A valuable resource on the social and economic life of medieval England

Essays exploring the potential of the Inquisitions post mortem to shed important new light on the medieval world.

Conspicuous consumption in the 15th century both offers causes for revolt and allows reconstruction of regional supply and trading networks. The essays in this volume focus on the sources and resources of political power, on consumption (royal and lay, conspicuous and everyday) on political revolution and on economic regulation in the later middle ages. Topics range from the diet of the nobility in the fifteenth century to the knightly household of Richard II and the peace commissions, while particular case studies, of Middlesex, Cambridge, Durham Cathedral and Winchester, shed new light on regional economies through an examination of the patterns of consumption, retailing, and marketing.Professor MICHAEL HICKS teaches at King Alfred's College at Winchester.Contributors: CHRISTOPHER WOOLGAR, ALASTAIR DUNN, SHELAGH MITCHELL, ALISON GUNDY, T.B. PUGH, JESSICA FREEMAN, JOHN HARE, JOHN LEE, MIRANDA THRELFALL-HOLMES, WINIFRED HARWOOD, PETER FLEMING.

A fresh look at the idea of bastard feudalism, deploying little-used records to provide new insights.

The forgotten story of Central Asia's enlightenment—its rise, fall, and enduring legacy In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds—remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia—drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China. Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America—five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia. Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general readers and specialists alike.