The authoritative guide for scholars and research libraries to the period from the 5th century to the 15th, offering a wealth of information.A major work of reference for scholars and libraries, The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages offers a wealth of information available from no other single source, and providing precise and concise information on all aspects of the Middle Ages. The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages is a tool of great value, a synthesis of knowledge covering the millennium from the fifth century to the fifteenth.Cultural, religious, intellectual, social and political history are all covered, and while the main concentration is on Europe and Christendom, the rise of Islam and the Arabs, and of other cultures with which Europeans came into contact is also extensively treated.Art and architecture (including the building of the great cathedrals), the growth of universities, developments in law and scientific discoveries are all treated in the same depth as political history. Archaeological, geographical, historical, linguistic, philosophical and theological topics receive full treatment. Biographies of monarchs, bishops and major intellectual figures are included, as are descriptions of varying lengths of major ideas and beliefs.Translated into English by Adrian Walford, the Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages is the work of a team of over 600 scholars from more than forty nationalities. It contains over 3,000 articles, ranging from a few sentences to 10,000 word essays, and more than 600 illustrations, many in colour, and is thoroughly indexed. Substantial bibliographies attached to each entry provide access to fuller information. The Encyclopedia makes the great treasure house of knowledge of the medieval world easily accessible and the user, whether a scholar or merely an interested reader, will find the book an essential but easily accessible resource.It is designed as a companion to the Encyclopedia of the Early Church, edited by Angelo di Berardino and published in 1992.The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages will be an essential reference work for all major libraries, and for specialist collections dealing with any aspect of the Middle Ages.Published in conjunction with Citta Nuova (Italy) and Editions du Cerf (France).

In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.

In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.

In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.

A biography of the saint as both mystic and man: "The single best book about Francis now available in English" (Commonweal). In this towering work, Andre Vauchez draws on the vast body of scholarship on Francis of Assisi, particularly the important research of recent decades, to create a complete and engaging portrait of the saint. He also explores how the memory of Francis was shaped by contemporaries who recollected him in their writings, and completes the book by setting "il Poverello" in the context of his time, bringing to light what was new, surprising, and even astonishing in the life and vision of this man. The first part of the book is a fascinating reconstruction of Francis''s life and work. The second and third parts deal with the texts—hagiographies, chronicles, sermons, personal testimonies, etc.—of writers who recorded aspects of Francis''s life and movement as they remembered them, and used those remembrances to construct a portrait of Francis relevant to their concerns. Finally, Vauchez explores those aspects of Francis''s life, personality, and spiritual vision that were unique to him, including his experience of God, his approach to nature, his understanding and use of Scripture, and his impact on culture as well as culture''s impact on him. "Considered one of the great spiritual leaders of humankind, Francis of Assisi was also a man of many faces and personas: ascetic, the founder of a religious order, a romantic hero, a mystic, a defender of the poor, a promoter of peace. But as Vauchez emphasizes—and this biography constantly reminds us—Francis was also a flesh-and-blood human being . . . A bracing, erudite account of a mystic''s life." —Booklist

First published in France, where it was awarded the Prix Chateaubriand, this masterful new biography of Francis is now available in EnglishIn this towering work, André Vauchez draws on the vast body of scholarship on Francis of Assisi produced over the past forty years as well on as his own expertise in medieval hagiography to tell the most comprehensive and authoritative version of Francis’s life and afterlife published in the past half century. After a detailed and yet engaging reconstruction of Francis's life and work, Vauchez focuses on the myriad texts—hagiographies, chronicles, sermons, personal testimonies, etc.—of writers who recorded aspects of Francis's life and movement as they remembered them, and used those remembrances to construct a portrait of Francis relevant to their concerns. We see varying versions of his life reflected in the work of Machiavelli, Luther, Voltaire, German and English romantics, pre-Raphaelites, Italian nationalists, and Mussolini, and discover how peace activists, ecologists, or interreligious dialogists have used his example to promote their various causes. Particularly noteworthy is the attention Vauchez pays to Francis’s own writings, which strangely enough have been largely overlooked by later interpreters.The product of a lifetime of study, this book reveals a historian at the height of his powers.

Defining spirituality as 'the dynamic unity between the content of a faith and the way in which it is lived by historically determined human beings', Vauchez steps outside the clerical world usually studied to trace the religious mentality of the laity, the ordinary and often illiterate majority of Christians.

Defining spirituality as 'the dynamic unity between the content of a faith and the way in which it is lived by historically determined human beings', Vauchez steps outside the clerical world usually studied to trace the religious mentality of the laity, the ordinary and often illiterate majority of Christians.

In Shrines, Relics, and Saints,the eminent medievalist André Vauchez explores the evolution of spaces in Christianity – chapels, monasteries, holy wells, grottos, and other holy places – that are considered sacred because they house the relics of a saint or because they preserve the memory of an appearance by a saint, angel, or the Virgin Mary. From famous sanctuaries that still attract multitudes of pilgrims – in Jerusalem, Rome, Tours, Assisi, and Compostela – to local shrines in villages, towns, and wild places across the continent, these sanctuaries were frequented by pilgrims in search of miraculous healings of body and soul. Together, they formed a network comprising new forms of sacredness and spiritual practice. A masterwork in the history of Christianity, Shrines, Relics, and Saints traces pilgrimage routes to major sanctuaries, follows saints' relics as they were transferred from East to West, and examines the Church's ambiguous and sometimes antagonistic relationship to sites of popular worship.

