The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe

by George Holmes (Author)

• New

  Illustrated
  2001

  $28.26

  This richly illustrated book is the most authoritative account of life in medieval Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the coming of the Renaissance. Full coverage is given to all aspects of life in a thousand-year period which saw the creation of western civilization: from the empires and kingdoms of Charlemagne, the Byzantines, and the Hundred Years War, to the ideas of the Crusades; the building of great cathedrals and the social catastrophe of the Black Death; the cultural worlds of chivalric knights, popular festivals, and new art forms. The chapters show the movement of hte centre of gravity in European life from the Mediterranean to the north; and the authors explore the contrast between Byzantine and Renaissance cultures in the south and the new, complex political and social structures of north-west Europe, which by 1300 had the most advanced civilization the world had ever seen. Over 200 illustrations, including 24 colour plates, amplify the text; and the picture is completed with comprehensive reference material including maps, genealogies, and a full chronology.

• Used

  Paperback
  1990

  $3.45

  This illustrated book tells the story of Europe and the Mediterranean over the thousand years which saw the creation of Western Civilization. Written by scholars and based on the latest research, it offers an account of life in medieval Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the dawn of the Renaissance. The story covers a time of turmoil and change, from the empires of Charlemagne and the Byzantines to the newly formed nation states which fought the Hundred Years War. Great monasteries and cathedrals, the ambitions of the Crusades, chivalric knights, the realism of the new arts, economic and social growth, the catastrophe of plague, the growth of towns and cities, the development of commerce and banking: this remarkable period embraced them all. The six chapters of the book are divided between the Mediterranean world and northern Europe, illustrating how the centre of political and cultural life moved gradually northwards as the centuries progressed.