An accessible introduction to medieval Europe during a pivotal era in the High Middle Ages.

*** CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title ***

John D. Cotts’s Europe’s Long Twelfth Century is an award-winning overview of a key phase in Europe’s medieval history. It reflects on how the region grappled with a variety of cultural possibilities that would ultimately transform the way people thought, lived and thought of themselves. Cotts convincingly contends that the 12th century was fundamentally a period of difficult decisions, adaptation and anxiety, rather than the glorious 'renaissance' mooted in earlier assessments of the era.

The book presents a balanced appreciation of social, economic and religious developments at a time when Europeans were needing to re-imagine their place in the world. It reflects on the vital significance of the Crusades and offers an unparalleled gateway into 12th-century political and intellectual life.

This new edition includes:

- A wealth of material which considers Europe in the context of a global Middle Ages
- New and expanded sections on kingship, political life in the Latin West, environmental history, architecture/visual culture and the Bible’s role in intellectual life
- Enhanced coverage of topics like family, sexuality, the medieval peasantry, and religious minorities/persecution
- Historiographical updates throughout, a range of new maps and a chronology

"Ideal for classroom use, this updated edition of John Cotts’s 2012 work offers a concise history of the Latin West from c. 1050 to 1200. Incorporating recent scholarship, Cotts addresses classic debates—like the twelfth-century renaissance and reformation—as well as newer questions about medieval Europe’s global context and the evolving direction of medieval studies." - Dr Michael Stewart, Honorary Research Fellow in History, University of Queensland, Australia

"Neither a Dark Age nor a Renaissance, Cotts brings us into an pivotal moment in medieval history that emerges, instead, as profoundly human - with all the messiness that entails." - David M. Perry, Journalist and Historian, co-author of Oathbreakers, USA