[This] substantial book...makes an important and stimulating contribution. MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY Warfare in Europe in the middle ages underwent a marked change of emphasis as urban life expanded. The concentration of wealth represented by a city was a valuable objective, and the static nature of a siege was infinitely preferable to the uncertainties of campaign. As the incidence of sieges increased, so pitched battles declined. The studies in this book, intended for specialists as well as general readers, follow the history of siege warfare, exploringthe urban milieu within which it developed, and the evolution of siege technology up to the advent of gunpowder weaponry. The logistics of specific sieges, from the Crusader kingdoms in the Near East and the Byzantine Empire as well as medieval Europe, are also considered, with evidence from literature, engineering, architecture and cliometrics. IVY CORFIS is professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; MICHAEL WOLFE is professor in the department of history at Penn State University, Altoona. Contributors: MICHAEL WOLFE, JAMES F. POWERS, MICHAEL TOCH, DENYS PRINGLE, ERIC McGEER, PAUL E. CHEVEDDEN, MICHAEL HARNEY, HEATHER ARDEN, WINTHROP WETHERBEE, KELLY DEVRIES, MICHAEL MALLETT, BERT S. HALL.

An exploration of the cultural-political complexity of the medieval Peninsula. Medieval Iberia was rich in sociolinguistic and cultural diversity. This volume explores the culture, history, literature and language of the Peninsula in an attempt to understand its cultural-political complexity and its legacy.Principal themes include the representation of minority groups in the community; the challenge of social contact that could bring mutual absorption of influence or conflict; the effects of linguistic interaction and development; and the dissemination of cultural and scientific knowledge within and beyond the borders of the Peninsula. Modern interpretations of Medieval Iberia are neither static nor definitive in this kaleidoscopic field of investigation. EDITORS: Ivy A. Corfis and Ray Harris-Northall are Professors of Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison OTHER CONTRIBUTORS: Pablo Ancos, William J. Courtney, Thomas D. Cravens, Frank Dominguez, Noel Fallows, Charles F. Fraker, E. Michael Gerli, Kristin Neumayer, Stanley G. Payne, Joel Rini, Joseph T. Snow, Michael Solomon