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66 TI-Ig CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW towardsa representation of feudalism that doesgreaterjusticeto socialand economic realitiesand to .thevarietyof circumstances. Blochbroughtto this taskhisintimateknowledge of source materialanda greattalentasa writer, aswellasthemanyotherhumanandscholarly qualities thathavecaused him to rankamong thegreatFrench historians ofrecent times. Whatismore, hetook thisoccasion to launch thefruitfulideaof thetwoages offeudalism, distinguishing the riod of economic sta ationin whichfeudalism tookformfromthe gn period o•e•conomic expansion and intellectual revival inwhich feudalism flourished ;andhe included a pioneering essay in thatmostdelicate branchof historical inquiry, thehistory ofmentalities. That a classic such as .this deserved to be translated was obvious from the first,andthe onlysurprising thingis that overtwo decades passed beforeit appeared. The English-speaking readeris nowofferednot only a faififfuland readable translation, but alsoa bookthatincorporates several material improvementsoverthe originaledition:the two volumes arejoinedin one;consecutive chapter numbers havebeenadded;andthefootnotes followstandard formrather thantheirritating reference system of theFrench series. Thebrief,unannotated bibliographical supplement, however, haslittle valuebeyond suggesting what few woulddoubt,that studies of feudalism havebeenactivelypursued since Bloch's time. Although, with thispublication, the verythinshelfof books in English on continental feudalism has received an invaluable addition, there remains that Bloch's primary appeal is to advanced readers who,for thelargest part,have always beenabletoutilizetheoriginal. Forthesame reason, notranslation need everbeexpected ofwhatisperhaps thegreatest study offeudal society toappear since thewar,G. Duby's La Soci•t•auxXIøetXII' si•cles dans lar•gion,ulconnaise (Paris, 1953), which illustrates thedurability of,Caroling/an institutions andjustifies a substantial chronological shiftin Bloch s two feudalages. The needis moreacutefor translations that will givebroaderaccess to recentGermanscholarship , whose workonœeudalism hasfound less echo abroad thanit deserves. (A translation of H. Mitteis's veryimportant Lehnrecht undStaatsgewalt , Weimar, 1933,wasannounced aspartoftheseries ofStudies in Medieval History edited by G. Barraclough, butitspublication, ff stillproiected , does not seemimminent.) Evenmorenecessary is an up-to-date synthesis, suitable for undergraduates, thatwo.uld at oncebe less strictly legalthanF. L. Ganshofs Feudalism andnarrower in scope thanBloch's work.The excellent bookof R. Boutruche, Seigneurie etf•odalit•, whose first oftwovolumes appeared in1959, wouldadmirably fit these specifications andonlyawaits an enterprising publisher . In short, it ismuchto behoped thattheappearance in English ofBloch's Feudal Society willserve primarily tostimulate further publications onthesame subject. WAnT•.a GOFFAaT University ofToronto War andSociety in Renaissance Florence: The De Mfiitiaof Leonardo Bruni. By C. C. BxYnEY. Toronto:Universityof TorontoPress.1961. Pp. x, 440. $8.00. THESOCIAL ANDINTELLECTUAL HISTORY OFRENAISSANCE ITALYhasrecentlyattractedmoreand moreinterestamongscholars and readers in the Englishspeaking world.A growing number of detailed monographs andcomprehensive studies hasbeenpublished, andasa result, theprevailing views onthesubiect •vmws 67 havebecome moreconcrete andmoreaccurate. Professor Bayley's volumeis a welcome additionto this literature, and will no doubthelp to makeseveral aspects ofQuattrocento Florence betterknown toi•sreaders. The bookiscentred around Le•nardo Bruni's De militia,andof itseightchapters ,morethanhalf aredoselyrelatedto thiswork:chapterm (pp. 178-95) discusses the literarysettingof the workand,morespecifically, the humanist criticism of theCondottieri; chapter xv ( p 196-218)deals withtheoriginand p. aims ofthework; chapter w (pp.316-36) analyses itsstructure ar•.,d content; chapter vn (pp. 337-59) describes itsplacein theevolution of Bruni s thought; chapter v• (pp.360-97)finally gives thetext(pp.369-89),witha philological preface(pp. 360-68) andexplanatory notes(pp. 389-97). Thethreeremaining chapters whichactually constitute morethanhalf of the volumeare dedicated to the broaderhistorical back ounda ainstwhichProfessor Bayle wishes to ß gr g place Bruni streatises: chapter • (pp. 3-58) discusses the military •ackground andtheriseo/the Condottieri; chapter H (pp.59-177) traces thepolitical background , andtheimpac• of warundertheAlbizziandtheearlyMedici;chapter v (pp. 219-315) describes the survivalof the militia traditionfrom Bruni to Machiavell/. The volume concludes with an amplebibliography andindex. Chai•erx•traces thedomestic andconstitutional history of Florence fromthe middle ofthefourteenth century toabout 1440,focusing onthecareer ofHinaldo de•liAlbizzi towhom Bruni dedicated histreatise in1422. Chapters • and v give a detailed account of Florentine military history andinstitutions fromthe. early fourteenth cenhn'y to the fall of theFlorentine Hepublic in 1530.Thisaccount stresses the Condottieri system, and the theoretical and practicalattempts to replace it with a popular militiabased uponancient Homart models. I do not feelqualified tojudge theaccuracy, ornovelty ofthese chapters, butI have theimpression thatProfessor Bayley s detailed account is amplyandwelldocumented ,and giveson the wholean accurate pictureof the development. I noticed onlya few editorial slipsthatarehardlyworthmentio.ning. Freiburg andBreisach aretwodifferent towns, andtheformerisoffleially calledFreiburg im Breisgau (pp. 13, 408) whereas the homonymous townin Switzerland is usually referredto asFribour ( 410) Onpa...

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