ABSTRACT

From the divine right of kings to the political philosophies of writers such as Machiavelli, the medieval city-states to the unification of Spain, Daniel Waley and Peter Denley focus on the growing power of the state to illuminate changing political ideas in Europe between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Spanning the entire continent and beyond, and using contemporary voices wherever possible, the authors include substantial sections on economics, religion, and art, and how developments in these areas fed into and were influenced by the transformation of political thinking. The new edition takes the narrative beyond the confines of western Europe with chapters on East Central Europe and the teutonic knights, and the Portuguese expansion across the Atlantic.

The third edition of this classic introduction to the period includes even greater use of contemporary voices, full reading lists, and new chapters on East Central Europe and Portuguese exploration. Suitable as an introductory text for undergraduate courses in Medieval Studies and Medieval European History.

part 1|63 pages

The thirteenth century: Expansion and Hegemony

part 2|85 pages

The Fourteenth Century: Crises and Restructuring

part III|97 pages

The Fifteenth Century: New Dynamics

chapter 8|19 pages

The Early Renaissance

chapter 9|15 pages

Burgundy, the Great Duchy of the West

chapter 10|19 pages

The Territorial Lordships of Italy

chapter 11|11 pages

The French Recovery

chapter 12|14 pages

The Unification of Spain

part IV|43 pages

Western Europe's Peripheries

chapter 14|12 pages

The Turkish Conquest of South-Eastern Europe

chapter 15|17 pages

East Central Europe

chapter 16|12 pages

The Atlantic: From Exploration to Hegemony

part V|30 pages

New Perspectives

chapter 17|15 pages

Population and The Family

chapter 18|13 pages

Political Writers and the Stronger State