This book traces the development of monasticism in England, Scotland and Wales from 1000 to 1300. It explores the nature of the impact of the Norman Settlement on monastic life, how Britain responded to new, European ideas, and also to the needs of religious women. Every aspect of the life and work of the religious orders is covered, from their daily life to their contribution to intellectual developments. Particular attention is paid to the relationships between religious houses and their founders and patrons, showing the degree of dependence on local patrons and the tension between the...

This is the first one-volume survey in English of religion and devotion in Europe between 1215 and 1515. Intended primarily as a student textbook, it provides essential background for a proper appreciation of medieval Western society. Avoiding the history of institutional structures, the book concentrates on the spirituality that the medieval Church sought to promulgate and control. Its thematic structure provides accessible surveys of major themes, and addresses recent debates about key aspects of medieval Catholicism.

The period c.1250-1450 ("the later Middle Ages") was seminal for the values of the modern world. State sovereignty, the separation of church and state, representation, the popular origin of government, and property rights are just a few of the ideas formulated during this time. Political Thought in Europe provides a lucid and accessible introduction to the period in the round, covering both major thinkers such as Aquinas, Marsiglio, Ockham, Wyclif and Cusa, and prevalent notions of church and state, empire and local sovereignty, civic and communal self-government, kingship, "the people,"...

Roy Ellen has studied the Nuaulu people of eastern Indonesia for more than twenty years. He is a major figure in ethnobiology, the branch of anthropology that examines the social and cultural transformation of biological knowledge. The present study looks at the Nuaulu classificatory system of animal knowledge: the relationship between animal words and animal categories, how these categories are constructed, and the language of classification. The author relies on rich and fascinating data to show that all classifications reflect an interaction among culture, cognitive processes, and the...

This is a major survey of the barbarian migrations and their role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the creation of early medieval Europe, one of the key events in European history. Unlike previous studies it integrates historical and archaeological evidence and discusses Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe and North Africa, demonstrating that the Roman Empire and its neighbours were inextricably linked. A narrative account of the turbulent fifth and early sixth centuries is followed by a description of society and politics during the migration period and an analysis of the mechanisms of...

This is a comprehensive survey of the history of the Church in Western Europe from c. 900 to c. 1125, which is considered both as a set of institutions and as a spiritual body. The first half concentrates on the structures of religious belief and practice in the period 900-1050; the second half concentrates on the revolutionary changes associated with the rise of the papacy to a new level of rulership. It shows how far one can talk of a "reform movement," and how the idea and ideal of papal monarchy became both the prisoner and the leader of those who sought for a renewal of Christian life....

This book offers an introduction to medieval economic thought, as it emerges from the works of the twelfth to the fifteenth century academic theologians, lawyers and other sources. Using Italian merchants' writings, vernacular poetry, parliamentary legislation, and manorial court rolls, it discusses property, charity, the role of money, weights, measures, coinage, trade, fair price and fair wage. It makes a relatively neglected subject accessible by exploring the relationship between theory and practice.

A History of Business in Medieval Europe, 1200-1550, demolishes the widely held view that the phrase "medieval business" is an oxymoron. The authors review the entire range of business in medieval western Europe, probing its Roman and Christian heritage to discover the economic and political forces that shaped the organization of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, transportation, and marketing. Then they deal with the responses of businessmen to the devastating plagues, famines, and warfare that beset Europe in the late Middle Ages. Medieval businessmen's remarkable success in...

A History of Business in Medieval Europe, 1200-1550, demolishes the widely held view that the phrase "medieval business" is an oxymoron. The authors review the entire range of business in medieval western Europe, probing its Roman and Christian heritage to discover the economic and political forces that shaped the organization of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, transportation, and marketing. Then they deal with the responses of businessmen to the devastating plagues, famines, and warfare that beset Europe in the late Middle Ages. Medieval businessmen's remarkable success in...

The Poor of Lyons, whom their detractors called "Waldensians"--after the name of their founder Waldo (or Vaudes)--first emerged around 1170 and formed a sect that embraced evangelism, prophesy and poverty. Challenging prohibition by following the Scripture to the last letter, they were condemned as heretics. The Waldensians constituted the only medieval heresy to have survived to the dawn of the so-called "modern" period. Their tale of simple devotion mixed with a fierce tenacity serves to illuminate aspects of religious belief that have persisted to the present day.