ABSTRACT
Periodization is always contestable. In this paper, I consider the periodizing implications of three familiar pairs of terms: from epic to romance; from ritual to romance, from liturgy to law. The ‘from … to’ form of all three pairings implies distinction, progression and – as a consequence of those first two ideas, alternatives – that is, things that exclude the complementarity of the side-by-side or at-the-same-time. I want to explore where these ideas come from, why they have taken such a hold in the historiography of our subject and what we can do about the periodization they impose within medieval history. I will suggest, finally, that Patrick Wormald’s writings offer us help in confronting these questions.
