The nine essays in this volume by Elizabeth Brown deal with the development of representative institutions and monarchial power in Capetian France. One topic covered is that of the evolution of central assemblies, with case studies of the assemblies held between 1316 and 1321 illuminating the impact of theory on practice. A second topic is that of the moral implications of fiscality and of the attempts by French monarchs to regulate their policies by the teachings of moral philosophy. A particular theme is the Capetians’ insistence on reform as a central theme of good government, and their successes and failures living up to their principles. The articles also examine the realm’s reactions to the monarchy’s ideals and principles, emphasizing and attempting to account for the differences in attitude to government on the part of the ruler and ruled that distinguished medieval France and England.

In 987, when Hugh Capet took the throne of France, founding a dynasty which was to rule for over 300 years, his kingdom was weak and insignificant. But by 1100, the kingdom of France was beginning to dominate the cultural nd religious life of western Europe. In the centuries that followed, to scholars and to poets, to reforming churchmen and monks, to crusaders and the designers of churches, France was the hub of the universe. La douce France drew people like a magnet even though its kings were, until about 1200, comparatively insignificant figures. Then, thanks to the conquests and reforms of King Philip Augustus, France became a dominant force in political and economic terms as well, producing a saint-king, Louis IX, and in Philip IV, a ruler so powerful that he could dictate to popes and emperors. Spanning France's development across four centuries, Capetian France is a definitive book. This second edition has been carefully revised to take account of the very latest work, without losing the original book's popular balance between a compelling narrative and an fascinating examination of the period's main themes.

Political Representation: Communities, Ideas and Institutions in Europe (c. 1200 - c. 1690), a scholarly collection on representation in medieval and early modern Europe, opens up the field of institutional and parliamentary history to new paradigms of representation across a wide geography and chronology – as testified by the volume’s studies on assemblies ranging from Burgundy and Brabant to Ireland and Italy. The focus is on three areas: institutional developments of representative institutions in Western Europe; the composition of these institutions concerning interest groups and individual participants; and the ideological environment of representatives in time and space. By analysing the balance between bottom-up and top-down approaches to the functioning of institutions of representation; by studying the actors behind the representative institutions linking prosopographical research with changes in political dialogue; and by exploring the ideological world of representation, this volume makes a key contribution to the historiography of pre-modern government and political culture. Contributors are María Asenjo-González, Wim Blockmans, Mario Damen, Coleman A. Dennehy, Jan Dumolyn, Marco Gentile, David Grummitt, Peter Hoppenbrouwers, Alastair J. Mann, Tim Neu, Ida Nijenhuis, Michael Penman, Graeme Small, Robert Stein and Marie Van Eeckenrode. See inside the book.

First published in 1995, Medieval France: An Encyclopedia is the first single-volume reference work on the history and culture of medieval France. It covers the political, intellectual, literary, and musical history of the country from the early fifth to the late fifteenth century. The shorter entries offer succinct summaries of the lives of individuals, events, works, cities, monuments, and other important subjects, followed by essential bibliographies. Longer essay-length articles provide interpretive comments about significant institutions and important periods or events. The Encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced and includes a generous selection of illustrations, maps, charts, and genealogies. It is especially strong in its coverage of economic issues, women, music, religion and literature. This comprehensive work of over 2,400 entries will be of key interest to students and scholars, as well as general readers.

From the construction of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower to the Fall of the Bastille and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen to NapolZon Bonaparte's defeat at Waterloo to Albert Camus' L'Etranger and the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre, France has been a part of some of the greatest and most memorable events in human history. Author Gino Raymond relates the history of these events in the second edition of the Historical Dictionary of France. Through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on kings, politicians, authors, architects, composers, artists, and philosophers, a thorough history of France is presented.

The first modern study of Nicholas of Lyra. A Franciscan teacher at the University of Paris, Nicholas (d. 1349) was an immensely important biblical commentator whose works influenced generations of scholars including Luther. Famed for his knowledge of Hebrew learning, as well as of the Latin Fathers, Nicholas was also highly conscious of interpretative method and of the Bible as literary artefact. In his massive Postillae, Nicholas commented on the entire Bible according to both literal and spiritual senses. This masterpiece is the basis for fifteen essays which cover major biblical books, examining them in a variety of ways, such as interpretative history, theology, and even political theory. They illuminate the remarkable range of Nicholas' thinking, his impressive scholarship, and his Franciscan evangelism. A major study of a key medieval writer. Contributors include: Philippe Buc, Mary Dove, Theresa Gross-Diaz, Deeana Copeland Klepper, Philip D.W. Krey, Frans van Liere, Kevin Madigan, Corrine Patton, Michael A. Signer, Lesley Smith, and Mark Zier.

"Pioneering. . . . An important and timely collection that profiles the lives and professional careers of women medievalists in the last centuries."--Maureen Mazzaoui, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Drawing on the expertise of 26 distinguished scholars, this important volume covers the major issues in the study of medieval Europe, highlighting the significant impact the time period had on cultural forms and institutions central to European identity. Examines changing approaches to the study of medieval Europe, its periodization, and central themes Includes coverage of important questions such as identity and the self, sexuality and gender, emotionality and ethnicity, as well as more traditional topics such as economic and demographic expansion; kingship; and the rise of the West Explores Europe’s understanding of the wider world to place the study of the medieval society in a global context

This book focuses on the reception of classical political ideas in the political thought of the fourteenth-century Italian writer Marsilius of Padua. Vasileios Syros provides a novel cross-cultural perspective on Marsilius’s theory and breaks fresh ground by exploring linkages between his ideas and the medieval Muslim, Jewish, and Byzantine traditions. Syros investigates Marsilius’s application of medical metaphors in his discussion of the causes of civil strife and the desirable political organization. He also demonstrates how Marsilius’s demarcation between ethics and politics and his use of examples from Greek mythology foreshadow early modern political debates (involving such prominent political authors as Niccolò Machiavelli and Paolo Sarpi) about the political dimension of religion, church-state relations, and the emergence and decline of the state.