The Later Middle Ages (1300-1500 CE) have often been characterised as a period of decline for Christendom. The era seems to sit uncomfortably between the remarkable achievements of church and society in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the revivals of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation in the sixteenth century. The period has even been called a 'Babylonian Captivity' for the Church, echoing the struggles of the Israelites in exile, and...