Medieval History For Dummies

Author: Stephen Batchelor
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470664606
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 529

Book Description
Rattle through 1000 years of horrible history, from the fifth century to the sixteenth century Famine, plague and public execution – the medieval period wasn't the best time for some, but heroic rulers like Charlemagne, William the Conqueror and Henry V made sure that it was full of action. Brimming with facts, this book helps you get under the skin of the people who lived at the time, from impoverished peasants to opulent monarchs. From the Dark Ages to the Renaissance and all the upheavals in between, this book takes the pain out of medieval history. The Black Death – assess the deadly pandemic that swept through Britain and Europe killing millions of people The Holy Roman Empire strikes back – understand how the empire fought to maintain its position Falling apart – witness the arrival of powerful armies from the east and invaders from the north, and the dramatic effects of religious schisms Heading for the Holy Land – uncover the reasons why crusading became so popular, and ultimately so unsuccessful, between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries Living in the medieval world – understand the lives of monks and monarchs, peasants and popes, and travellers and traders of the period Waging conflicts, battles and wars – a look through the troubles that shaped the medieval age; from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Wars of the Roses Open the book and find: Why the peasants revolted Where Chaucer gained inspiration to write The Canterbury Tales Which religious groups fought for power How the Magna Carta shaped our present-day legal system Why the Vikings may have got to America before Columbus Profiles of the best and worst medieval monarchs How Joan of Arc made her name The great and grisly histories of surviving medieval castles Go to Dummies.com for videos, step-by-step examples, how-to articles or to shop!

What is Medieval History?

Author: John Arnold
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 0745639321
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
What is it that medieval historians do? And how and why do they do it? What is Medieval History? provides an accessible, far-ranging and passionate guide to the study of medieval history. The book discusses the creation of the academic field, the nature of the sources, the intellectual tools used by medievalists, and some key areas of thematic importance from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Reformation. Students, teachers, researchers and interested general readers will find the book an invaluable guide. The author explores his field through numerous fascinating case studies, including a magical plot against a medieval pope, a fourteenth-century insurrection, and the importance of a kiss exchanged between two tenth-century noblemen. Throughout the book, readers are shown not only what medieval history is, but the cultural and political contexts in which medieval history has been written. And, above all, What is Medieval History? demonstrates why the pursuit of medieval history continues to be important to the present and future world.

What is Medieval History?

Author: John H. Arnold
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509532587
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 147

Book Description
Since its first publication in 2007, John H. Arnold’s What is Medieval History? has established itself as the leading introduction to the craft of the medieval historian. What is it that medieval historians do? How – and why – do they do it? Arnold discusses the creation of medieval history as a field, the nature of its sources, the intellectual tools used by medievalists, and some key areas of thematic importance from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Reformation. The fascinating case studies include a magical plot against a medieval pope, a fourteenth-century insurrection, and the importance of a kiss exchanged between two tenth-century noblemen. Throughout the book, readers are shown not only what medieval history is, but the cultural and political contexts in which it has been written. This anticipated second edition includes further exploration of the interdisciplinary techniques that can aid medieval historians, such as dialogue with scientists and archaeologists, and addresses some of the challenges – both medieval and modern – of the idea of a ‘global middle ages’. What is Medieval History? continues to demonstrate why the pursuit of medieval history is important not only to the present, but to the future. It is an invaluable guide for students, teachers, researchers and interested general readers.

Guide to the Sources of Medieval History

Author: R. C. van Caenegem
Publisher: Amsterdam ; New York : North-Holland Publishing Company ; New York : distributors for the U.S.A. and Canada, Elsevier/North Holland
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 454

Book Description

A Source Book for Mediæval History

Author: Oliver J. Thatcher
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 512

Book Description
A Source Book for Mediæval History is a scholarly piece by Oliver J. Thatcher. It covers all major historical events and leaders from the Germania of Tacitus in the 1st century to the decrees of the Hanseatic League in the 13th century.

