Debating Medieval Europe - by Stephen Mossman

About the Book

An entirely original textbook format to introduce students to medieval European history: this is the second volume covering the central and later medieval centuries

Book Synopsis

Debating medieval Europe serves as an entry point for studying and teaching medieval history. Rather than simply presenting foundational knowledge or introducing sources, it provides the reader with frameworks for understanding the distinctive historiography of the period, digging beneath the historical accounts provided by other textbooks to expose the contested foundations of apparently settled narratives. This second volume addresses the central and later Middle Ages, covering the period c.1050-c.1450. The chapters cover such topics as the papacy, the Empire and the German lands, the British Isles, the Crusades and the Latin East, and incorporates the very latest epidemiological research in its presentation of the Black Death. It features a highly distinguished selection of medieval historians, including Graham Loud, Amy Livingstone and Len Scales.

From the Back Cover

Debating medieval Europe serves as an entry point for studying and teaching medieval history.

Where other textbooks simply present foundational knowledge or introduce sources, this collection of essays provides the reader with the frameworks they will need in order to understand the unique historiography of this fascinating period. Digging beneath the accounts provided elsewhere, it exposes the contested foundations of apparently settled narratives, opening a space for discussion and debate, as well as providing essential context for the intimidating array of specialist scholarship.

This second volume covers the central and later Middle Ages, c. 1050 - c. 1450. The chapters move from discussion of the 'great institutions' of medieval Europe - the papacy and the empire, both of which traced their inheritance from Roman antiquity - to consider central themes in the study of its different geographical regions across this long period, from France and Iberia through the British Isles and the German-speaking lands to Sicily and the Latin East.

About the Author

Stephen Mossman is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Manchester