Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective

"This is the first book to look not only at the nature, composition and character of East Central Europe in the Middle Ages but also at its intellectual construction. A comprehensive range of contributions, involving much comparative material and supported by extensive bibliographies, illustrates the region’s complexity and the difficulties of its definition. The individual essays are supported by extensive bibliographies, making them chapters of first resort for those interested in the principal themes of European medieval history."
Martyn Rady,Masaryk Professor of Central European History, University College London, UK

"East Central Europe is nowadays attracting more and more attention, but rarely in a comparative perspective. This is therefore no conventional handbook or introductory survey. Under the direction of Gerhard Jaritz and Katalin Szende, an array of scholars offer a variety of original and at times surprising perspectives. The essays, which vary in topics from towns and monasticism to historiography, to political representation, to church architecture, to literacy and etymological argumentation, illustrate both general European developments in the Middle Ages as well as the particular factors of the East Central region. These essays make a valuable contribution to a topic that has generally been treated only in a narrow context, and explain why the medieval history of the region has often been marginalized or misunderstood, and why it should matter to us today."
Florin Curta,University of Florida, USA