Carol Lansing is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on medieval Italian politics, society, and culture. Previous publications include The Florentine Magnates: Lineage and Faction in a Medieval Commune (1991), Power and Purity: Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy (1998) and Passion and Order: Restraint of Grief in the Medieval Italian Communes (2008).Edward D. English is Executive Director of Medieval Studies and Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is finishing the first of two volumes on the society and politics of Siena in the fourteenth century. His other publications include Enterprise and Liability in Sienese Banking, 1230-1350 (1988) and The Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, 2 volumes (2005).

• Notes on Contributors viiiPART I THE MIDDLE AGES 11 The Idea of a Middle Ages 3Edward D. English and Carol LansingPART II EARLY MEDIEVAL FOUNDATIONS 72 Economies and Societies in Early Medieval Western Europe 9Matthew Innes3 Politics and Power 36Hans Hummer4 Religious Culture and the Power of Tradition in the Early Medieval West 67Yitzhak HenPART III POPULATIONS AND THE ECONOMY 875 Economic Takeoff and the Rise of Markets 89James Paul Masschaele6 Rural Families in Medieval Europe 111Phillipp R. Schofield7 Marriage in Medieval Latin Christendom 130Martha Howell8 Gender and Sexuality 161John Arnold9 Society, Elite Families, and Politics in Late Medieval Italian Cities 185Edward D. EnglishPART IV RELIGIOUS CULTURE 20910 New Religious Movements and Reform 211Maureen C. Miller11 Monastic and Mendicant Communities 231Constance H. Berman12 Hospitals in the Middle Ages 257James W. Brodman13 Popular Belief and Heresy 276Carol Lansing14 Jews in the Middle Ages 293Kenneth R. Stow15 Muslims in Medieval Europe 313Olivia Remie ConstablePART V POLITICS AND POWER 33316 Conflict Resolution and Legal Systems 335Thomas Kuehn17 Medieval Rulers and Political Ideology 354Robert W. Dyson18 Papal Monarchy 372Andreas Meyer19 Urban Historical Geography and the Writing of Late Medieval Urban History 397Teofilo F. Ruiz20 Bureaucracy and Literacy 413Richard Britnell21 The Practice of War 435Clifford J. Rogers22 Expansion and the Crusades 455Christopher TyermanPART VI TECHNOLOGIES AND CULTURE 47523 Romanesque and Gothic Church Architecture 477Stephen Murray24 Aristocratic Culture: Kinship, Chivalry, and Court Culture 500Richard E. Barton25 Philosophy and Humanism 525Stephen Gersh26 Philosophy and Theology in the Universities 544Philipp W. RosemannPART VII THE EUROPEAN MIDDLE AGES 56127 Medieval Europe in World History 563R. I. MooreIndex 581

"...a valuable reference book for students engaged in medieval studies at honours or postgraduate level seeking in-depth information on sources for essays and theses. It is useful for teachers and lecturers of medieval history (like me) striving to keep upto-date with the state of the discipline. Many of the essays would also be of interest to intelligent 'general readers' who wish to extend their knowledge of the medieval world."(St. Mark's Review, August 2016 issue)"Nonetheless, this Companion is an excellent manual for those who have never (or only partially) studied medieval history, as it provides clear outlines of extremely complex issues, a thought-provoking insight into historiographical and methodological trends, as well as an extremely rich bibliography to assist further investigation."(English Historical Review, January 2013 issue)"A Companion to the Medieval World will be of great value for instructors who want to pull their own thoughts together and to have a model for a concise explication of complicated topics. It will also bring home to students and general readers that there is no "party line" on the medieval world and that the past, as an intellectual and cultural construct, is very much alive."(The Medieval Review)