This highly regarded essay seeks to unify medieval culture by emphasizing its common institutions. The controlling theme is scholastic. Defined in a technical sense, it is simply that manner of thinking, teaching, and writing devised in and characteristic of the medieval schools. From the Preface: "Unity of theme can best be achieved by ignoring what is irrelevant. To concentrate my efforts, I have limited attention chronologically to the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries and geographically to France and Italy, when and where, I believe, scholastic culture attained its apogee." -- from back cover.

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