The Intolerant Middle Ages: A Reader (Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures)

In this collection of primary sources, Eugene Smelyansky highlights instances of persecution and violence, as well as those relatively rare but significant episodes of toleration, that impacted a broad spectrum of people who existed at the margins of medieval society: heretics, Jews and Muslims, the poor, the displaced and disabled, women, and those deemed sexually deviant. The volume also presents a more geographically diverse Middle Ages by including sources from Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Mediterranean.

Each document is preceded by a brief introduction and followed by questions for discussion, making The Intolerant Middle Ages an excellent entrance into the lives and struggles of medieval minorities.

Eugene Smelyansky is a postdoctoral teaching fellow in the Roots of Contemporary Issues Global History Program at Washington State University.