'Between France and England' characterises the role played by most rulers of the duchy of Brittany during the late Middle Ages, before it was finally united with Valois France. These essays (including three appearing for the first time in English) explore political and institutional aspects of the changing relationship between France and Brittany, within the context of Anglo-French relations, as well as social consequences of the development of a largely autonomous state within the larger French kingdom during a period dominated by war and economic crisis. The transformation of medieval France into an early modern state changed the traditional relationship between the king and his great feudal princes. But some princes reacted by imitating the crown, creating their own more advanced administrations and an ideological base for claims to exercise 'regal rights' within their lordships, often expressed in striking visual and symbolic form. These trends are evident in the late medieval duchy of Brittany where the Montfort dynasty all but succeeded in nullifying royal control.

Sharon Farmer analyzes the evidence concerning the medieval silk industry, adding new perspectives to our understanding of medieval French history, luxury trade, labor migration, intercultural exchange, and gendered work.

The twelve essays in Women and Wealth in Late Medieval Europe re-examine the vexing issue of women, money, wealth, and power from distinctive perspectives - literature, history, architectural history - using new archival sources. The contributors examine how money and changing attitudes toward wealth affected power relations between women and men of all ranks, especially the patriarchal social forces that constrained the range of women s economic choices. Employing theories on gender, culture, and power, this volume reveals wealth as both the motive force in gender relations and a precise indicator of other, more subtle, forms of power and influence mediated by gender.