For most people in the middle ages--for thousands upon thousands who lived within Christendom in the period considered by this book, 1100-1500--we have no record of what they believed or did not believe. John Arnold sifts through the traces left behind by our ancestors across Europe and assembles a more complete picture than ever before. Religion in mediveal Europe was hugely important, and impinged upon the most mundane aspects of everyday life. But was the period a uniform "Age of Faith?" By focussing on lay people, this fascinating account unlocks the multiple meanings of religion, asking how it functioned and with what effects.<br> This book deftly reveals for today's readers, as none have before, the meanings and struggles that lay between the smooth surface of medieval religious life.