Daniel Lord Smail: 3 books

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the ideas and practices of justice in Europe underwent significant change as procedures were transformed and criminal and civil caseloads grew apace. Drawing on the rich judicial records of Marseille from the years 1264 to 1423, especially records of civil...

As a Europe grew rich in the Middle Ages, the well-made clothes, linens, and wares of households often substituted for hard currency. Pawnbrokers kept goods in circulation, and sergeants of the law marched into debtors’ homes to seize belongings equal in value to debts owed. David Smail describes a material world on the cusp of modern capitalism.

«Questo è sicuramente un nuovo paradigma dello studio della storia, molto ben argomentato, che verrà considerato rivoluzionario. Che io sappia, nessun altro libro integra lo studio della storia umana con i principi dell’evoluzione biologica e culturale in maniera tanto ambiziosa.» David Sloan...