Download or read book The Crisis of the Twelfth Century written by Thomas N. Bisson and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 726 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Medieval civilization came of age in thunderous events like the Norman Conquest and the First Crusade. Power fell into the hands of men around castles who imposed coercive new lordships in quest of nobility, heedless of the old public order. In The Crisis of the Twelfth Century, acclaimed historian Thomas Bisson asks what it was like to live in a Europe without government, and he asks how people experienced power, and suffered. Rethinking a familiar history as a problem of origins, he explores the circumstances that impelled knights, emperors, nobles, and churchmen to infuse lordship with social purpose." --Book Jacket.