Ebook: Using Concepts in Medieval History: Perspectives on Britain and Ireland, 1100-1500

This book is the first to engage explicitly with the practice of conceptual history - its problematics and its potential - as it relates to the study of the Middle Ages. Aimed at upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates and scholars, this edited volume explores some of the key concepts used and misused in medieval history. Medieval historians have long been suspicious of certain master nouns and their power to distort historical interpretations, labelled as 'tyrannous constructs' in Professor Elizabeth A.R. Brown's seminal article almost fifty years ago. This book offers a guide for navigating these terms, discussing the perils and pay-offs of working with some of the most frequently encountered and under-analysed political concepts. Each chapter focuses on a single master noun, covering 'colony', 'crisis', 'frontier', 'identity', 'magic', 'networks' and 'politics'. The volume also includes a reflection written by Professor Brown on the intellectual impact of her work and the progression of this debate in conceptual history.