William Heywood (1857–1919) experiencd a variety of jobs, including working as a lawyer, a cowboy and a newspaper editor, before retiring to Siena in Italy in 1894 and becoming a specialist in medieval Italian history. His unorthodox background is shown in his holistic interpretation of the growth of Pisa in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, in contrast to the treatment of historical material by contemporary historians. Heywood examines the politics, society and religion of Pisa to chart the growth of the city from a small port at the end of the Roman period to a powerful city-state by the end of the twelfth century. He is also the first historian to recognise the importance of maritime power struggles between other city-states as an integral part of Pisa's rise to power. This volume provides a valuable addition to the study of the historiography of medieval Italy.