{"product_id":"the-middle-ages-9780674055629","title":"The Middle Ages","description":"\u003cp\u003eSince the fifteenth century  when humanist writers began to speak of a middle period in history linking their time to the ancient world  the nature of the Middle Ages has been widely debated. Across the millennium from 500 to 1500  distinguished historian Johannes Fried describes a dynamic confluence of political  social  religious  economic  and scientific developments that draws a guiding thread through the era: the growth of a culture of reason.  Beginning with the rise of the Franks  Fried uses individuals to introduce key themes  bringing to life those who have too often been reduced to abstractions of the medieval monk or knight. Milestones encountered in this thousand-year traversal include Europes political  cultural  and religious renovation under Charlemagne; the Holy Roman Empire under Charles IV  whose court in Prague was patron to crowning cultural achievements; and the series of conflicts between England and France that made up the Hundred Years War and gave to history the enduringly fascinating Joan of Arc. Broader political and intellectual currents are examined  from the authority of the papacy and impact of the Great Schism  to new theories of monarchy and jurisprudence  to the rise of scholarship and science.  The Middle Ages is full of people encountering the unfamiliar  grappling with new ideas  redefining power  and interacting with different societies. Fried gives readers an era of innovation and turbulence  of continuities and discontinuities  but one above all characterized by the vibrant expansion of knowledge and an understanding of the growing complexity of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67896522866741,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674055624","price":25.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674055629.jpg?v=1793776860","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-middle-ages-9780674055629","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}