Property, Power, and Authority in Rus and Latin Europe, ca. 1000–1236

Abstract

This book intertwines two themes in medieval studies hitherto kept apart: comparisons of Latin and Orthodox Europe and the 'feudal revolution' of the late- and post-Carolingian periods. The book broadens the debate by comparing texts written in 'learned' and 'vulgar' Latin, Church Slavonic, Anglo-Norman, and East Slavonic. From this comparison, the Kingdom of the Rus appears as a regional variation of European society. This suggests current interpretations overemphasize factors unique to the medieval West and overlook deeper pan-European processes.