A History of the Middle Ages

Author: Joseph Dahmus
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing
ISBN: 9780760700365
Category : Civilization, Medieval
Languages : en
Pages : 420

Book Description
"During the Merovingian centuries when most kings were weak, and brutal men fought over power and booty, ordinary folk, as well as many who were not so ordinary, again found themselves in desperate need of protection. The result was the appearance and wide extension of a practice called commendation. ....[from back cover]

A Distant Mirror

Author: Barbara W. Tuchman
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0345349571
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 738

Book Description
A “marvelous history”* of medieval Europe, from the bubonic plague and the Papal Schism to the Hundred Years’ War, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Guns of August *Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October, in The Wall Street Journal The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering age of crusades, cathedrals, and chivalry; on the other, a world plunged into chaos and spiritual agony. In this revelatory work, Barbara W. Tuchman examines not only the great rhythms of history but the grain and texture of domestic life: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes, and war dominated the lives of serf, noble, and clergy alike. Granting her subjects their loyalties, treacheries, and guilty passions, Tuchman re-creates the lives of proud cardinals, university scholars, grocers and clerks, saints and mystics, lawyers and mercenaries, and, dominating all, the knight—in all his valor and “furious follies,” a “terrible worm in an iron cocoon.” Praise for A Distant Mirror “Beautifully written, careful and thorough in its scholarship . . . What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. . . . No one has ever done this better.”—The New York Review of Books “A beautiful, extraordinary book . . . Tuchman at the top of her powers . . . She has done nothing finer.”—The Wall Street Journal “Wise, witty, and wonderful . . . a great book, in a great historical tradition.”—Commentary

Toward a Global Middle Ages

Author: Bryan C. Keene
Publisher: Getty Publications
ISBN: 160606598X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 300

Book Description
This important and overdue book examines illuminated manuscripts and other book arts of the Global Middle Ages. Illuminated manuscripts and illustrated or decorated books—like today’s museums—preserve a rich array of information about how premodern peoples conceived of and perceived the world, its many cultures, and everyone’s place in it. Often a Eurocentric field of study, manuscripts are prisms through which we can glimpse the interconnected global history of humanity. Toward a Global Middle Ages is the first publication to examine decorated books produced across the globe during the period traditionally known as medieval. Through essays and case studies, the volume’s multidisciplinary contributors expand the historiography, chronology, and geography of manuscript studies to embrace a diversity of objects, individuals, narratives, and materials from Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas—an approach that both engages with and contributes to the emerging field of scholarly inquiry known as the Global Middle Ages. Featuring more than 160 color illustrations, this wide-ranging and provocative collection is intended for all who are interested in engaging in a dialogue about how books and other textual objects contributed to world-making strategies from about 400 to 1600.

Studying Late Medieval History

Author: Cindy Wood
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317211197
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
Studying Late Medieval History is an accessible introduction for undergraduate history students wishing to understand the major topics of late medieval history. Examining the period from 1300–1550, this introductory guide offers an overview of 250 years of transformation, which saw technology, borders and ruling dynasties across the continent change. The book focuses on ten key themes to explain what happened, who the important personalities were and the significance of these events in shaping medieval Europe. Each chapter is a thematic essay which looks at the central topics covered at undergraduate level including the Church, the monarchy, nobility, parliaments, justice, women, children, warfare, and chivalry. The chapters are supported by a detailed evaluation of the key events students need to know and a guide to further reading for each topic. Studying Late Medieval History will be essential reading for all those beginning their studies of the late medieval period.

Book Illumination in the Middle Ages

Author: Otto Pächt
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781872501765
Category : Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Based on lectures given at the University of Vienna, this book examines all types of book decoration and illumination between late Antiquity and the Renaissance from the point of view of format and style. Pacht explains the basic vocabulary and concepts by which this art-form is to be understood, and offers insights into the philosophy, theology, technology and culture underlying its history. His subjects include pictorial decoration in the organic structure of the book; the initial; bible illustration; didactic miniatures; illustration of the apocalypse; illustration of the psalter; the conflict of surface and space. Now available in paperback.