• Examines changing approaches to the study of medieval Europe, its periodization, and central themes
  
• Includes coverage of important questions such as identity and the self, sexuality and gender, emotionality and ethnicity, as well as more traditional topics such as economic and demographic expansion; kingship; and the rise of the West
  
• Explores Europe’s understanding of the wider world to place the study of the medieval society in a global context

"...a valuable reference book for students engaged in medieval studies at honours or postgraduate level seeking in-depth information on sources for essays and theses. It is useful for teachers and lecturers of medieval history (like me) striving to keep upto-date with the state of the discipline. Many of the essays would also be of interest to intelligent 'general readers' who wish to extend their knowledge of the medieval world."
(St. Mark's Review, August 2016 issue)

"Nonetheless, this Companion is an excellent manual for those who have never (or only partially) studied medieval history, as it provides clear outlines of extremely complex issues, a thought-provoking insight into historiographical and methodological trends, as well as an extremely rich bibliography to assist further investigation."
(English Historical Review, January 2013 issue)

"A Companion to the Medieval World will be of great value for instructors who want to pull their own thoughts together and to have a model for a concise explication of complicated topics. It will also bring home to students and general readers that there is no "party line" on the medieval world and that the past, as an intellectual and cultural construct, is very much alive."
(The Medieval Review)

Carol Lansing is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on medieval Italian politics, society, and culture. Previous publications include The Florentine Magnates: Lineage and Faction in a Medieval Commune (1991), Power and Purity: Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy (1998) and Passion and Order: Restraint of Grief in the Medieval Italian Communes (2008).

Edward D. English is Executive Director of Medieval Studies and Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is finishing the first of two volumes on the society and politics of Siena in the fourteenth century. His other publications include Enterprise and Liability in Sienese Banking, 1230-1350 (1988) and The Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, 2 volumes (2005).