Introduction: Towards a Global Middle Ages

In modern popular culture the term ‘global’ is synonymous with global connectedness, even ‘globalization’. The Netflix series Sense8 offers an example of this understanding. The story is a fantasy of total global connectivity in the present day, and follows eight people who are scattered around the world, but linked telepathically. The first series was filmed entirely on location in Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Reykjavik, San Francisco and Seoul. The opening credits contained 108 shots showing the extraordinary cultural diversity of the world in which we live now.1 But as varied, interesting and downright awesome as that sequence is, diversity and connectivity are not modern phenomena alone; nor are many other characteristics widely associated with the global, including empires, long-distance commercial activity, diasporas, migrations and religious missions. The wider temporal relevance of such global topics makes it strange that the study of global history has rarely included the millennium before 1500 despite a wealth of available evidence. There are several reasons for this marginalization. One is the still ubiquitous idea that truly global history only began with European long-distance maritime expeditions in the early modern centuries. Another is the usually unstated but persistently powerful assumption about the essential backwardness of the Middle Ages. Also inhibiting are approaches which regard the medieval world as intrinsically alternative to the modern; or post-colonialist anxieties about linking such an apparently Eurocentric term as ‘Middle Ages’ to anything called ‘global’.2 Our response is to eschew doubt and get on with the task of examining the Global Middle Ages. We argue that however great the methodological, terminological and political difficulties associated with an approach termed the ‘Global Middle Ages’, the plentiful evidence for behaviour and interaction on a global scale in the millennium before 1500 deserves sustained and precise analysis. In a series of thematic chapters we demonstrate that people living in these centuries had global histories.3 We do not propose a single grand narrative which, given the infancy of the field of medieval global history, we believe would be premature. Nor do we provide an exhaustive analysis of all aspects of all world regions over a thousand-year period. Instead we argue for a Global Middle Ages that were neither static nor isolated. They were a period of dynamic change and experiment when no single part of the world achieved hegemonic status. In our approach we pick up on important current impulses within the study of global history, above all connectivity and comparison. But ours is not a study seeking parallels or origins. We have not worked by looking for direct analogies between the Middle Ages and the global history of other periods, which is why you will not find a focus here on familiar global topics such as ‘empire’, ‘trade’, ‘missionaries’ or civilizational including the world, or the Nor are we in the medieval centuries a or Instead we the and of people who in these global focus the of that we a of global including political and many of which have not as such do not the of that global have familiar in global such as and are to our we a to the and of global history, with of the of a global by the of and that is, by ‘globalization’. The here were first by the of a called the Global Middle Ages’, the of and which between and In the first of this we by the of the ‘Global Middle Ages’ and our We the in which with in world including evidence and and a global in evidence and as we present a that not but of We present in of these a we have called which and which the and the global in dynamic But the of this is not to provide that the task of the history of a Global Middle Ages to a in the that it is to we as a of have the global history of the Middle Ages contained in the chapters of this In the of the we and the that our of global history between and we with a of which we present a of the Global Middle Ages as a of and The chapters provide and that in to the of the on the for global history the scale of the task and the on we to a that and are an that we in the other chapters of this In on global and provide important on the of and the of it is that including our and when it to be approach to these of has the of all of our and is this the of world regions our of the Global Middle Ages. these first chapters of the to the global and by the chapters that We the to be a which a for about the Global Middle Ages in as a period of history with and as a powerful to is about the Global Middle but it is not for We to with global of all periods, and all world or In a world about the of are we not that global or have to an even the of that and are In a of of all to and ‘global’ has in the and in the We to here our for an approach which all of of our and and has the to of and evidence is a of to that of the to the and the of the Global Middle Ages not live to this and were in But in to be with to global history and to do is to The to the global has the of The of this are to is as an important of with world a powerful in the But has to One of this has a over approaches and and are for for The and to a of The of Global a field still in the all this global history has a field with on before is despite the of important such as study in the and of and world that many and in the of a by the of the and of the The has a in the field of maritime and has between up in the study of apparently familiar such as and But such have of global history that have of the global a field that to with the scale has is