The `violence' of life in the middle ages is nowadays both taken for granted and little understood. The essays in this collection all suggest or explore reasons why violent acts might have been perpetrated, and attempt to understand the social priorities which governed such acts. Broadly, the studies clarify issues relating to the creation of political identities and the establishment of social order, and cover matters of administration, religious ritual, and gender.GUY HALSALL is lecturer in the Department of History, Birkbeck College, University of London. Contributors: GUY HALSALL, LUIS A. GARCA MORENO, PAUL FOURACRE, T.S. BROWN, JANET L. NELSON, N.B. AITCHISON, MATTHEW BENNETT, GUY A.E. MORRIS, S.J. SPEIGHT, ROSS BALZARETTI,JULIE COLEMAN, NANCY L. WICKER