The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Christianity, ed. John H. Arnold
Alexander Murray
Each volume in the Oxford Handbooks series presents an ensemble of specialist essays on different facets named subject-area, area chosen from humanities or social sciences. The aim is to provide scholars and graduate students with state-of-the art scholarship topics covered, new perspectives clues for possible future research. Every essay has endnotes, flagging English translations sources, where available, adds Recommendations Further Reading. History already been well-served by series, Medieval Christianity now joins its beneficiaries. An introduction, John H. Arnold, editor, followed thirty chapters. Many their authors are household names, all hold, have held, academic positions North America, Britain continental Europe. To find perspectives, a field well-marked out old ones, material marshalled into deliberately non-traditional Parts, entitled ‘Methods’, ‘Spaces’, ‘Practices’, ‘Ideas’, ‘Identities’ ‘Power’. own cluster essays. Like officer leading his troops, editor leads off ‘Methods’ section masterly—if inevitably little breathless towards end—resumé historiography subject. This anthropology, another well-read resumé (Simon Yarrow) history (Beth Williamson), here neatly zipped study micromosaic Rome. final ‘method’ (R.I. Moore) comparison across world, instance China. Part II, again include big small. We learn how, before maps, Muslim–Christian frontier Spain was marked castles, serving like dotted-line boundaries (Amy Remensnyder). On opposite Christian frontier, Sverre Bagge explains how conversion northern peoples entailed simultaneously political conversion, kingdoms. Smaller, but still extensive, were spaces affected, beyond walls, monasteries cities (Wendy Davies); then, downscaling further, we scrutinise religious behaviour towns (Nicholas Terpstra), parishes private houses (Katherine French), special attention, both, gender differences.
The English Historical Review