Europe in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

In this book Professor Hay analyses the structure of later medieval society in Europe, identifies its main groups and their political programmes, and examines their impact on the political, economic and social history of the major European states. The secular and religious roles of the Church, the early Rennaissance in Italy and its influence beyond the Alps, and the cohesive effects of inter-European commerce are some of the important topics explored in detail. Since much of the later Rennaissance and Reformation is intelligible only in the light of this earlier period, this general survey will be of great use to those whose interests lie primarily in the sixteenth century as well as to students of the later middle ages. Professor Denys Hay, author of this book and editor of the General History of Europe series, was appointed to the Chair of Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh in 1954. He was editor of the English Historical Review from 1958 to 1965 and is author of many standard works on medieval and early modern European history.