Companion to Premodern Parish Studies

From the High Middle Ages, a network of parishes emerged all over Europe and beyond. Originally serving religious functions, these territorial communities soon became hubs of social, economic, political and cultural exchange involving both laity and clergy. In a pioneering survey, this collection of essays by leading international scholars traces their development across the dramatic transformations of the Reformations to the eve of modernity. Complementing thematic approaches to the Holy Roman Empire with studies of other regions, personal perspectives, numerous illustrations and extensive bibliographies, the volume offers specialized researchers as well as broader audiences interested in local religion expert guidance on the study of key building blocks of European society. Contributors include Alfons Brüning, Enno Bünz, Euan Cameron, John Craig, Katherine L. French, Anders Fröjmark, Gary G. Gibbs, Lu Ann Homza, Thomas Kaufmann, Beat Kümin, Malin Lennartsson, Simona Boscani Leoni, David Mayes, Celeste I. McNamara, Massimo della Misericordia, Arnd Reitemeier, Stephen Rose, Gabriela Signori, Andrew Spicer, Elizabeth Tingle, Felicita Tramontana, and Wolfgang Weiß.

Beat Kümin is Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Warwick, U.K. He has published a monograph on the English parish, co-edited comparative anthologies and co-founded the Warwick Network for Parish Research with its My-Parish platform.Prof. Dr Arnd Reitemeier, director of the Institute for Comparative Regional History at Göttingen, Member of the Göttingen Academy of Arts and Sciences, focussing on the History of North Germany and on parish economy (see Pfarrkirchen in der Stadt des späten Mittelalters: Politik, Wirtschaft und Verwaltung, Stuttgart: 2005).