Readings in Medieval History

by Patrick J. Geary

Overview

For this new edition, Patrick J. Geary has incorporated more bibliographical information into the introductions to the readings. Five texts have been added to better reflect legal, religious, Polish, and women's history. A glossary is provided to help with unfamiliar terms. For students who want to dig deeper into the primary sources, secondary readings about the primary sources are listed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442601208
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division
Publication date:	08/01/2010
Pages:	816
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Patrick J. Geary is Professor in the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Late Antiquity

1 Theodosian Code 1

2 Augustine of Hippo On Christian Doctrine 28

City of God 46

3 St. Perpetua The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas 58

The Barbarian World

4 Tacitus Germania 65

5 Jordanes History of the Goths 78

6 Hildebrandslied 111

The Early Franks

7 The Tomb of Childeric, Father of Clovis 113

8 Salic Law 122

9 Bishops Remigius of Reims and Avitus of Vienne Letters to Clovis 129

10 Gregory of Tours History of the Franks 131

11 Life of Saint Balthild 153

Early Italy

12 Saint Benedict Rule for Monasteries 159

13 Gregory the Great Dialogues 189

Anglo-Saxon England

14 Laws of Ethelbert 209

15 Bede History of the English Church and People 212

16 King Alfred Dooms 223

The Treaty between Alfred and Guthrum (886-890) 228

Letter to King Edward the Elder 228

Asser's Life of King Alfred 230

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 239

17 Theodore Penitential 247

The Carolingians

18 Einhard Life of Charles the Great 266

19 Selected Capitularies 280

20 Dhuoda's Handbook for her Son (Liber Manualis) 302

Monasticism

21 Cluniac Charters The Foundation Charter of Cluny 315

Charters of the Grossi Family 317

22 Miracles of Saint Foy 322

23 Anselm Proslogion 329

24 Bernard of Clairvaux Sermons on the Song of Songs 342

25 Guibert of Nogent Memoirs 351

Lords and Vassals

26 Fulbert of Chartres Letter to William of Aquitaine 376

27 Hugh of Lusignan Agreement between Lord and Vassal 377

28 Galbert of Bruges the Murder of Charles the Good 382

The First Crusade

29 Four Accounts Fulcher of Chartres 394

Solomon Bar Simson 406

Ibn Al-Athir 413

Anna Comnena 418

The Fourth Lateran Council

30 Canons of the Fourth Lateran Council, 1215 430

The Mendicants

31 The Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi 456

32 Clare of Assisi Testament 460

33 Canonization Process of St. Dominic 464

34 Thomas of Cantimpré Defense of the Mendicants 475

35 St. Thomas Aquinas On the Proofs of God's Existence 478

Church and Society in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

36 Jacques Fournier Inquisition Records 482

37 Marsilius of Padua Discourses 502

38 The Book of Margery Kempe 523

The Empire

39 Liudprand of Cremona A Chronicle of Otto's Reign 554

40 Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV the Investiture Controversy 562

41 The Concordat of Worms 587

42 Otto of Freising The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa 588

43 The Saxon Mirror (Sachsenspiegel) 598

44 Emperor Charles IV Autobiography 603

The Golden Bull 618

Poland

45 The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles 639

46 The Chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg 647

France

47 Joinville Life of St. Louis 649

48 Enquêts of King Louis 667

49 Jean Froissart Chronicles 677

50 The Trial of Joan of Arc 701

England

51 Domesday Book 716

52 Richard fitz Nigel Dialogue of the Exchequer 724

53 Accounts of the Exchequer: An Example 730

54 Magna Carta 735

The Articles of the Barons, June 15, 1215 735

Magna Carta, 1215 739

Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta null and void, August 24,1215 746

Magna Carta, 1216 747

55 Royal Courts of England the Huntingdonshire Eyre of 1286 752

56 A Medieval English Village: Plans of Wharram Percy 756

The Iberian Peninsula

57 Fuero de Cuenca 759

58 Las Siete Partidas 761

Italy

59 Giovanni Scriba Notary Book 770

60 Dialogues of Catherine of Siena 772

61 Florence: Catasto of 1427 781

62 Gregorio Dati Diary 793

Glossary 808

Sources 811

What People are Saying About This

Nicholas Everett

Geary's careful and wise selection of texts in his reader provides the best balance between range and depth necessary for a successful source book. Students are introduced to the richness of medieval evidence and can engage with the personalities who produced it in a way that encourages further study and reflection on the Middle Ages.

David Routt

An outstanding, eclectic collection of documents.

Rosamund McKitterick

Provides an excellent selection of complete texts or substantial extracts from key primary sources, helpfully grouped thematically and illustrating many current issues in modern historical study... an invaluable introduction.

— Rosamund McKitterick, Newnham College, University of Cambridge

Jonathan Conant

Readings in Medieval History, Fourth Edition is probably the best collection of primary source readings available. The documents are well-chosen, they are generally accessible to students, and—most important of all—the selections are long and meaty enough that the students can really sink their teeth into them.

A.J. Andrea

The best collection of medieval documents in print.

— A.J. Andrea, University of Vermont

Nicholas Everett

Geary's careful and wise selection of texts in his reader provides the best balance between range and depth necessary for a successful source book. Students are introduced to the richness of medieval evidence and can engage with the personalities who produced it in a way that encourages further study and reflection on the Middle Ages.

— Nicholas Everett, University of Toronto

From the Publisher

Instructors of medieval history are fortunate to have at their disposal a new edition of the best selection of medieval primary courses in English translation available today. Like its predecessors, this fourth edition fulfills the promise expressed in the author's preface: to introduce us and our students to documents representing a great variety of genres, subjects, and places throughout medieval Europe and to present those documents in their entirety or in substantial portions. The documents allow us, the teachers, and more importantly, our students, the freedom to read in depth, select, and analyze—to practice history at its best, right in the classroom.

Geary's careful and wise selection of texts in his reader provides the best balance between range and depth necessary for a successful source book. Students are introduced to the richness of medieval evidence and can engage with the personalities who produced it in a way that encourages further study and reflection on the Middle Ages.

Provides an excellent selection of complete texts or substantial extracts from key primary sources, helpfully grouped thematically and illustrating many current issues in modern historical study... an invaluable introduction.

The best collection of medieval documents in print.

Readings in Medieval History, Fourth Edition is probably the best collection of primary source readings available. The documents are well-chosen, they are generally accessible to students, and—most important of all—the selections are long and meaty enough that the students can really sink their teeth into them.

Piotr Gorecki

Instructors of medieval history are fortunate to have at their disposal a new edition of the best selection of medieval primary courses in English translation available today. Like its predecessors, this fourth edition fulfills the promise expressed in the author's preface: to introduce us and our students to documents representing a great variety of genres, subjects, and places throughout medieval Europe and to present those documents in their entirety or in substantial portions. The documents allow us, the teachers, and more importantly, our students, the freedom to read in depth, select, and analyze—to practice history at its best, right in the classroom.

— Piotr Gorecki, University of California, Riverside

Richard C. Hoffman

Outstanding coverage and depth.

John Shinners

Finally, a reader that doesn't condescend to its audience. Giving students a generous selection of unedited texts allows them to appreciate the riches of medieval texts. A treasure house!