Books & ideas

The lesson of the Pandemic

Guido Alfani — 2026-05-11T07:11:00Z

An unparalleled demographic catastrophe, the Black Death disrupted the economic, social, and cultural balance of medieval Europe in the 14^th century. Long considered a major turning point, it now appears as an indicator of the structures, limitations, and resilience of medieval societies.

Unrepresentative images

Fabien Lacouture — 2026-02-03T14:22:25Z

In this collection of essays, Jean-Claude Schmitt continues his examination of medieval images. Considering the topic from a semantic, historical, and artistic perspective, he explores how the medieval West thought about images and, at times, through images.

The Language of Exclusion in Medieval Europe

Julien Le Mauff — 2025-09-25T07:00:00Z

Drawing on textual sources and the history of language, Jean-Louis Roch highlights the ambivalence of charity in the Middle Ages and traces the desacralization of the figure of the poor at the dawn of modernity.

Medieval emotions

Julien Le Mauff — 2025-05-02T07:00:00Z

Basing her anthropological history on a rich body of source material, Régine Le Jan explores interpersonal relationships in the Early Middle Ages, arguing that they constitute one of the socio-political specificities of the Latin West.

Sociology's Quest for the Middle Ages

Quentin Verreycken — 2025-04-29T06:30:00Z

Alexis Fontbonne sets out to study the Middle Ages as a sociologist, laying the foundations for a stimulating critical approach that invites us to reconsider not only historical practice, but also the tools of sociology.

Scandinavia beyond the Vikings

Victor Barabino — 2025-03-13T15:29:49Z

With its distinct natural resources, its openness to the outside world, and the hierarchical society it fostered, the period before the Viking era counts among the most poorly known periods in Scandinavian history. It must be reinterpreted from the standpoint of a broader history of the first millennium CE.

In Praise of the Intermediary

Piroska Nagy — 2024-09-12T07:00:00Z

“Fixers”, or dragomans, are vital intermediaries and interpreters for both journalists and soldiers in hostile terrain, and play a central role in a network of relationships and transfers. In the Middle Ages they embodied the need for otherness, and continue to do so today.

Eternal Epicurus

Pierre-Marie Morel — 2023-10-12T10:30:00Z

Contrary to popular belief, the Middle Ages did not discard Epicurus. Several thinkers were in constant dialogue with Epicureanism, even as they condemned it. And many quietly rehabilitated it.

The ecclesiastic roots of the modern state

Pierre-Bénigne Dufouleur — 2023-07-14T08:30:00Z

Anna Grzymala-Busse, a political scientist, argues that the medieval church played an important role in the foundation of the modern state. Yet this revival of an old argument runs into a number of obstacles.

The Christian Origins of the Anthropocene

Rémi Beau — 2020-12-07T08:00:00Z

To understand the Anthropocene, historian Sylvain Piron invites us to explore the Middle Ages. Disconcerting in how it multiplies avenues of research, his book's strength and originality lies in the critical mobilization of the economy of the Scholastics