The modern state, however we conceive of it today, is based on a pattern that emerged in Europe in the period from 1100 to 1600. Written from the experience of a lifetime of teaching and research in the field, this short, clear book is the classic work on what is known about the early history of the European state. Charles Tilly's foreword shows how Strayer's book set the agenda for a whole generation of historical analysts, not just in medieval history but also in the comparative study of state formation. William Chester Jordan's foreword addresses the scholarly and pedagogical setting within which Strayer produced his book, and how this both enhanced its accessibility and informed its focus on peculiarly English and French accomplishments in early state-building.

Joseph R. Strayer (1904–87) was the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University. His books include The Middle Ages, Western Europe in the Middle Ages, and Feudalism. Charles Tilly (1929–2008) was the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. William Chester Jordan is professor of history at Princeton University. He is the author of From England to France: Felony and Exile in the High Middle Ages (Princeton).