that the of phenomena associated with global history, including and and empires, before In the of the medieval centuries the and the in the early medieval the world by a medieval world that linked with the of as early as the and of and within the which were no for as on as on the why the period has such a in the field of global history is the assumption that the wider for and in global history only with the European of in the and centuries. powerful of the that global history be to the centuries the in was by the early modern the period was an of interaction on a these and the people and in all of was not the that had in the early modern of the the and had all political and cultural the early of on the before 1500 was interaction between the the early modern all of the and sustained interaction with early modern was a global not of of that all or many but of that linked the and in of interaction and and 1500 included the of global of global of and the of an early global all of by European The to but the of and the of and this was a world which the European to long-distance and to to do of global history as a and by by early modern has many this only to the world the or even the in history in and would a world of the by the as by and and by in to this is a of which to as a in to and in and political But despite about the of and the of within a world, the within which is a and by the of the of the in the modern and by anxieties about that that is The is that for all the about world, or of the history of the have to be narrative of and in which and and were the has it to world before 1500 a global history have the that have who on centuries the of about global this has to change in has to in of a ‘Global a ‘Global of to this a ‘Global Middle is by is but by an of the of evidence available for examining within and between regions of the as the millennium before 1500 that evidence to be in the of or the of for a with in which, over the of the was the The are in the first centuries of to the of a and the on a to the of the and that were in the around and in in before to the evidence of the the medieval by a to by in by in medieval European The of of of of of the and is with of of and with other over the Another example of long-distance is the in an or in in to an a a and a these early medieval of global we a in no with including in the a or and the around the the of in the in the to centuries worked such as and the and the of Mexico in and the in In the to the and the to have to the or of the to is the example of the and of the with of and of the was a of a medieval world that had global which not have or are of and in the period over but are of of and the in to the and of a of a of of to in the the in and as the to the culture and of a of of of have in to to to the of or cultural that the and of such is still a for this is evidence which in and is available to to the of even the scale of in single such as is and even as in the and of evidence between and within is still a wealth of evidence the in the millennium before 1500 with which to and on a of and even a of available the is which to a evidence that of of our and and a of and the of or the scale of the evidence the Global Middle Ages is still a the are and which or to the of a global history for the millennium before such as and the focus on with maritime to the study of including The and the medieval of the are to change this period is the of with and in seeking to in the medieval centuries be to the the to the In a the of above all has the of But as these is still to be in on between evidence for change and in other of are not to it is that in on the Global Middle Ages the focus on with to the of or the or the a is of to the of by on the history of world including in the centuries. our is that current ‘global’ or of that period to despite the between of these regions and as as and political the The of the of all a of the millennium before 1500 as in which and the and in of political and and commercial a which by European maritime and global There of many of this of regions of regions within the of cultural the important as in the is the in evidence is not that evidence on in world in that we it to of behaviour we have to of we argue that the of do not or in in of or the we are on as do in of is a of as is in several of our regions had were by and had of In this we that evidence to to other is a We of be to the of evidence and in of or and But of world regions of history is not the to the evidence One of the and of this is to to evidence and to and as to such evidence and our about the Global Middle regions to an The of evidence have the of early that the period before 1500 was not to be for of in the and of the ‘Global Middle Ages’ is the that is a with the part of that and above all with the the of a of is the that the term is to be to even the history of for the millennium before that of the of to the medieval and in a term by European or ‘Middle Ages’ as a term in global history, such as the of great or for many on regions in the the term is associated with the European to be be to as a of and as such as but it other of the Global Middle the is the of ‘global’ and in the are who or over the before and who even these to be called but who that the of this global is to provide a for of by of and The idea of a static Middle Ages not the which it the the characteristics to the Middle Ages and the of and the this to European as as the of The medieval of the centuries to the Middle in other was a for with political and that are with the of the of the Middle Ages as a global 1500 have the of not only aspects of this history but narrative Our response to these is not to