Four principles guide the selection of materials. First, entire documents are included wherever possible, not snippets. Second, texts are grouped to form dossiers in which the individual documents relate to one another, reflecting the practice of historians themselves. Third, most of the documents chosen have been the subject of significant scholarship. And fourth, raw material for many types of historical investigations is provided: the documents are equally useful to the political historian, the social historian, the cultural historian or the historian of mentalities.

The third edition includes an updated Preface, more extensive material from Gregory of Tours, and a new section, The Iberian Peninsula, containing material that deals with Jews, Muslims and Heretics. The text has also been newly typeset, making the book more readable, and in response to suggestions concerning the weight of the book, lighter paper is being used. The result is a book that is overall more user friendly.

Please note: This edition is also available in a two-volume format, dividing the text chronologically:

Volume I: The Early Middle Ages Volume II: The Later Middle Ages

Special Combined Price: Readings in Medieval History, third edition may be ordered together with A Short History of the Middle Ages, third edition at a special discounted price. In order to secure the package price, the following ISBN must be used when ordering: 978-1-44260-353-0.

Patrick J. Geary, Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles, is the author and editor of numerous books on medieval history. - Source: Powell's Books