their world. While we see that each author certainly had their own biases, the vast majority of them did not view the world as constrained to their small piece of it. Instead, they talked about the wider world, and often they had informants or textual sources that informed them about the world, even if they did not visit it themselves. This volume shows that they also used similar ideas to create space and identity – whether talking about the desert, the holy land, or food practices in their texts. By examining medieval authors and their own perceptions of their world, this collection offers a framework for discussions of medieval Europe in the twenty-first century.

For the first time, this volume explores the identities of leprosy sufferers and other people affected by the disease in medieval Europe. The chapters, including contributions by leading voices such as Luke Demaitre, Carole Rawcliffe and Charlotte Roberts, challenge the view that people with leprosy were uniformly excluded and stigmatised. Instead, they reveal the complexity of responses to this disease and the fine line between segregation and integration. Ranging across disciplines, from history to bioarchaeology, Leprosy and identity in the Middle Ages encompasses post-medieval perspectives as well as the attitudes and responses of contemporaries. Subjects include hospital care, diet, sanctity, miraculous healing, diagnosis, iconography and public health regulation. This richly illustrated collection presents previously unpublished archival and material sources from England to the Mediterranean.

Christianity and Islam in the Spanish peninsula

Religious experience in the European Middle Ages represented an intersection of a range of aspects of existence, including everyday life, relations of power, and urban development, among others. As such, religion offered a reflection of many facets of life in this period. This book brings together scholars from different parts of the world who use a variety of different examples from the medieval era to show this specific path through which to reach a renewed perspective for understanding the European Middle Ages.