'This book is erudite, thoughtful, sometimes provocative, sometimes inspiring, always stimulating, and it is informed by a profound understanding of both the middle ages and the discipline of history. Marcus Bull has a real feeling for his subject and for the way that those embarking on a study of the middle ages might receive it. And a further bonus is that it is written well. Marcus Bull draws the reader along with a style that is compellingly page-turning...This book is both informative and useful and it ought to be required reading for all medievalists, for all students embarking on a study of the middle ages.' - Stephen Church, Reviews in History