Summary

Deftly written and beautifully illustrated, The Worlds of Medieval Europe,Second Edition, presents a distinctive and nuanced portrayal of a western worldthat was sharply divided between its northern and southern aspects. Byintegrating the histories of the Islamic and Byzantine worlds into the mainnarrative, author Clifford R. Backman offers an insightful, detailed, and oftenwitty look at the continuum of interaction--social, cultural, intellectual, andcommercial--that existed among all three societies. Filled with relevant primary documents, this compelling volume surpassestraditional textbook representations of the Middle Ages by balancing theconventional focus on political affairs, especially those of northern Europe,with equally detailed attention to medieval society as it developed in theMediterranean. In addition, Backman describes the ways in which the medievalLatin West attempted to understand the unified and rational structure of thehuman cosmos, which they believed existed beneath the observable diversity anddisorder of the world. This effort to re-create a human ordering of "unitythrough diversity" provides an essential key to understanding medieval Europeand the ways in which it regarded and reacted to the worlds around it. Thoroughly updated and redesigned, the second edition features an inviting andaccessible layout and integrates captivating new illustrations--nearly twice asmany as in the previous edition--to stimulate students' engagement with thematerial. Moreover, it offers a sophisticated analysis of gender, along with anintriguing examination of the tumultuous relationship between the Mediterraneanand Islam. An invaluable resource for both students and instructors, The Worlds ofMedieval Europe, Second Edition, is ideal for undergraduate courses in medievalhistory, Western civilization, the history of Christianity, and Muslim-Christianrelations. It also serves as an excellent supplement on the history of aspecific country in the medieval period, the history of medieval art, or thehistory of the European economy.

Author Biography

Clifford R. Backman is Professor of History at Boston University. He is author of The Decline and Fall of Medieval Sicily: Politics, Economy, and Religion in the Reign of Frederick III, 1296-1327 (1995). He is currently writing a biography of James II of the Crown of Aragon.

