What is Medieval History?

John H. Arnold's What is Medieval History? is a leading introduction to the craft of medieval history, discussing the creation of the field, sources, tools, and key areas of thematic importance. The second edition includes further exploration of interdisciplinary techniques and addresses the challenges of a 'global middle ages'. It is an invaluable guide for students, teachers, researchers, and interested general readers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 06 November 2020
Publisher: Polity Press

Since its first publication in 2007, John H. Arnold's What is Medieval History? has established itself as the leading introduction to the craft of the medieval historian. What is it that medieval historians do? How – and why – do they do it? Arnold discusses the creation of medieval history as a field, the nature of its sources, the intellectual tools used by medievalists, and some key areas of thematic importance from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Reformation. The fascinating case studies include a magical plot against a medieval pope, a fourteenth-century insurrection, and the importance of a kiss exchanged between two tenth-century noblemen. Throughout the book, readers are shown not only what medieval history is, but the cultural and political contexts in which it has been written. This anticipated second edition includes further exploration of the interdisciplinary techniques that can aid medieval historians, such as dialogue with scientists and archaeologists, and addresses some of the challenges – both medieval and modern – of the idea of a 'global middle ages. What is Medieval History? continues to demonstrate why the pursuit of medieval history is important not only to the present, but to the future. It is an invaluable guide for students, teachers, researchers, and interested general readers.

Weight: 392g
Dimension: 145 x 222 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509532551
Edition number: 2nd Edition