In Shrines, Relics, and Saints,the eminent medievalist André Vauchez explores the evolution of spaces in Christianity – chapels, monasteries, holy wells, grottos, and other holy places – that are considered sacred because they house the relics of a saint or because they preserve the memory of an appearance by a saint, angel, or the Virgin Mary. From famous sanctuaries that still attract multitudes of pilgrims – in Jerusalem, Rome, Tours, Assisi, and Compostela – to local shrines in villages, towns, and wild places across the continent, these sanctuaries were frequented by pilgrims in search of miraculous healings of body and soul. Together, they formed a network comprising new forms of sacredness and spiritual practice. A masterwork in the history of Christianity, Shrines, Relics, and Saints traces pilgrimage routes to major sanctuaries, follows saints' relics as they were transferred from East to West, and examines the Church's ambiguous and sometimes antagonistic relationship to sites of popular worship.

El lector tiene en sus manos la primera biografía histórica y espiritual de Catalina de Siena (1347-1380), santa y doctora de la Iglesia. La historia considera que fue, en el corazón de la Europa medieval, una mujer llena de audacia, a la vez mística y comprometida, que consumió su existencia interviniendo en las crisis religiosas y políticas de su tiempo.En esta obra, André Vauchez dibuja el retrato de esta mujer apasionada y recorre su itinerario, con todo lujo de detalles, a través de la epidemia de la peste negra, la guerra de los Cien Años, las luchas fratricidas en Italia o el exilio de los papas en Aviñón. Con este libro, revivimos en nuestra imaginación a esta penitente dominica que se convirtió en la corresponsal, la confidente y la voz crítica de los poderosos, los príncipes, los reyes y los pontífices. Se requería el saber, el talento y la sensibilidad de este eminente medievalista, para conseguir que penetráramos en la verdad existencial de una mujer excepcional –más allá de los variados rostros que se le han prestado a través de las épocas– y para que pudiéramos recuperar la actualidad de su persona y de su mensaje.

The authoritative guide for scholars and research libraries to the period from the 5th century to the 15th, offering a wealth of information.A major work of reference for scholars and libraries, The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages offers a wealth of information available from no other single source, and providing precise and concise information on all aspects of the Middle Ages. The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages is a tool of great value, a synthesis of knowledge covering the millennium from the fifth century to the fifteenth.Cultural, religious, intellectual, social and political history are all covered, and while the main concentration is on Europe and Christendom, the rise of Islam and the Arabs, and of other cultures with which Europeans came into contact is also extensively treated.Art and architecture (including the building of the great cathedrals), the growth of universities, developments in law and scientific discoveries are all treated in the same depth as political history. Archaeological, geographical, historical, linguistic, philosophical and theological topics receive full treatment. Biographies of monarchs, bishops and major intellectual figures are included, as are descriptions of varying lengths of major ideas and beliefs.Translated into English by Adrian Walford, the Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages is the work of a team of over 600 scholars from more than forty nationalities. It contains over 3,000 articles, ranging from a few sentences to 10,000 word essays, and more than 600 illustrations, many in colour, and is thoroughly indexed. Substantial bibliographies attached to each entry provide access to fuller information. The Encyclopedia makes the great treasure house of knowledge of the medieval world easily accessible and the user, whether a scholar or merely an interested reader, will find the book an essential but easily accessible resource.It is designed as a companion to the Encyclopedia of the Early Church, edited by Angelo di Berardino and published in 1992.The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages will be an essential reference work for all major libraries, and for specialist collections dealing with any aspect of the Middle Ages.Published in conjunction with Citta Nuova (Italy) and Editions du Cerf (France).

In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.

In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.

In these lively and incisive essays André Vauchez explores the religious beliefs and devotional practices of laypeople in medieval Europe and grapples with some of the most difficult issues in medieval history: the nature of popular devotion, the role of religion in civic life, the sociology of religious attitudes and practices, and the relationship between the intersecting spheres of lay and clerical culture.

