Description
Book SynopsisDocuments the transformation in how medieval Castilians thought about property and family at a time when economic innovations and an emerging mercantile sensibility were eroding the traditional relation between the two. This book identifies changes in how Castilians conceived of and acted on salvation.
Trade Review"As usual, Ruiz's style is clear and at times witty."--Choice "Teofilo R. Ruiz demonstrates the sort of erudition that comes only from experience, discretion, and hard work. The result is a book that will likely stand for many years as an authoritative "must-read" for all historians of medieval Europe."--David Coleman, American Historical Review "From Heaven to Earth is a thought-provoking and remarkable book, integrating a great deal of evidence in a carefully delineated, broad intellectual framework. Fluid and readable, it should be of considerable interest to historians of social and cultural life in Iberia and throughout the medieval West."--Michelle Herder, Speculum
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION From Heaven to Earth 1 CHAPTER ONE A Taste for the New: Commerce, Property, and Language 12 CHAPTER TWO The Evidence of Wills 37 CHAPTER THREE Property: Wills and the Law in Medieval Castile 54 CHAPTER FOUR Itemizing the World: Boundaries, Consolidation of Property, and Rights of Way 67 CHAPTER FIVE Family and Property: Lineages and Primogeniture 87 CHAPTER SIX Heavenly Concerns: Charity and Salvation 110 CHAPTER SEVEN Toward a New Concept of Power: Unsacred Monarchy 133 Conclusion 151 Appendix 155 Notes 163 Bibliography 199 Index 215
