The Monks who Made Europe

Posted on by Jørgen Møller

By Jonathan Doucette and Jørgen Møller For almost a thousand years, the Latin west (Western and Central Europe) has been fragmented in two ways: First, it has been divided into numerous competing political units; second, these units have themselves been internally divided, rulers co-existing and interacting with strong social groups such as the clergy, the … Continue reading The Monks who Made Europe

Tilly Goes to Church: The Medieval and Religious Origins of the European State

Posted on by Anna Grzymala-Busse

How did the state arise in Europe? The canonical answer is Charles Tilly’s: “war made the state and the state made war.” The starting point is the fragmentation of territorial political authority in Europe after the collapse of the Carolingian empire in 888, and the ambitions of rulers in the early modern (1500-1700) era. To … Continue reading Tilly Goes to Church: The Medieval and Religious Origins of the European State