State and Society in the Early Middle Ages: The Middle Rhine Valley, 400-1000

by Matthew Innes

Overview

This book shows just how much can be discovered about the so-called "Dark Ages," between the fall of Rome and the high Middle Ages. Whereas it is believed widely that the source materials for early medieval Europe are too sparse to allow sustained study of social and political relationships, State and Society in the Early Middle Ages offers a detailed analysis of the workings of society at the heart of Charlemagne's empire, and suggests the need to rethink our understanding of political power in this period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521027168
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/02/2006
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series , #47
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.87(d)
Lexile:	1610L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of abbreviations; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Monasticism, spiritual patronage and social structure; 3. Land, kinship and status; 4. Local power: collective action, conflict and consensus; 5. Locality and centre: mechanisms of extraction; 6. Political power from the fifth to the eleventh century; 7. Conclusion: state and society in the early medieval west; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Powerful, insightful...an extremely important book..." Speculum

"This is a mature and rich analysis and an important contribution to our understanding of early medieval society." H E R

"Exceptionally resourceful and closely argued, this is a...rewarding attempt to provide a reconstruction of the social connections of political power in the early European Middle Ages...indispensable..." Choice

"This is an important book for understanding the latest revisionist scholarsip on the Carolingians...this is a book written with great confidence of style, in accessible, highly readable prose and produced in nearly flawless style - footnotes at the botom of pages, abbreviations at the beginning, and an interesting use of map and genealogical charts on single-page figures to denote kinship and property of selected families traced through the monastic records that Innes uses with such skill - an unusually rich and well-done first book..well worth the price just for its treatment of interesting methodological topics....an excellent introduction to the best scholarship in Carolingian history for the undergraduate considering graduate school or the nonmedievalist historian. It is a fine piece of scholarship and a well-produced publiction." Historian

"...everyone interested in the Carolingian church should read this book...sustainedly interesting and thought-provoking." The Catholic Historical Review

"This is a very good book - well written, well informed, full of subtle analysis, offering an excellent demonstration of how to get the best from early medieval charters...This book is well produced, in customary Cambridge University Press fashion...Matthew Innes makes the most of his sources by close attention to detail, without ever becoming a slave to that detail...this is a stunningly good first book." International History Review

From the Publisher