Book excerpt: The present volume explores the process of economic stratification within the rural societies in the Middle Ages and in the Pre-modern period, paying special attention to the leading sectors of the community. Established experts and younger scholars in the field examine the rural elites and its relation with the emergence of agrarian capitalism through different observatories ranging across European regions, from Wiltshire (England), the County of Flanders and the Duchy of Brabant (Low Countries) to the Kingdom of Valencia (Crown of Aragon). The contributions analyse the differentiation within the peasantry from various perspectives such as the social conditions, the evolution of communal structures, the investment strategies, the expenses for burials, the means for social promotion and the uses of the common lands. The book employs a variety of historical methods and draws on a wide range of diverse sources including court records, wills, law codes, manuals of institutional landowners and notarial registries. Considering the interest of the issue and the newness of the observatories, this volume will be essential reading for specialists on rural history and also engage a more general readership interested in conditions and structures in pre-industrial societies.