Drawing on the expertise of 26 distinguished scholars, this important volume covers the major issues in the study of medieval Europe, highlighting the significant impact the time period had on cultural forms and institutions central to European identity. * Examines changing approaches to the study of medieval Europe, its periodization, and central themes * Includes coverage of important questions such as identity and the self, sexuality and gender, emotionality and ethnicity, as well as more traditional topics such as economic and demographic expansion; kingship; and the rise of the West * Explores Europe's understanding of the wider world to place the study of the medieval society in a global context