The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History (Oxford Illustrated History),New

A Brisk Narrative Of Battles And Plagues, Monastic Orders, Heroic Women, And Knightserrant, Barbaric Tortures And Tender Romance, Intrigue, Scandals, And Conquest, The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History Mixes A Spirited And Entertaining Writing Style With Exquisite, Thorough Scholarship. Barbara A. Hanawalt, A Renowned Medievalist, Launches Her Story With The Often Violent Amalgamation Of Roman, Christian, And Germanic Cultures Following The Destruction And Pillaging Of The Crown Jewel Of The Roman Empirethe Great City Of Rome. The Story Moves On To The Redrawn Map Of Europe, In Which Power Players Like Byzantium And The Newlyestablished Frankish Kingdom Begin A Precarious Existence In A 'Sea Of Tribes' (In The Words Of A Contemporary). Savage Peoplesthe Bloodthirsty Germans, The Wild Visigoths And Ostrogoths, The Fierce Anglosaxons, And The Slavs To The Eastas Well As The Sophisticated And Everexpanding Arabs Threaten Each Others Borders, Invade Cities And Have Their Own Cities Sacked, Fight Victorious Battles And Get Conquered In Turn. Hanawalt Charts The Spread Of Christianity In Europe, Maps Out The Trail Of Misery And Mayhem The Crusades Left In Their Wake, Explains Feudalism And Church Reform, Familiarizes Us With The Astrolabe And The Masterpieces Of Romanesque And Gothic Architecture, Tracks The Progress Of The Hundred Years' War, And Brings Great Historical Figuressuch As Charlemagne, King Henry Ii, Joan Of Arc, Dante, And Justinianto Life.Spanning The Millennium Between The Fifth And The Fifteenth Centuries, The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History Captures The Major Historical And Political Events In Great Depth And Clarity, But Never Loses Sight Of The Plain And Oftenoverlooked Facts Of Lifelife As Lived By Peasants And Townsfolk, Kings And Monks, Men And Women. Hanawalt Offers Fascinating Tidbits On Diverse Facets Of Medieval Society, From Herbal Medical Cures To Table Etiquette And Drinking Habits, From Tabloidworthy Court Scandals To A Unique Listing Of The Rules Of A Monastic Order. She Examines Rare Textsfrom Illuminated Manuscripts To Carolingian Minusculeand Takes Us Inside The Aweinspiring Hagia Sofia In Constantinople.Barbara Hanawalt Makes Use Of Eclectic Source Material, Including Inscriptions, Chronicles, Artifacts, And Literature, From The Koran To The Scriptures, And From Omar Khayam To The Goliardic Poems. Fascinating Storieslike That Of The Discovery Of The Burial Site Of An Anglosaxon Chieftain Which Contained, Among Other Treasures, An Entire 86Foot Long Shipare Interspersed Among The Chronicles Of Great Historical Upheavals. The Author Takes A Sweeping Approach To The Subject, Building A Comprehensive, Animated Portrait Of Every Aspect Of Life In That Period By Including Material On Women'S Place In Medieval Society, Agriculture, Art And Literature, Religion And Superstitions, Philosophy, And Weaponry. Lavishly Illustrated With Art, Photographs, Documents, Artifacts, And Maps, The Middle Ages Also Includes A Glossary, Index, Chronology, And Suggestions For Further Reading.A Collection Of Lavishly Illustrated Singlevolume Histories, Oxford Illustrated Histories Present Welldocumented Chronologies On Topics Like Britain, Theater, Greece, Opera, English Literature, Modern Europe, And More. Each History Includes Color And Black And White Illustrations, As Well As Photographs, And Is Compiled By A Taskforce Of Leading Scholars In Its Respective Field Of Interest. These Titles Are Ideal For Any Casual Reader And Also, Because Of The Scholarship, Serve As Companions To Any Budding Researcher'S Reference Collection.