?John Arnold explains why medieval history matters urgently in the twenty-first century: historians of all periods and places as well as anyone interested in the Middle Ages should make it essential reading.?Julia Smith, University of Oxford?A tour-de-force that demonstrates what medieval history is in conception and practice. Arnold evokes the world of the Middle Ages from a vast array of sources ? documentary, material, scientific and imaginative ? and shows how methodological innovations and political changes in the globalized present offer a renewed call for undertaking the craft of medieval history.?Anne E. Lester, Johns Hopkins University
John H. Arnold is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge.