Property and Power in the Early Middle Ages

A collection of original essays on the relationship between property and power in early medieval Europe.

Wendy Davies (Edited by), Paul Fouracre (Edited by)

9780521434195, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 November 1995

340 pages, 4 maps
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm, 0.621 kg

This is a collection of original essays on the relationship between property and power, a fundamental theme in medieval history. It addresses four main issues: the meaning of power over property; the ways in which property conveyed power; the nature of immunities; and the power of royal authority to affect property relations. The areas studied include Wales, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Byzantium, and the essays range across the period 650–1150. A substantial introduction is included, which explains the nature of the issues, and a conclusion expresses the team's overall view of the subject. Aimed at a wide readership of both scholars and students, the volume also includes a glossary to help readers who may be unfamiliar with the material or the period.

List of maps
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The ideology of sharing: apostolic community and ecclesiastical property in the early middle ages David Ganz
2. Teutsind, Witlaic and the history of Merovingian precaria Ian Wood
3. Eternal light and earthly needs: practical aspects of the development of Frankish immunities Paul Fouracre
4. The wary widow Janet Nelson
5. Lordship and justice in the early English kingdom: Oswaldslow revisited Patrick Wormald
6. Adding insult to injury: power, property, and immunities in early medieval Wales Wendy Davies
7. Property transactions and social relations between rulers, bishops and nobles in early eleventh-century Saxony: the evidence of the Vita Meinwerci Timothy Reuter
8. Monastic exemptions in tenth- and eleventh-century Byzantium Rosemary Morris
9. Property ownership and signorial power in twelfth-century Tuscany Chris Wickham
10. Conclusion: property and power in early medieval Europe
Glossary.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]