of the post-colonialist is and and as the chapters by and and by in this the ‘global’ and are in global history, including by with to the of over empires, change and long-distance cultural and In other by the that it is only in the early modern or modern that we of and of long-distance interaction and such as and have that a is the global approach for on the to the global in of the of the narrative the study of of the world a in which are or as in a to up with European with of and is for in the and the and the of is usually to the early this on the of between the of has global to as a for examining the of in or in the centuries a focus on not have to of of the even it is to the of the European as the But it in a which on the of and regard to the in between and the of the the and the regions with but has to focus on the global history of such but the in which the medieval history of such be is by that of early or that were the of modern We do not the of a Global Middle Ages on by the We the of the that the and we do not to to with post-colonialist who are the idea of the Middle Ages have that this approach be a of seeking and the of by modern or by But this apparently be be to that and the Middle be but this these are only as of an of The here is the of these regions the Middle Ages only are a which the of the European Middle Ages as the that of of opening medieval to medieval and the is but the European focus of and to who study medieval and the world, which have and and as as that rarely the of the Middle of the world in of the were with but in and we diversity is we would but to it to we have to not only as the of study but as the of our There are important to the Global Middle but in this we argue that these are not The world in the millennium before 1500 was not only and it was and no single a hegemonic over the world not it was were people who were of usually not within who by looking to of One of our is to the and on that this world it was in and in to to The to the chapters that we present here have to this world in that have to as a of a for global history before We do not to the world before 1500 as a response to the by post-colonialist which the term Instead our is to the Global Middle Ages as a period and as an approach with and why we have to focus on the millennium before 1500 a wider to as as the given of the as as the about between the Global Middle Ages and the Global by in the Our first is that our are in the Global Middle Ages is an term for a of with the of on the global that is to medieval global topics that before or to 1500 Our response is the Global Middle Ages be an and it be as a of a global world, but we it as a period with we in and these characteristics to the Global Middle Ages which as as But to our of and why the Global Middle Ages be as a period is the of in evidence that we to we in the the evidence by to our of the Global Middle Ages as a period with characteristics even and temporal and as an approach with and are the we within the of who up the Global Middle Ages’, the which this included and with in the evidence and of a of world and and the as as and the the still on and and we had no on the of around the our was There was an even the all but a of were a we and have as a for diversity in the We as as the of that are in the study of global history such as ‘empire’, and that many of these not all that or to our medieval evidence or in we on to and of our approach and medieval evidence Our were we over the and had and But a of to we in of on we the that we the by the diversity of our that we of and the the and that we were to a global medieval that was not of history by Eurocentric the a to such The the to about which a the to to as as evidence. Our was that for to we had to or a and of that in and and about a such to the regions with which we are familiar in we that all of our that to of The over to be and that we to the of the term and the difficulties of that do not on to we other and in the of be a we sustained a dynamic which not only to a of approaches to the global which in and and in this but to the of a and In these were achieved with and but in it is not all that to a of and get to to other and in were on or these by a to global other or to a of we were to and of would the of our are by a of even it is to or when we our But we believe such have important for the of global history by of all periods, not the is not that to important is the that the and of to the of single the global history, that it is to and in the of and in this We other to even to not of our in the of but we are our and it is in this that we the of in the field of global history, but in other of study as The of the to the in a of a which to the and of and as and were by wider global this approach to the chapters we present we have to with the and the narrative and only looking In this we are history, but we a global by with in or by the when as and have important in the study of global history, we a which we Our chapters are not with the between and evidence over a period of as with the of evidence and centuries which to the in approach has to the which is such an important part of but which is in approaches to world history, and to and to global we have to of our of and period our and that other that all of these or the of the or other has to that not be to and to it has to a of for our that are not to global history and it in on our as which to The of that are but which do not in of or to which of the Global Middle Ages approach to is about our period to it a or a in the not as a of our to with grand a which up in here about the wider of the Global Middle We that we an of grand in the early of is a