The Medieval Spains

Cambridge Medieval Textbooks

by Bernard F. Reilly

This book traces the political evolution of the Iberian peninsula from a group of late Roman imperial provinces to the monarchies of the mid-fifteenth century. The book consists of a series of essays on the main chronological periods of medieval Spain, and sketches the major political, economic, social and intellectual features of each age and the interaction of Christian, Jew and Muslim. There is currently no other volume in English or Spanish that provides such a wealth of analysis or description and yet which covers the entire medieval period.

Genres: History, Spain, Nonfiction, Spanish History, European History, Islam, Medieval

244 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 1993

Reviews

[John Eliade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very dry and academic book... so I liked it.

I had to read this for class because it contained all the information about Spain from Roman era to the "gestation of modern Spain" on the cusp of the discovery of the New World. If you want to know about what life was like in 1200, or how the Christians originally confined to the wild north of Iberia went about to reconquer the entire peninsula, check out this book.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at the history of Spain, beginning with the Roman Empire and conversion to Christianity. It then goes on to look at the various Muslim empires that ruled the Iberian Peninsula, and the gradual rise of Christian kingdoms and their reconquest of the peninsula. The book describes the relations between Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the region, and how changing power dynamics impacted this. It is a really good introductory history to this region and period, however the writing style is a little dry. Also, I had hoped the author would include a discussion of Catalonia and the Basque region during this period, but they are only mentioned in passing. I didn't get a good sense of how these unique regions developed their own character.

[Альберто Лорэдо · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good introductions to the period with only the issue of the names, which are "randomly" selected ("Pere" of Aragon?) and also, modern terms for locations are used, which can be confusing at times.

[Kim]

I learned more about al-Andalus,the moros en España, and the interactions of Christians, Jews and Muslims ("the peoples of the book".)