Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 vols)
Series: - Brill's Companions to European History, Volume: 19
Winner of the 2020 Verbruggen prize
This book provides a comprehensive synthesis of scholarship on Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. The goal is to offer an overview of the current state of research and a basic route map for navigating an abundant historiography available in more than 10 different languages. The literature published in English on the medieval history of Eastern Europe—books, chapters, and articles—represents a little more than 11 percent of the historiography. The companion is therefore meant to provide an orientation into the existing literature that may not be available because of linguistic barriers and, in addition, an introductory bibliography in English.
Winner of the 2020 Verbruggen prize, awarded annually by the De Re Militari society for the best book on medieval military history. The awarding committee commented that the book ‘has an enormous range, and yet is exceptionally scholarly with a fine grasp of detail. Its title points to a general history of eastern Europe, but it is dominated by military episodes which make it of the highest value to anybody writing about war and warmaking in this very neglected area of Europe.’
See inside the book.
This book provides a comprehensive synthesis of scholarship on Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. The goal is to offer an overview of the current state of research and a basic route map for navigating an abundant historiography available in more than 10 different languages. The literature published in English on the medieval history of Eastern Europe—books, chapters, and articles—represents a little more than 11 percent of the historiography. The companion is therefore meant to provide an orientation into the existing literature that may not be available because of linguistic barriers and, in addition, an introductory bibliography in English.
Winner of the 2020 Verbruggen prize, awarded annually by the De Re Militari society for the best book on medieval military history. The awarding committee commented that the book ‘has an enormous range, and yet is exceptionally scholarly with a fine grasp of detail. Its title points to a general history of eastern Europe, but it is dominated by military episodes which make it of the highest value to anybody writing about war and warmaking in this very neglected area of Europe.’
See inside the book.
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Florin Curta, Ph.D. in History (1998), Western Michigan University, is Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Florida. He has published four monographs, forty chapters in collections of studies, and 100 articles. He is also the editor of six collections of studies.
Winner of the 2020 Verbruggen prize, awarded annually by the De Re Militari society for the best book on medieval military history. The awarding committee commented that the book ‘has an enormous range, and yet is exceptionally scholarly with a fine grasp of detail. Its title points to a general history of eastern Europe, but it is dominated by military episodes which make it of the highest value to anybody writing about war and warmaking in this very neglected area of Europe.’
"It is an impressive achievement [...] Readers with different goals and backgrounds will undoubtedly approach the individual chapters differently, but most will praise the bibliography in volume 2, which is a good guide to the literature of the field. Further, scholars frustrated by an inability to keep up with new publications will surely welcome these two volumes eagerly. Summing Up: Recommended''. W.L.Urban, in Choice , 57 (7), 2020.
"This book is a pioneering attempt to offer a companion to the history of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages between 500 and 1300 […] The relatively short chapters are masterfully balanced between events of political and ecclesiastical history and the evaluation of sources, material culture, archaeological findings, and written texts (with carefully selected figures and tables) […] it provides an exciting medieval narrative that presents coherent access to the present state of historical research on this topic. Even for “native” historians the book offers many novelties, and probably much more for those who read other world languages". László Veszprémy, in Speculum 95/4 (October 2020).
"It is an impressive achievement [...] Readers with different goals and backgrounds will undoubtedly approach the individual chapters differently, but most will praise the bibliography in volume 2, which is a good guide to the literature of the field. Further, scholars frustrated by an inability to keep up with new publications will surely welcome these two volumes eagerly. Summing Up: Recommended''. W.L.Urban, in Choice , 57 (7), 2020.
"This book is a pioneering attempt to offer a companion to the history of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages between 500 and 1300 […] The relatively short chapters are masterfully balanced between events of political and ecclesiastical history and the evaluation of sources, material culture, archaeological findings, and written texts (with carefully selected figures and tables) […] it provides an exciting medieval narrative that presents coherent access to the present state of historical research on this topic. Even for “native” historians the book offers many novelties, and probably much more for those who read other world languages". László Veszprémy, in Speculum 95/4 (October 2020).
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
1 Concepts and Problems
2 Written and Archaeological Sources
3 The Last Century of Roman Power (ca. 500 to ca. 620)
4 East European Dark Ages: Slavs and Avars (500–800)
5 Migrations—Real and Imagined: Croats, Serbs, and Bulgars (600–800)
6 Early Medieval Bulgaria (680–850)
7 The West in the East (800–900)
8 Great Moravia
9 Steppe Empires? The Khazars and the Volga Bulgars
10 Oghuz, Pechenegs, and Cumans: Nomads of Medieval Eastern Europe?
11 Conversion to Christianity: Moravia and Bulgaria
12 The Long 10th Century of Bulgaria
13 New Migrations: Magyars and Vikings
14 The Rise of Rus’
15 Byzantium in the Balkans (800–1100)
16 The Western Balkans in the High Middle Ages (900–1200)
17 New Powers (I): Piast Poland
18 New Powers (II): Arpadian Hungary
19 New Powers (III): Přemyslid Bohemia
20 Population: Size, Health, Migration
21 Rural and Urban Economy
22 Social Organization
23 The Construct of a Tyrant: Feudalism in Eastern Europe
24 The Church: Ecclesiastical Organization and Monasticism
25 The Faith: Religious Practices, Popular Religion, and Heresy
26 The First Five Crusades and Eastern Europe
27 Crusades in Eastern Europe
28 Literacy and Literature
29 Monumental Art
30 The Rise of Serbia
31 The Second Bulgarian Empire
32 Catastrophe, Pax Mongolica, and Globalization
Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
1 Concepts and Problems
2 Written and Archaeological Sources
3 The Last Century of Roman Power (ca. 500 to ca. 620)
4 East European Dark Ages: Slavs and Avars (500–800)
5 Migrations—Real and Imagined: Croats, Serbs, and Bulgars (600–800)
6 Early Medieval Bulgaria (680–850)
7 The West in the East (800–900)
8 Great Moravia
9 Steppe Empires? The Khazars and the Volga Bulgars
10 Oghuz, Pechenegs, and Cumans: Nomads of Medieval Eastern Europe?
11 Conversion to Christianity: Moravia and Bulgaria
12 The Long 10th Century of Bulgaria
13 New Migrations: Magyars and Vikings
14 The Rise of Rus’
15 Byzantium in the Balkans (800–1100)
16 The Western Balkans in the High Middle Ages (900–1200)
17 New Powers (I): Piast Poland
18 New Powers (II): Arpadian Hungary
19 New Powers (III): Přemyslid Bohemia
20 Population: Size, Health, Migration
21 Rural and Urban Economy
22 Social Organization
23 The Construct of a Tyrant: Feudalism in Eastern Europe
24 The Church: Ecclesiastical Organization and Monasticism
25 The Faith: Religious Practices, Popular Religion, and Heresy
26 The First Five Crusades and Eastern Europe
27 Crusades in Eastern Europe
28 Literacy and Literature
29 Monumental Art
30 The Rise of Serbia
31 The Second Bulgarian Empire
32 Catastrophe, Pax Mongolica, and Globalization
Bibliography
Index
This book will appeal to both historians and archaeologists, as well as to all those who have even a marginal interest in Eastern Europe—scholars, as well as graduate students.