The Cambridge World History of Violence

Second volume of the first world history of violence, covering the Middle Millennium, written by an international team of experts.

Matthew S. Gordon (Edited by), Richard W. Kaeuper (Edited by), Harriet Zurndorfer (Edited by)

9781107156388, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 March 2020

722 pages, 31 b/w illus.
23.5 x 16 x 3.7 cm, 1.27 kg

Violence permeated much of social life across the vast geographical space of the European, American, Asian and Islamic lands and through the broad sweep of what is often termed the Middle Millennium (roughly 500 to 1500). Focusing on four contexts in which violence occurred across this huge area, the contributors to this volume explore the formation of centralised polities through war and conquest; institution building and ideological expression by these same polities; control of extensive trade networks; and the emergence and dominance of religious ecumenes. Attention is also given to the idea of how theories of violence are relevant to the specific historical circumstances discussed in the volume's chapters. A final section on the depiction of violence, both visual and literary, demonstrates the ubiquity of societal efforts to confront meanings of violence during this longue durée.

1. Violence in inner Asian history Nicola Di Cosmo
2. Conspirators in violence Don J. Wyatt
3. Armies, lords and subjects in Medieval Iran Jürgen Paul
4. Armies and bands in early medieval Europe John France
5. Viking violence Anders Winroth
6. Early medieval China's rulers, retainers and harem Jonathan Karam Skaff
7. Warrior regimes and the regulation of violence in medieval Japan David Spafford
8. Torture and public executions in the Islamic middle period Christian Lange
9. Crime and law in Europe Hannah Skoda
10. Banditry and peasants in medieval Japan Morten Oxenbøll
11. State, society and trained violence in middle period China Peter Lorge
12. Seigneurial violence in medieval Europe Justine Firnhaber-Baker
13. The growth of military power and the impact of state military violence in Western Europe, c.1460 to 1560 David Potter
14. Ethnic and religious violence in Byzantium Teresa Shawcross
15. Violence against women in the early Islamic period Nadia Maria El Cheikh
16. Violence and murder in Europe Sara M. Butler
17. Religion and violence in China T. H. Barrett
18. Religion and violence in premodern Japan Martin Repp
19. Human sacrifice and ritualised violence in the Americas before the European conquest Ute Schüren and Wolfgang Gabbert
20. 'Not cruelty but piety': circumscribing European crusading violence Susanna A. Throop
21. Chivalric violence Richard W. Kaeuper
22. Jihad in Islamic thought Asma Afsaruddin
23. Christian violence against heretics, Jews and Muslims Christine Caldwell Ames
24. 'Fighting for peace' John Haldon
25. Obligation, substitution and order Andrew K. Scherer
26. Representations of violence in Imperial China Bret Hinsch
27. Revealing the manly worth Hitomi Tonomura
28. Picturing violence in the Islamic lands Sheila Blair
29. Scenes of violence in Arabic literature James Montgomery
30. Violence Is the name of the (bad) game Albrecht Classen
31. Violence and the force of representation in European art Mitchell B. Merback.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], General & world history [HBG]