Essays exploring and problematizing the idea of an "exceptional" England within Western Europe during the long thirteenth century. The theme of this volume, "Exceptional England", follows on from that of the previous one, "England in Europe". Both respond to two long-term historiographical trends among British medievalists: to place England and Britain in a wider European context, and, conversely, to emphasise the differences between developments in England and those elsewhere, either explicitly or implicitly. The essays here, in tackling aspects of political, religious, cultural and urban history, are often concerned with shifts that transcend the "national" because they are driven by forces operating on a European, or at least a western European, scale. A number bring developments in England into conversation with those in other regions, turning not only to France, a traditional comparator, but also ranging further, using Poland, Italy, Spain and Hungary as points of comparison. Others problematise England's boundaries by considering the fates of people caught between worlds as English continental possessions shrank. If England emerges in these essays as rather less "exceptional", some of the contributions highlight its unusually rich sources, suggesting ways in which these riches might illuminate the history of Europe in the long thirteenth century more generally. Particular subjects addressed include the fortunes of the knightly class, the dynamics of episcopal election, and models of child kingship, along with new studies of Gerald of Wales and Simon de Montfort.

Essays looking at the links between England and Europe in the long thirteenth century. The theme running through this volume is that of "England in Europe", with contributions tackling aspects of political, religious, cultural and urban history, placing England in a European context, exploring connections between the insular world and continental Europe, and using England as a case study of broader patterns of change in the long thirteenth century. A number of authors consider the long-term response of the English crown and polity to the Angevin empire's demise, examining kingship, historical memory, dynastic relationships and the influx of ideas and people to England from overseas. They look not only at connections between England and western Europe but also at others extending to northern Europe too. Many engage with larger trends that are European in scale, whether in the institutional life of the Church or in patterns of religious practice and belief, whilst others examine more confined geographical spaces, reminding us of distinctive political structures and identities lodged at the regional level.

A rich collection of articles on multiple aspects of Anglo-Norman and Norman studies, forming an indispensable addition to an understanding of this important period of history. This volume of Anglo-Norman Studies demonstrates yet again the multi-disciplinarity and European range of the series. As befits the proceedings of a conference held in Normandy at Bayeux, it contains two articles on the renowned Tapestry, and a consideration of the campaign of 1066; there are also several papers on the medieval duchy, their topics including its early tenth-century origins, the abbesses of Norman nunneries, abbatial investitures in the context of religious reform, the reign of Robert Curthose, the charters of a major aristocratic family, and historical writing in and around late twelfth- and early thirteenth-century Normandy. Alongside these are articleson landscape and belief, villein manumissions and the theology of the incarnation, the evolution of criminal law in Scotland, Bohemond of Antioch, the architectural historian John Bilson, and important aspects of twelfth-centurypoetry. David Bates is a Professorial Fellow at the University of East Anglia and was until recently a Visiting Professor at the University of Caen Basse-Normandie. Contributors: Lesley Abrams, Bernard S. Bachrach, Steven Biddlecombe, Alexandrina Buchanan, Howard B. Clarke, Edoardo D'Angelo, Gregory Fedorenko, Jean-Herve Foulon, George Garnett, Veronique Gazeau, Paul R. Hyams, Sylvette Lemagnen, Monika Otter, Daniel Power, Alice Taylor, C.S. Watkins.

Fruits of the most recent research into the "long" thirteenth century. The idea of uncertainty forms a major theme throughout the essays collected here; they tackle aspects of religious, intellectual, political and social history, highlighting how uncertainty, in many and varied forms, was conceptualized, negotiated and exploited in the particular conditions of the long thirteenth century. A number of the contributions explore understandings of the cosmos and personal salvation, probing the search for certainties on the partof ecclesiastical reformers, practitioners of scriptural exegesis and writers of confessional handbooks; there is also an investigation of the exploitation of ambiguities around the fate of excommunicates. Other pieces turn to politics and society, examining strategies of political legitimation and resistance, the unstable politics of identity, gendered experience and means used to regulate social order. As a whole, the collection thus opens up diverse perspectives on, and approaches to, the experience of uncertainty during a period of rapid and often disorienting change. Andrew M. Spencer is an Affiliated Lecturer in Medieval History at Cambridge University and a Fellowof Murray Edwards College; Carl Watkins is University Senior Lecturer in Central Medieval History at Cambridge University. Contributors: Emily Corran, Kenneth Duggan, Lucy Hennings, Felicity Hill, Adrian Jobson, Frederique Lachaud, Amanda Power, Jessica Nelson, Andrew Spencer, Alice Taylor,

'Stephen risked being seen as a man who never quite transcended the essential flawed-ness of his claim to be king. His actions betrayed uneasiness in his new skin' Remembered as a time in which 'Christ and his saints slept', Stephen's troubled reign plunged England into anarchy. Without clear rules of succession in the Norman monarchy, conflict within William the Conqueror's family was inevitable. But, as this resonant portrait shows, there was another problem too: Stephen himself, unable to make good the transition from nobleman to king.