Stevenson and her collaborators have opened new vistas for the historian of the heralds, pointing the way forward to an internationally focused approach to the significance of the part which heralds played in noble society and in the courtly politics of the late medieval age, and one which promises to enlarge our perception of its aristocratic culture. - ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW First full-length assessment of the role of the herald in medieval Europe. The officers of arms [kings of arms, heralds and pursuivants] have often been overlooked by scholars of late medieval elite society. Yet as officers of the crown, ducal courts or noble families, they played important parts in a number of areas. They were crucial to foreign and domestic relations, and chivalric culture; and, of course, they were to become the powerbrokers of heraldic symbols and genealogy. However, despite the high levels at which they operated, their roles in these areas remain largely unexplored, with scholarship tending to focus on the science of heraldry rather than the heralds themselves. This collection aims to remedy that neglect. The contributions cover a range of European regions [particularly Florence, Scandinavia, Poland, the German Empire, the Burgundian Low Countries, Brittany, Scotland and England] and discuss the diverse roles and experiences of heralds in the late Middle Ages. Contributors: JACKSON W. ARMSTRONG, ADRIAN AILES, KATIE STEVENSON, MICHAEL JONES, FRANCK VILTART, HENRI SIMMONEAU, WIM VAN ANROOIJ, BOGDAN WOJCIECH BRZUSTOWICZ, ALEXIA GROSJEAN, LAURA CIRRI

Latest research on the chivalric ethos of western Europe 10c-15c. from the practical [houses, armour], to the intellectual [concept of holy war, loyalty, etc.] These eight papers from the Strawberry Hill Conference cover a wide area, but common themes emerge. One group of essays deals with the embellishments of lordship, both architectural and heraldic, studying residences and also developments in armour. A second group concerns ideals which motivated the aristocracy of western Europe, from the late 10th to the 15th centuries: romances, the Peace movement of Aquitaine, holy war, and loyalty. Concentration on rationalism and free will in the writings of the cultural circle which revolved around Sir John Fastolf is identified as an important element in the development of the English Renaissance. Professor CHRISTOPHER HARPER-BILLteaches in the Department of History, University of East Anglia; Dr RUTH HARVEY is lecturer in French, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College. Contributors: ADRIAN AILES, JEFFREY ASHCROFT, CHARLES COULSON, JONATHAN HUGHES, JANE MARTINDALE, PETER NOBLE, MATTHEW STRICKLAND, ANN WILLIAMS

Discussion of display through a range of artefacts and in a variety of contexts: family and lineage, social distinction and aspiration, ceremony and social bonding, and the expression of power and authority. Medieval culture was intensely visual. Although this has long been recognised by art historians and by enthusiasts for particular media, there has been little attempt to study social display as a subject in its own right. And yet,display takes us directly into the values, aspirations and, indeed, anxieties of past societies. In this illustrated volume a group of experts address a series of interrelated themes around the issue of display and do so in a waywhich avoids jargon and overly technical language. Among the themes are family and lineage, social distinction and aspiration, ceremony and social bonding, and the expression of power and authority. The media include monumental effigies, brasses, stained glass, rolls of arms, manuscripts, jewels, plate, seals and coins. Contributors: MAURICE KEEN, DAVID CROUCH, PETER COSS, CAROLINE SHENTON, ADRIAN AILES, FREDERIQUE LACHAUD, MARIAN CAMPBELL, BRIAN and MOIRA GITTOS, NIGEL SAUL, FIONN PILBROW, CAROLINE BARRON and JOHN WATTS.

A collection that celebrates the research of Margaret Spufford, a "game-changing" historian who shifted the focus away from the political and social elite in urban communities to the "other 98%" in local and rural areas. This collection celebrates and evaluates the seminal research of Margaret Spufford, a leading historian of early modern English social and economic history. Spufford played a crucial role in the broadening of English social and cultural history, shifting the focus away from the political and social elite in urban communities to the "other 98%" in local and rural areas and challenging assumptions about the limited intellectual worlds of rural people. She was also an early historian of consumption patterns, whose work on the clothing trade remains the authoritative history of this industry and its consumers. Faith, Place and People in Early Modern England reassesses Spufford's contribution to the shape of historical study. Each chapter rethinks a key aspect of her work on local and rural communities: the value of particular historical records; the interactions between religious conformists anddissenters; social and religious change; credit and finance; clothing and consumption. Throughout, the contributors develop Spufford's model of integrating close community studies into a broader picture, while retaining an awareness of the singularity of individuals and localities. In doing so, the book indicates how far "Spuffordian" approaches can continue to shape the future direction of early modern history . TREVOR DEAN is Professor of History at the University of Roehampton; GLYN PARRY is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Roehampton; EDWARD VALLANCE is Professor of Early Modern British political culture at the University of Roehampton. Contributors: ADRIAN AILES, DAVID CRESSY, TREVOR DEAN, CATHERINE FERGUSON, HENRY FRENCH, STEVE HINDLE, CHRISTOPHER MARSH, GLYN PARRY, WILLIAM SHEILS, PETER SPUFFORD, DANAE TANKARD, EDWARD VALLANCE, PATRICIA WYLLIE