From the dust jacket: "In this book, Andrew McCall poses two questions, neither of which has a definitive answer: When were the Middle Ages and what constitutes an underworld? It could be claimed, for instance, that the Middle Ages did not begin properly until the tenth or even the eleventh century, and that they did not end, in England, until the sixteenth century. McCall, however, argues persuasively that the so-called 'Dark Ages' should be considered part of the Middle Ages, and that the advent of the Renaissance marks the probable end point. The medieval underworld, in his view, comprised all those people who were either unwilling or unable to comply with the laws of the Church. 'The Medieval Underworld' discusses such social groups as outlaws and brigands, homosexuals, heretics, witches, prostitutes, thieves, fraudulent beggars and vagabonds. It describes their activities as well as the often barbarously savage punishments that were meted out to them by the state and the church. Along the way, McCall's book manages to conjure up the atmosphere of a way of life which is entirely of its period, yet may still seem extraordinarily familiar to modern readers."