The Intellectual Dynamism of the High Middle Ages

The essays in The Intellectual Dynamism of the High Middle Ages pay tribute to the work and impact of Constant J. Mews, in spirit and in content, revealing a nuanced and integrated vision of the intellectual history of the medieval West. Mews’s groundbreaking work has revealed the wide world of medieval letters: looking beyond the cathedral and the cloister for his investigations, and taking a broad view of intellectual practice in the Middle Ages, Mews has demanded that we expand our horizons as we explore the history of ideas. Alongside his cutting-edge work on Abelard, he has been a leader in the study of medieval women writers, paying heed to Hildegard and Heloise in particular. In Mews’ Middle Ages, the world of ideas always belongs to a larger world: one that is cultural, gendered, and politicized.