Table of Contents

Part I Europe in the 11th century: Christendom in the year 1000; Mediterranean Europe; Northmen, Celts and Anglo-Saxons; Francia/France; central Europe. Part II The Renaissance of the 12th century: the investiture controversy; the first crusade; the world of learning; cultural innovations of the 12th century - vernacular literature and architecture; political power and its contexts I; political power and its contexts II. Part III The 13th century: social structures; the Pontificate of Innocent III and the Fourth Lateran Council; learning; the kingdoms of the north; Baltic and central Europe; the Gothic world; southern Europe. Part IV Christendom in the early 14th century: famine and plague; political and social violence; the church in crisis.

About the Author

William Chester Jordan is Professor of History at Princeton University and the author of several books, including Women and Credit in Pre-Industrial and Developing Societies, (1993) The Great Famine (1996) and From England to France- Felony and Exile in the High Middle Ages (2015).

Reviews

The Penguin History of Europe series ... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects New Statesman With five volumes now out, the Penguin History of Europe series ... is shaping up to be the best general account available, superseding all previous ones Economist

This volume inaugurates Viking's new series, which under the editorship of David Cannadine will eventually encompass eight volumes. Jordan (medieval studies, Princeton Univ.; The Great Famine) ranges from the 11th century to the beginning of the 14th century-a time of major growth and reform. The population of Europe increased significantly as a result of new agricultural technologies, the spread of the iron plow, and new practices such as the clearing and settlement of the vast forests of central Europe. This era witnessed the rise of great church reformers like Pope Leo IX and Abbot Hugh of Cluny and the creation of Dante's Divine Comedy and Thomas Aquinas's philosophy. Jordan surveys this society from high to low, from the worker in the fields to the popes and secular rulers, giving students and lay readers who are already interested in the era an excellent introduction that will build their enthusiasm. This should be the benchmark for judging a survey volume; highly recommended for large public and academic libraries.-Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., MN Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

The Penguin History of Europe series ... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects New Statesman With five volumes now out, the Penguin History of Europe series ... is shaping up to be the best general account available, superseding all previous ones Economist