Encyclopedia Of The Medieval World- 2 Volume set (Facts on File Library of World History)

About this book

The Complete History of This Exciting Period in One Comprehensive Reference The Middle Ages fascinates scholars and laypeople alike. The period has been romanticized misrepresented and misunderstood perhaps more than any other in history. Behind the imaginative stories of knights castles and epic quests there lies a medieval world that is every bit as incredible and intriguing as the fictional one only its people really lived its events actually happened and its achievements helped create the world of today. The two-volume Encyclopedia of the Medieval World provides a detailed look at this significant thousand-year period. Broad Cultural and Geographic Coverage Based on reliable and accurate scholarship this comprehensive yet accessible encyclopedia covers the medieval world from Scandinavia to the Maghreb and Iceland to Moscow including Byzantium Seljuk and early Ottoman Anatolia Armenia the Kurds the Levant Syria and Palestine. Approximately 2 000 entries offer exhaustive coverage on everything from significant personalities archaeology arts and architecture institutions literature philosophy and religion to economy law science technology politics and warfare. Reflecting the changes in scholarly interest that have occurred over the last two decades this encyclopedia is interdisciplinary and comparative with attentive detail to cultural and geographic subject matter. Topics that have been treated only marginally in previous publications on the Middle Ages such as women ecology ethnicity nationalism and labor are treated more thoroughly here making this an authoritative resource that readers with an interest in the Middle Ages will want to consult. Highly Accessible Historical Information Further readings listed at the end of all articles and a comprehensive bibliography in the second volume direct readers to the latest and most accessible scholarship. More than 120 black-and-white photographs and illustrations depict battles significant individuals artifacts and more and 52 stunning maps and charts make this period come to life. A detailed index bibliography cross-references and chronology complete this magnificent encyclopedia. In a reference perfect for high school and college students academic scholars and general readers interested in the Middle Ages Encyclopedia of the Medieval World covers more information than any single reference book of its kind. Coverage includes: Significant individuals (Charlemagne Gregory VII Saladin) Archaeological artifacts of particular importance (Sutton Hoo) Economic and agricultural practices ideas and commodities (plough gold banking usury) Institutions of church and state (papacy parliament commune) Scientific and technological knowledge and inventions (Roger Bacon the compass) Items and practices from daily life (games food cooking) Landmark documents (Magna Carta) Artistic production styles techniques themes producers and patrons for painting sculpture architecture and the minor arts (Romanesque Gothic manuscript illumination) Social ideas and practice (marriage death and burial childhood) from all levels of society Warfare (technology battles and wars) Kingship (dynasties and practices) National literary and cultural authors (Dante) monuments (Decameron) subjects (Gawain) and styles Religious ideas and practices (simony reform movements heresies saints) Cultural interchange among peoples (peaceful and violent) Theological and philosophical ideas individuals and movements (scholasticism Thomas Aquinas) Travel and expansion (Eastern Europe the Levant geographical knowledge ships).