A biography of the saint as both mystic and man: "The single best book about Francis now available in English" (Commonweal). In this towering work, Andre Vauchez draws on the vast body of scholarship on Francis of Assisi, particularly the important research of recent decades, to create a complete and engaging portrait of the saint. He also explores how the memory of Francis was shaped by contemporaries who recollected him in their writings, and completes the book by setting "il Poverello" in the context of his time, bringing to light what was new, surprising, and even astonishing in the life and vision of this man. The first part of the book is a fascinating reconstruction of Francis''s life and work. The second and third parts deal with the texts—hagiographies, chronicles, sermons, personal testimonies, etc.—of writers who recorded aspects of Francis''s life and movement as they remembered them, and used those remembrances to construct a portrait of Francis relevant to their concerns. Finally, Vauchez explores those aspects of Francis''s life, personality, and spiritual vision that were unique to him, including his experience of God, his approach to nature, his understanding and use of Scripture, and his impact on culture as well as culture''s impact on him. "Considered one of the great spiritual leaders of humankind, Francis of Assisi was also a man of many faces and personas: ascetic, the founder of a religious order, a romantic hero, a mystic, a defender of the poor, a promoter of peace. But as Vauchez emphasizes—and this biography constantly reminds us—Francis was also a flesh-and-blood human being . . . A bracing, erudite account of a mystic''s life." —Booklist

First published in France, where it was awarded the Prix Chateaubriand, this masterful new biography of Francis is now available in EnglishIn this towering work, André Vauchez draws on the vast body of scholarship on Francis of Assisi produced over the past forty years as well on as his own expertise in medieval hagiography to tell the most comprehensive and authoritative version of Francis’s life and afterlife published in the past half century. After a detailed and yet engaging reconstruction of Francis's life and work, Vauchez focuses on the myriad texts—hagiographies, chronicles, sermons, personal testimonies, etc.—of writers who recorded aspects of Francis's life and movement as they remembered them, and used those remembrances to construct a portrait of Francis relevant to their concerns. We see varying versions of his life reflected in the work of Machiavelli, Luther, Voltaire, German and English romantics, pre-Raphaelites, Italian nationalists, and Mussolini, and discover how peace activists, ecologists, or interreligious dialogists have used his example to promote their various causes. Particularly noteworthy is the attention Vauchez pays to Francis’s own writings, which strangely enough have been largely overlooked by later interpreters.The product of a lifetime of study, this book reveals a historian at the height of his powers.

Defining spirituality as 'the dynamic unity between the content of a faith and the way in which it is lived by historically determined human beings', Vauchez steps outside the clerical world usually studied to trace the religious mentality of the laity, the ordinary and often illiterate majority of Christians.

Defining spirituality as 'the dynamic unity between the content of a faith and the way in which it is lived by historically determined human beings', Vauchez steps outside the clerical world usually studied to trace the religious mentality of the laity, the ordinary and often illiterate majority of Christians.

In Shrines, Relics, and Saints,the eminent medievalist André Vauchez explores the evolution of spaces in Christianity – chapels, monasteries, holy wells, grottos, and other holy places – that are considered sacred because they house the relics of a saint or because they preserve the memory of an appearance by a saint, angel, or the Virgin Mary. From famous sanctuaries that still attract multitudes of pilgrims – in Jerusalem, Rome, Tours, Assisi, and Compostela – to local shrines in villages, towns, and wild places across the continent, these sanctuaries were frequented by pilgrims in search of miraculous healings of body and soul. Together, they formed a network comprising new forms of sacredness and spiritual practice. A masterwork in the history of Christianity, Shrines, Relics, and Saints traces pilgrimage routes to major sanctuaries, follows saints' relics as they were transferred from East to West, and examines the Church's ambiguous and sometimes antagonistic relationship to sites of popular worship.

In Shrines, Relics, and Saints,the eminent medievalist André Vauchez explores the evolution of spaces in Christianity – chapels, monasteries, holy wells, grottos, and other holy places – that are considered sacred because they house the relics of a saint or because they preserve the memory of an appearance by a saint, angel, or the Virgin Mary. From famous sanctuaries that still attract multitudes of pilgrims – in Jerusalem, Rome, Tours, Assisi, and Compostela – to local shrines in villages, towns, and wild places across the continent, these sanctuaries were frequented by pilgrims in search of miraculous healings of body and soul. Together, they formed a network comprising new forms of sacredness and spiritual practice. A masterwork in the history of Christianity, Shrines, Relics, and Saints traces pilgrimage routes to major sanctuaries, follows saints' relics as they were transferred from East to West, and examines the Church's ambiguous and sometimes antagonistic relationship to sites of popular worship.

El lector tiene en sus manos la primera biografía histórica y espiritual de Catalina de Siena (1347-1380), santa y doctora de la Iglesia. La historia considera que fue, en el corazón de la Europa medieval, una mujer llena de audacia, a la vez mística y comprometida, que consumió su existencia interviniendo en las crisis religiosas y políticas de su tiempo.En esta obra, André Vauchez dibuja el retrato de esta mujer apasionada y recorre su itinerario, con todo lujo de detalles, a través de la epidemia de la peste negra, la guerra de los Cien Años, las luchas fratricidas en Italia o el exilio de los papas en Aviñón. Con este libro, revivimos en nuestra imaginación a esta penitente dominica que se convirtió en la corresponsal, la confidente y la voz crítica de los poderosos, los príncipes, los reyes y los pontífices. Se requería el saber, el talento y la sensibilidad de este eminente medievalista, para conseguir que penetráramos en la verdad existencial de una mujer excepcional –más allá de los variados rostros que se le han prestado a través de las épocas– y para que pudiéramos recuperar la actualidad de su persona y de su mensaje.