A Short History of the Middle Ages

Description

In this new edition of A Short History of the Middle Ages, Barbara H. Rosenwein offers a panoramic view of the medieval world from Iceland to China and from Sweden to West Africa. Yet the book never loses sight of the main contours of the period (c.300 to c.1500) or of the fate of the heirs of the Roman Empire. Its lively and informative narrative covers the major events, political and religious movements, men and women, saints and sinners, economic and cultural changes, ideals, fears, and fantasies of the period in Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic world. A comprehensive new map program, updated for the global reach of this edition, offers a way to visualize the era’s enormous political, economic, and religious changes. Line drawings make clear archaeological finds and architectural structures All of the maps, genealogies, and figures in the book, as well as practice questions and suggested answers, are available at utphistorymatters.com, Cover Half-Title Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication The Medieval World Today Epigraphs Contents List of Maps List of Plates List of Genealogies List of Figures Website Abbreviations and Conventions Acknowledgments Note to Readers Chapter One Prelude: The Roman World Transformed (c.300–c.600) Chapter Two The Emergence of Sibling Cultures (c.600–c.750) Material Culture: Forging Medieval Swords Chapter Three Creating New Identities (c.750–c.900) Chapter Four Political Communities Reordered (c.900–c.1050) Material Culture: Cloth and Clothing Chapter Five New Configurations (c.1050–c.1150) Chapter Six Ambitions Realized and Thwarted (c.1150–c.1250) Material Culture: The Making of an Illuminated Manuscript Chapter Seven Empires of Land and Mind (c.1250–c.1350) Chapter Eight Catastrophe and Creativity (c.1350–c.1500) Sources Index