The transformation of the myriad of medieval kingdoms, principalities, local lordships, city-'states' and peasant 'republics' into 'modern' states, claiming some measure of sovereignty, remains one of the core themes of European history, because it gets down to the very root of the (idea on the) Europe we live in. Some 20 leading experts cast new light on various aspects of this process, such as political communication, foreign diplomacy, dynastic self-representation, political economy, national identities, and military resources. The articles are a tribute to the prominent medieval historian, Wim Blockmans, on the occasion of his retirement as professor of medieval history at Leiden University and rector of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) at Wassenaar. Peter Hoppenbrouwers holds the chair of medieval history at Leiden University. Antheun Janse and Robert Stein are both senior lecturers in the Department of Medieval History at Leiden University. All three have written extensively on the political, social, and intellectual history of the Northern Netherlands in the Late Middle Ages.