For most people in the middle ages–for thousands upon thousands who lived within Christendom in the period considered by this book, 1100-1500–we have no record of what they believed or did not believe. John Arnold sifts through the traces left behind by our ancestors across Europe and assembles a more complete picture than ever before. Religion in medieval Europe was hugely important, and impinged upon the most mundane aspects of everyday life. But was the period a uniform Age of Faith? By focussing on lay people, this fascinating account unlocks the multiple meanings of religion, asking how it functioned and with what effects. This book deftly reveals for today’s readers, as none have before, the meanings and struggles that lay between the smooth surface of medieval religious life.