Portraits of Medieval Eastern Europe, 900-1400

Description

"Portraits of Medieval Eastern Europe provides imagined biographies of twenty different figures from all walks of life living in Eastern Europe from 900 to 1400. Moving beyond the usual boundaries of speculative history, the book presents innovative and creative interpretations of the people, places, and events of medieval Eastern Europe and provides an insight into medieval life from Scandinavia to Byzantium. Each chapter explores a different figure and together they present snapshots of life across a wide range of different social backgrounds. Among the figures are both imagined and historical characters, including the Byzantine Princess Anna Porphyrogenita, a Jewish traveller, a slave, the Mongol general Sübodei, a woman from Novgorod, and a Rus' pilgrim. A range of different narrative styles are also used throughout the book, from omniscient third-person narrators to diary entries, letters, and travel accounts. By using primary sources to construct the lives of, and give a voice to, the types of people who existed within medieval European history, Portraits of Medieval Eastern Europe provides a highly accessible introduction to the period. Accompanied by a new and interactive companion website, it is the perfect teaching aid to support and excite students of medieval Eastern Europe."--Provided by publisher.;Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; CONTENTS; List of figures; List of maps; List of contributors; Acknowledgments; Introduction; PART 1 Rusʹ and Northern Europe; 1 The widow princess of Minsk; 2 Anna, a woman of Novgorod; 3 Prince Vladimir of Pskov; 4 Mother of a tribal Häme Warrior -- Kuutamo Hyväneuvo; 5 From butcher to saint: the improbable life and fate of Vaišvilkas/Vojšelk/Lavryš/Elisej of Lithuania and Black Rusʹ (?-1267); PART 2 Eurasian steppe; 6 The rare and excellent history of Konchak: a Polovtsian chieftain; 7 Sübedei Ba'atar: portrait of a Mongol general. Cover Title Copyright Dedication CONTENTS List of figures List of maps List of contributors Acknowledgments Introduction PART 1 Rusʹ and Northern Europe 1 The widow princess of Minsk 2 Anna, a woman of Novgorod 3 Prince Vladimir of Pskov 4 Mother of a tribal Häme Warrior -- Kuutamo Hyväneuvo 5 From butcher to saint: the improbable life and fate of Vaišvilkas/Vojšelk/Lavryš/Elisej of Lithuania and Black Rusʹ (?-1267) PART 2 Eurasian steppe 6 The rare and excellent history of Konchak: a Polovtsian chieftain 7 Sübedei Ba'atar: portrait of a Mongol general. PART 3 Byzantium and southeastern Europe8 Anna Komnene: princess, historian, and conspirator? 9 Angel on earth and heavenly man: St. Sava of Serbia 10 Paulus de Breberio banus Croatorum dominus et Bosne 11 King Milutin and his many marriages (*1254, ovember 21, 1321, r. 1282-1321) PART 4 Central Europe 12 Henry Zdík, bishop of Olomouc and Premonstratensian 13 King Béla IV of Hungary: a monarch in a period of crisis and recovery 14 Zalava, slave in the Kingdom of Hungary 15 Jan Długosz on King Władysław Jagiełło's master chef and the invention of bigos. PART 5 Travelers to strange lands16 The travels of Gorm in Eastern Europe 17 Anna Porphyrogenita, Byzantine princess and queen of the Rusʹ 18 "The journeys of my soul in this land of Canaan" by Yitshak ben Sirota 19 Agent of change: Evpraksia Vsevolodovna between emperor and papacy 20 Fotii, a Rus' pilgrim to Constantinople Portraits of Eastern Europe: conclusion -- pulling back the curtain Index.