Contents: Preface. Introduction. I. Political and Institutional History: 1. Chos dpal bzang po (1371-1439): The Great teacher (bla chen) of rDzong dkar and his biography/Franz Karl Ehrhard. 2. Gyantse: rise, prime and decline of a Tibetan principality in the 14th-16th centuries/Karl-Heinz Everding. 3. Putting yar rgyab on the map/Mathias Fermer. 4. Before and after: a perspective on the fifteenth century in Tibet/Frederica Venturi. II. Cultural History: 5. The collected works of gSer mdog pan chen Shakya mchog Idan: The formation and early transmission of a 15th century literary corpus/Volker Caumanns. 6. Vanaratna and the origins of grub rtsis/Edward Henning. 7. The sMin grol gling Lamdre sculptures reconsidered/David Jackson. 8. Towards a history of early Tibetan printing: new evidence and uncharted territories/Marta Sernesi. 9. Did mKhas gruth rje challenge the authenticity of the Sa skya Lam bras tradition/Yael Bentor. 10. The dispute between mKhas grub rJe and Ngor chen: its representation and role in Tibetan life-writing/Jorg Heimbel. 11. Did Gos Lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal (1392-1481) Espouse a gZhan stong view?/Klaus Dieter Mathes.