"This book describes changes in the material world and in attitudes toward the spiritual world that took place in medieval Castile--changes that resulted from a shift in values toward a more practical, quantitative, and secular point of view. No one knows this material with the effortless intimacy Ruiz demonstrates. His scholarship is impeccable, and his argument is presented in a compelling and attractive manner."--Paul Freedman, Yale University
"This marvelous book asks large questions of vital importance to all the humanities and social sciences. Professor Ruiz has produced an eloquent and intellectually elegant work of tremendous range. "--David Nirenberg, The Johns Hopkins University