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction: Why the Middle Ages Matter	p. xv
The Early Middle Ages: The Third through Ninth Centuries
The Roman World at Its Height	p. 3
The Geography of Empire	p. 4
The Role of the Military	p. 7
Roman Society	p. 8
Roman Government	p. 11
The Challenges of the Third Century	p. 14
Reform, Recovery, Persecution, and Favor	p. 16
Suggested Reading	p. 21
The Rise of Christianity	p. 23
Before Christ	p. 25
The Growth of the New Religion	p. 27
The Problem of Persecution	p. 34
The Problem of Heresy	p. 36
Constantine and Theodosius: An Imperial Church	p. 38
Responses to Imperialization	p. 43
Suggested Reading	p. 50
Early Germanic Society	p. 53
Germanic Life	p. 54
Migrations and Invasions	p. 60
Europe's First Kingdoms	p. 66
Germanic Christianity and the Fourth "Doctor of the Church"	p. 75
Suggested Reading	p. 78
Cloister and Culture	p. 80
The Rise of Monasticism in the East	p. 80
The Rise of Monasticism in the West	p. 85
Cultural Life in the West: Cassiodorus, Boethius, and St. Benedict	p. 92
Suggested Reading	p. 99
The Emergence of the Medieval Worlds	p. 102
Continuity and Change in Northern Europe	p. 103
Continuity and Change in the Mediterranean	p. 111
The Rise of Islam	p. 120
A Tripartite World	p. 127
Suggested Reading	p. 129
The Carolingian Era	p. 131
The "Do-Nothing" Kings and the Rise of the Carolingians	p. 132
The Carolingian Monarchy	p. 136
Carolingian Administration	p. 144
Carolingian Society	p. 150
The Carolingian Cultural Renewal	p. 155
Suggested Reading	p. 162
The Central Middle Ages: The Tenth through Twelfth Centuries
The Time of Troubles	p. 167
Trouble from Within	p. 167
Trouble from the North	p. 172
Trouble from the East	p. 178
Trouble from the South	p. 182
The End of the World?	p. 187
Suggested Reading	p. 193
Revolutions on Land and Sea	p. 195
Changes on the Land	p. 196
A Peasant Society Emerges	p. 201
Changes on the Sea	p. 209
A Maritime Society Emerges	p. 212
Suggested Reading	p. 217
A New Europe Emerges: North and South	p. 219
The Rise of Feudal Society	p. 220
The First German Empire	p. 226
The Rise of Capetian France	p. 233
The Anglo-Norman Realm	p. 238
The Spanish Kingdoms	p. 247
The Italian Scene	p. 254
Suggested Reading	p. 260
The Reform of the Church	p. 262
The Origins of the Reform	p. 264
The Papal Revolution	p. 269
Christendom and the East	p. 274
Monastic Reforms	p. 285
Suggested Reading	p. 289
The Renaissances of the Twelfth Century	p. 291
Aristotle, Anselm, Abelard, and Ibn Rushd	p. 292
Law and Canon Law	p. 298
The Recovery of Science	p. 302
The Rise of the Universities	p. 308
Courtly Life, Love, and Literature	p. 316
Suggested Reading	p. 325
The Papal Monarchy	p. 327
Church against State Once More	p. 328
The Consolidation of Papal Authority	p. 332
The Revival of Heresy	p. 340
The Albigensian Crusade and the Origins of the Inquisition	p. 346
Suggested Reading	p. 349
The Late Middle Ages: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
Politics in the Thirteenth Century	p. 353
The Rise of Representative Institutions	p. 355
England and France	p. 356
Germany, Italy, and the Papacy	p. 364
The New Mediterranean Superpowers	p. 367
Byzantium and Islam in the Thirteenth Century	p. 371
Suggested Reading	p. 375
Art and Intellect in the Thirteenth Century	p. 377
Scholasticism	p. 378
The Gothic Vision	p. 384
Science and Technology	p. 389
Aspects of Popular Culture	p. 399
Suggested Reading	p. 403
Daily Life at the Medieval Zenith	p. 405
Economic Changes	p. 407
Peasants' Lives	p. 412
Townsfolks' Lives	p. 416
The Question of Literacy	p. 427
Sex and the City (and the Town, and the Village)	p. 429
Suggested Reading	p. 434
Changes in Religious Life	p. 437
The Importance of Being Penitent	p. 438
The Importance of Being Poor	p. 442
The Humanization of Christ and the Cult of the Virgin	p. 447
Mysticism	p. 450
Suggested Reading	p. 458
The Crises of the Fourteenth Century	p. 460
Economic Difficulties	p. 461
The Great Famine	p. 465
The Black Death	p. 466
War Everywhere	p. 478
Challenges to Church Unity	p. 485
Suggested Reading	p. 493
Signs of a New Era	p. 496
William of Ockham	p. 497
Marsilius of Padua	p. 500
Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer	p. 502
Christine de Pizan	p. 509
Suggested Reading	p. 511
Two Epilogues
Closings In, Closings Out	p. 515
The Last Years of Byzantium	p. 517
The Search for a New Route to the East	p. 520
Closing In on Muslim Spain	p. 523
The Expulsions of the Jews	p. 525
Closing In Forever: The Forced Cloistering of Women Religious	p. 527
Suggested Reading	p. 529
The Renaissance in Medieval Context	p. 531
Economies New and Old circa 1400	p. 532
The Meaning of Humanism	p. 534
The Canonization of Classical Culture	p. 536
The Rejection of the Middle Ages	p. 540
Suggested Reading	p. 542
The Medieval Popes	p. 543
The Carolingians	p. 550
The Capetians	p. 551
France: The Valois	p. 552
England: The Norman and Plantagenet Dynasties	p. 553
England: The Lancastrian And Yorkist Dynasties	p. 554
Germany: The Ottonian, Salian, And Hohenstaufen Dynasties	p. 555
Germany: The Late Medieval Emperors	p. 556
The Spanish Kingdoms, 1000-1250	p. 557
The Spanish Kingdoms, 1250-1500	p. 558
The Emperors In Constantinople	p. 559
Glossary	p. 561
Index	p. 571
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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