Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path

Contents......Page 8
Translator’s Note......Page 10
Preface to the English Edition......Page 12
Introduction to the First Edition......Page 16
1. Rye and Oats: The Agrarian Revolution of the Early Middle Ages......Page 26
2. Manor and Hide: The Manorial Roots of European Social Structures......Page 53
3. The Conjugal Family and Bilateral Kinship: Social Flexibility through Looser Ties of Descent......Page 83
4. The Feudal System and the Estates: A Special Path of Feudalism......Page 124
5. The Papal Church and Universal Religious Orders: Western Christendom as a Highly Organized Religious Community......Page 169
6. The Crusades and Protocolonialism: The Roots of European Expansionism......Page 219
7. Preaching and Printing: Early Modes of Mass Communication......Page 257
Conclusion: “Through what concatenation of circumstances . . . ?” Interacting Determinants of Europe’s Special Path......Page 297
Notes......Page 322
Bibliography......Page 372
Index......Page 408