Texts from the Middle is a companion primary source reader to the textbook The Sea in the Middle. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the textbook, providing an original history of the Middle Ages that places the Mediterranean at the geographical center of the study of the period from 650 to 1650. Building on the textbook's unique approach, these sources center on the Mediterranean and emphasize the role played by peoples and cultures of Africa, Asia, and Europe in an age when Christians, Muslims, and Jews of various denominations engaged with each other in both conflict and collaboration. The supplementary reader mirrors the main text's fifteen-chapter structure, providing six sources per chapter. The two texts pair together to provide a framework and materials that guide students through this complex but essential history-one that will appeal to the diverse student bodies of today.

The mendicant friars, especially the Dominicans and the Franciscans, made an enormous impact in thirteenth-century Spain influencing almost every aspect of society. In a revolutionary break from the Church's past, these religious orders were deeply involved in earthly matters while preaching the Gospel to the laity and producing many of the greatest scholars of the time. Furthermore, the friars reshaped the hierarchy of the Church, often taking up significant positions in the episcopate. They were prominent in the establishment of the Inquisition in Aragon and at the same time they played a major part in interfaith relations between Jews, Muslims and Christians. In addition, they were key contributors in the transformation of urban life, becoming an essential part of the fabric of late medieval cities, while influencing policies of monarchs such as James I of Aragon and Ferdinand III of Castile. Their missions in the towns and their educational role, as well as their robust associations with the papacy and the crown, often raised criticism and lead to internal tensions and conflict with other clergymen and secular society. They were to be both widely admired and the subjects of biting literary satire. As this collection demonstrates, the story of medieval Spain cannot possibly be fully told without mention of the critical role of the friars.

The Sea in the Middle presents an original and revisionist narrative of the development of the medieval west from late antiquity to the dawn of modernity. This textbook is uniquely centered on the Mediterranean and emphasizes the role played by peoples and cultures of Africa, Asia, and Europe in an age when Christians, Muslims, and Jews of various denominations engaged with each other in both conflict and collaboration. Key features: Fifteen-chapter structure to aid classroom use Sections in each chapter that feature key artifacts relevant to chapter themes Dynamic visuals, including 190 photos and 20 maps The Sea in the Middle and its sourcebook companion, Texts from the Middle, pair together to provide a framework and materials that guide students through this complex but essential history-one that will appeal to the diverse student bodies of today.

Reading the Qur' n in Latin Christendom, 1140-1560 Thomas E. Burman Winner of the 2007 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History "Superbly documented and highly convincing."--"TLS" "This book is a tour de force of interdisciplinary scholarship that deserves a wide readership among medievalists and Islamicists alike."--"American Historical Review" "Singularly original both in the kinds of sources it uses and in its analyses and conclusions. . . . A major contribution that will change the way medieval and Renaissance history of Muslim-Christian relations is written."--Dimitri Gutas, Yale University "Only a modern-day Renaissance scholar could have written this book: mastery not only of Arabic and Latin was required but also of translation methodologies, library science, Christian-Muslim relations, intellectual history, and a host of other relevant areas, such as the indigenization of scripture. Burman completed this task admirably, not only pulling together the complexities of how books are formatted for reading but also doing justice to the personalities and mid-sets of the four centuries under consideration. . . . Superior scholarship. . . . Highly recommended."--"Choice" Selected by "Choice" magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title Most of what we know about attitudes toward Islam in the medieval and early modern West has been based on polemical treatises against Islam written by Christian scholars preoccupied with defending their own faith and attacking the doctrines of others. Christian readings of the Qur' n have in consequence typically been depicted as tedious and one-dimensional exercises in anti-Islamic hostility. In "Reading the Qur' n in Latin Christendom, 1140-1560," Thomas E. Burman looks instead to a different set of sources: the Latin translations of the Qur' n made by European scholars and the manuscripts and early printed books in which these translations circulated. Using these largely unexplored materials, Burman argues that the reading of the Qur' n in Western Europe was much more complex. While their reading efforts were certainly often focused on attacking Islam, scholars of the period turned out to be equally interested in a whole range of grammatical, lexical, and interpretive problems presented by the text. Indeed, these two approaches were interconnected: attacking the Qur' n often required sophisticated explorations of difficult Arabic grammatical problems. Furthermore, while most readers explicitly denounced the Qur' n as a fraud, translations of the book are sometimes inserted into the standard manuscript format of Christian Bibles and other prestigious Latin texts (small, centered blocks of text surrounded by commentary) or in manuscripts embellished with beautiful decorated initials and elegant calligraphy for the pleasure of wealthy collectors. Addressing Christian-Muslim relations generally, as well as the histories of reading and the book, Burman offers a much fuller picture of how Europeans read the sacred text of Islam than we have previously had. Thomas E. Burman is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Material Texts 2007 328 pages 6 x 9 10 illus. ISBN 978-0-8122-4018-4 Cloth $59.95s 39.00 ISBN 978-0-8122-2062-9 Paper $24.95s 16.50 World Rights Religion, History Short copy: Addressing Christian-Muslim relations generally, as well as the histories of reading and the book, Burman offers a balanced and hands-on picture of the ways Europeans read the sacred text of Islam.

King Alfonso VIII of Castile: Government, Family and War brings together a diverse group of scholars whose work concerns the reign of Alfonso VIII (1158–1215). This was a critical period in the history of the Iberian peninsula, when the conflict between the Christian north and the Moroccan empire of the Almohads was at its most intense, while the political divisions between the five Christian kingdoms reached their high-water mark. From his troubled ascension as a child to his victory at Las Navas de Tolosa near the end of his fifty-seven-year reign, Alfonso VIII and his kingdom were at the epicenter of many of the most dramatic events of the era. Contributors: Martin Alvira Cabrer, Janna Bianchini, Sam Zeno Conedera, S.J., Miguel Dolan Gómez, Carlos de Ayala Martínez, Kyle C. Lincoln, Joseph O’Callaghan, Teofi lo F. Ruiz, Miriam Shadis, Damian J. Smith, James J. Todesca