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170 Short Notices subjects such as the various heresies, where a brief explanation is often needed, but rarely obtainable. Jonathan M . Wooding Department of History University of Sydney Tellenbach, Gerd, Church, state and Christian society at the time of the Investiture Contest (Medieval Academy reprints for teaching, 27), trans. R. F. Bennett, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1991; paper; pp. xxiv, 196; R.R.P. CAN$14.95. Much water has passed under the bridge since the original publication in German in 1936 of this early book by one of the century's foremost medieval historians. It would be possible to write a lengthy discussion of it drawing attention to changed general perspectives and possible misinterpretations of particular areas, but such an exercise would be beside the point. The present reviewer remembers the sense of excitement engendered by the book's powerful intellectual constructs and its sense of pulling up deep roots when he read it as an undergraduate. It retains its hold. Reading a major historian writing on a major topic can afford a mind-stretching pleasure even when the work has been superseded in various ways. It is therefore good to welcome its return to print in the series of reprints sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America. This collection has grown to the point where i t offers a most respectable introduction to the Middle Ages, providing primary sources and key monographs at very reasonable prices. The stature of the series is enhanced by the addition of this latest volume. John Moorhead Department of History University of Queensland ...

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