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For those who ruled medieval society, the family was the crucial social unit, made up of those from whom property and authority were inherited and those to whom it passed. One's kin could be one's closest political and military allies or one's fiercest enemies. While the general term used to describe family members was consanguinei mei, "those of my blood," not all of those relations-parents, siblings, children, distant cousins, maternal relatives, paternal ancestors, and so on-counted as true family in any given time, place, or circumstance. In the early and high Middle Ages, the "family" was a very different group than it is in modern society, and the ways in which medieval men and women c...
From the late Middle Ages to THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO to Mel Gibson's BRAVEHEART, the ultimate symbol of feudal barbarism has been the right of a feudal lord to sleep with the bride of a vassal on her wedding night. But here, in a fascinating case study of the folklore of sexuality, Alain Boureau elegantly demonstrates such tradition is a myth.
Introduction -- Expulsion, Jews, and Usury: Trajectories of Christian Thought and Practice -- Inventing Expulsion in England, 1154-1272 -- Inventing Expulsion in France, 1144-1270 -- Canonizing Expulsion: The Second Council of Lyon, 1274 -- Disseminating Expulsion: Synods, Summas, and Sermons -- Emulating Expulsion: England and France, 1274-1306 -- Ignoring Expulsion: Episcopal Evasion and Papal Inaction, 1274-1400 -- Expanding (and Impeding) Expulsion: Jews, Usury, and Canon Law, 1300-1492 -- Conclusion.
The raids, therefore, were more than an exotic nuisance, but a key factor in Siena's decision to abandon independence in 1399.
This collection of essays makes an important contribution to our knowledge of feudalism and finance in France and Spain. Divided into four sections, it covers the use rulers made of courts, parlements, and assemblies for ceremonial, political and fiscal purposes; the institutional formation of Catalonia; comparative studies of France, Catalonia and Aragon in the twelfth century; and monetary and fiscal policies of contemporary rulers.
Along with most of the rest of Western culture, has crime itself become more "civilized"? This book exposes as myths the beliefs that society has become more violent than it has been in the past and that violence is more likely to occur in cities than in rural areas. The product of years of study by scholars from North America and Europe, The Civilization of Crime shows that, however violent some large cities may be now, both rural and urban communities in Sweden, Holland, England, and other countries were far more violent during the late Middle Ages than any cities are today. Contributors show that the dramatic change is due, in part, to the fact that violence was often tolerated or even ac...
A study of French policies in Central Europe from Versailles until the fall of France.