of opening up and topics that the and We do not for an that our chapters are anything but that of But do on the to and get on with to medieval global In our we have not to an of a approach or Our in a between of the is an between the we and other but not the modern be the other we to the and behaviour of people in our on The to the of and the narrative has to and on that are in a medieval be a of political as in the chapters by and on political or by and on or it for as in the of by the and the by and and by is that has in we do no that and do not to But as with in and of even when the in our chapters do that is familiar or when are we these people in with and We believe that our about topics on a ‘global’ scale and as of a world, the by the of of these we are about the between many global history and the medieval world, we are about to to the we the that these have over and The chapters which were by the of and our are which focus on the of medieval and such as political and such as the and as a of but not be for as a the chapters a of and a global in analysis of our it is that the and on and the are as as to our of the Global Middle Ages. In as on on on to global is achieved by the of a of In including and on and on and on and and on of focus is achieved by with to In the on the of the by evidence is to about the that the In other a evidence is such as and on the between and other world regions is in We that our to global global in a be only which has all to the of we that in the our demonstrate in which the Global Middle Ages the or history of medieval In the of this we characteristics of a Global Middle Ages as with in our thematic and seeking a grand we on to a that the Global Middle Ages was a period of for experiment in that it in to as as centuries. The to about the Global Middle Ages is by a sustained of in our we have about the Global Middle Ages as the before a period that have to But precise of this millennium not or a of the of the The is not that within the of and when or even this the is that the world of the of the centuries not to of that a global we were to of in of the the and centuries all have as the of a Global Middle as the of the of the of culture of including with of in of the of of to of the of and and of of the of the of and culture to of the in the of of the in of the in the in of the in not as a the be of the other of the be for or such as the of the in the or the of the in the the is anything but and on we focus our as and the of the the In part such a is a of but it is a of thematic the of the and associated with or world important do not have be which will on the or in But for the in this focus is on the to find precise is is a and that not be for all Our is to the Global Middle Ages in with to the and on our chapters that it is to focus on people and on and why with and We are in the of in global history, but we a was not only the of of medieval people or as here by and a that a and in of including religious in the was to the of political by and it for as by and was to the world that and the world of the to centuries. was that and the by who but not the and maritime which not in but as by religious and as in but above all the are to even to in with many other of global history we find about and the associated with in the in the medieval world of or in about the and of of But in with our about we not only as by the and to but as a and that all of the the that people and In of we of such as and such as and but it would be a to that these were all for or in has with to in the for this as as the of the we were in was but not to in the world, the of in religious and it was only in it be even for the was not a in modern but it was by for it such as to the or an for the of over not for reasons of but were important for and behaviour that of and as in of of which were to have and and and above that had in we to in that the the of and the that be of the modern to our modern to be in in the of by a be only or not of as as to as were but was not only as or in and were the as religious or in the as the people in of these and many the a to the that to and would have of the and even political has that the medieval European of around the and the of in the of to be to have the of the included the who have to the world in the in the in and the by the of the and and and and European The that these people was to or the in that a to The for with or a for In this the example of who as and of of and religious as for to was the of which for be as by or be by the of The by or contained in had many to or to or religious or to or in such as or were not or and and of and who on of these of in of the of The Global Middle Ages has a of a or the of in We and to and and and even to between the and of such as the to and the of in such as of the or and such as the on the in the of was of we when to other for the and of as these were by of or by The to of a of of or of is we in for our is but it for regions of and the were only of and all of our chapters provide evidence for the of a of of in all world of as of as many of our chapters the of location and the of were of medieval the or of of be for the of the people and that were which, as and the between the political religious and that were by the of and which all of however and in But for these to an of and of as as for and over and in the of and by as was the of to the of here in the chapters by and and we the of and that and the people and that and we about the that were by we that the of in and many people in people in religious were by the that or people to were to to that for the and of that in to and these of people would have the of or will not be that our on