Rich and refreshing! The material ranges from academic exposition to clinical advice, from riveting narrative to poignant correspondence, and from piety to satire. The readings are given in full, rather than excerpted. Lucid introductions cover the spectrum of the entire textbook, without ever becoming "textbookish," and serious analysis is leavened by sensible asides and keen wit. The readings and comments are perfectly matched in celebrating the...

To study the interactions between Muslims and Christians in the medieval period is to observe a history of conflict and co-existence encompassing warfare, piracy, and raiding as well as commerce, intellectual exchanges, and personal relationships that transcended religious differences. With particular focus on the Mediterranean world, this collection of more than 80 readings includes sources from Byzantine, Jewish, Muslim, and Latin Christian authors...

Magic, witches, and demons have drawn interest and fear throughout human history. In this comprehensive primary source reader, Martha Rampton traces the history of our fascination with magic and witchcraft from the first through to the seventeenth century. In over 80 readings presented chronologically, Rampton demonstrates how understandings of and reactions toward magic changed and developed over time, and how these ideas were influenced by various...

"The Intolerant Middle Ages is a collection of primary sources on the history of persecution. The goal of the book is to highlight instances of persecution and violence, as well as those relatively rare but significant episodes of toleration, toward an intentionally broad spectrum of people who existed at the margins of medieval society: heretics, Jews and Muslims, the poor, the displaced and disabled, women, and those deemed sexually deviant. The...