Central Europe in the High Middle Ages

Cambridge Medieval Textbooks

by Nora Berend, Przemysław Urbańczyk, Przemysław Wiszewski

This groundbreaking comparative history of the early centuries of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland sets the development of each polity in the context of the central European region as a whole. Focusing on the origins of the realms and their development in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the book concludes with the thirteenth century when significant changes in social and economic structures occurred. The book presents a series of thematic chapters on every aspect of the early history of the region covering political, religious, economic, social and cultural developments, including an investigation of origin myths that questions traditional national narratives. It also explores the ways in which west European patterns were appropriated and adapted through the local initiatives of rulers, nobles and ecclesiastics in central Europe. An ideal introduction to the essential themes in medieval central European history, the book sheds important new light on regional similarities and differences.

Genres: History, Poland, Medieval, Hungary, Medieval History, Nonfiction

546 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2013

Reviews

[Anatolikon · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a discussion of the problems surrounding the term “central Europe”, the authors proceed through the medieval history of Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary. The general point that they attempt to make is that the region followed many similar trends to the rest of medieval Latin Christendom, although one might wonder whether this focus on the west is part of an attempt to cut the region off from its eastern position in other scholarship. At times the book feels more like three books squashed together to step away from national historiographies, with most headings (economy, lordship, literary culture, etc.) broken into three, and the book offers no synthetic conclusion. However, one needs to appreciate the synthesis of material in four languages not commonly known to Anglophone readers.

[Erik Champenois · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Central Europe in the High Middle Ages" covers Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary from about 900-1300. Chapters cover the Christianization of the region, political history, economic history, and ecclesiastical history - with a final chapter on developments in the thirteenth century. The book zig zags back and forth between the three countries in separate sections - often multiple times within each chapter. As a result, this feels less like a synthesis and overall analysis of the region and more like a back-and-forth analysis of three areas, although interconnections are covered. Very informative and academic, but also so detail-oriented that I came away with less of a synthesis/overview understanding than I was hoping for.

[P-A M · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely good synthesis work and a great starting point for any student intending to focus on medieval Central Europe. The authors reflect the latest scholarship in a critical way, often commenting on historiographical trends. One could regret that there is no Czech author, but the two Polish historians obviously know Bohemia well.