Books in Life in the Middle Ages series

The Middle Ages usually conjure up images of chivalrous knights, fair maidens, wandering minstrels and fairy-tale endings. Readers of all ages are enchanted by this period yet often overlook the everyday lives of the ordinary people of the time. This series examines not only great medieval castles, kings and ladies but also the story of the common working people of towns, villages and religious communities across Europe. Detailed portraits of four specific aspects of medieval life -- the countryside, the city, the castle and the church -- emerge through lively, entertaining text and an abundance of stunning historical art. From the great personalities of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Geoffrey Chaucer and King Arthur to farmers, servants, craftsmen and clerics, this series reveals real people who ruled, worked, created art and music, pursued dreams and coped with fear and danger. Informative sidebars woven through each title allow readers to discover the truth about women's roles and achievements, how medieval children had fun, some favorite recipes and a number of popular songs, stories and poems.

The Middle Ages usually conjure up images of chivalrous knights, fair maidens, wandering minstrels and fairy-tale endings. Readers of all ages are enchanted by this period yet often overlook the everyday lives of the ordinary people of the time. This series examines not only great medieval castles, kings and ladies but also the story of the common working people of towns, villages and religious communities across Europe. Detailed portraits of four specific aspects of medieval life -- the countryside, the city, the castle and the church -- emerge through lively, entertaining text and an abundance of stunning historical art. From the great personalities of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Geoffrey Chaucer and King Arthur to farmers, servants, craftsmen and clerics, this series reveals real people who ruled, worked, created art and music, pursued dreams and coped with fear and danger. Informative sidebars woven through each title allow readers to discover the truth about women's roles and achievements, how medieval children had fun, some favorite recipes and a number of popular songs, stories and poems.

The Middle Ages usually conjure up images of chivalrous knights, fair maidens, wandering minstrels and fairy-tale endings. Readers of all ages are enchanted by this period yet often overlook the everyday lives of the ordinary people of the time. This series examines not only great medieval castles, kings and ladies but also the story of the common working people of towns, villages and religious communities across Europe. Detailed portraits of four specific aspects of medieval life -- the countryside, the city, the castle and the church -- emerge through lively, entertaining text and an abundance of stunning historical art. From the great personalities of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Geoffrey Chaucer and King Arthur to farmers, servants, craftsmen and clerics, this series reveals real people who ruled, worked, created art and music, pursued dreams and coped with fear and danger. Informative sidebars woven through each title allow readers to discover the truth about women's roles and achievements, how medieval children had fun, some favorite recipes and a number of popular songs, stories and poems.

The essays in this interdisciplinary volume explore language, broadly construed, as part of the continued interrogation of the boundaries of human and nonhuman animals in the Middle Ages. Uniting a diverse set of emerging and established scholars, Animal Languages questions the assumed medieval distinction between humans and other animals. The chapters point to the wealth of non-human communicative and discursive forms through which animals function both as vehicles for human meaning and as agents of their own, demonstrating the significance of human and non-human interaction in medieval texts, particularly for engaging with the Other. The book ultimately considers the ramifications of deconstructing the medieval anthropocentric view of language for the broader question of human singularity.

The Middle Ages usually conjure up images of chivalrous knights, fair maidens, wandering minstrels and fairy-tale endings. Readers of all ages are enchanted by this period yet often overlook the everyday lives of the ordinary people of the time. This series examines not only great medieval castles, kings and ladies but also the story of the common working people of towns, villages and religious communities across Europe. Detailed portraits of four specific aspects of medieval life -- the countryside, the city, the castle and the church -- emerge through lively, entertaining text and an abundance of stunning historical art. From the great personalities of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Geoffrey Chaucer and King Arthur to farmers, servants, craftsmen and clerics, this series reveals real people who ruled, worked, created art and music, pursued dreams and coped with fear and danger. Informative sidebars woven through each title allow readers to discover the truth about women's roles and achievements, how medieval children had fun, some favorite recipes and a number of popular songs, stories and poems.

Throughout Europe, medieval forces were either engaged in conflict or preparing for it through training. Arising from the need to keep the skills of warriors sharp and battle-ready, medieval jousting for knights on horseback became a widespread pastime. This book details how the culture of medieval tournaments arose around jousting and other games of combat, including both for the mounted cavalry (knights) and foot soldiers (in events such as melees) and became a central aspect of medieval court life. Readers will be further drawn in by the visual pageantry and artifacts depicted in the book's historical imagery.

If it is clothes that make the man or woman, each historical era can speak volumes to modern observers with its dominant fashions and clothing trends. This book provides a vivid journey into the fabrics used by medieval peoples, the textile trade, tailoring, and the ever more outrageous and interesting garb worn by women and men of the nobility. Stitched together with their social and historical context, this title weaves a compelling narrative for both fans of fashion and history alike. The colorfully rendered historical record is further enhanced with paintings, frescoes, and other visual media depicting medieval fashions and clothing.

As modern tourist destinations, museums, and sites of archaeological and architectural study, medieval castles continue to captivate students of history and laymen alike. Medieval cathedrals, many refurbished and still in use, also inspire awe, inspiration, and historical interest. In this book, readers will be enthralled by the vivid imagery of the castles and cathedrals that remain all over Europe and the rich historical narratives their stories convey. This work will be a surefire hit with those seeking the history behind some of the most impressive and romantic castles ever constructed and the most soaring and grand cathedrals of the medieval era.

Many modern-day readers would consider Christians a peaceful people, but their history is steeped in war and bloodshed. This book focuses on a series of military campaigns known as the Crusades, during which Christian warriors attempted to regain the Holy Land (Palestine) from Muslim rule. This inclusive text begins with the origins of these campaigns, with reference to the Selijuq Turks' defeat of the Byzantine armies and Pope Urban II's Council at Clermont, and leads readers through seven well-known crusades to their decline and ultimate failure. It also contains an in-depth look at three special orders of knighthood: the Knights Hospitallers, the Knights Templars, and the Teutonic Knights.

A bit of a misnomer, the Holy Roman Empire was never centralized enough to form a cohesive government, language, or system of law, but its political and religious authority reigned over parts of Europe for over a thousand years. Beginning with the papal crowning of Charlemagne in 800 A.D., its transition in the tenth century under Germanic rule through to the House of Hapsburg, and on to its subsequent division via Napoleon Bonaparte, this dramatic text unpacks the legacy of this often-imitated empire.

Beyond the chivalry and adventure often presented in fictional works, the medieval era was marked by frequent military conflict. The tools for war employed by soldiers, knights, archers, and other combatants on the battlefield and in bloody sieges are richly rendered in this book. This title explores the use of cavalry, castle fortifications, and military tactics, and it is illustrated with imagery sure to underscore the immediacy and harshness of conflict. Readers will be drawn in by the romance and adventure of the era, even as the book soberly relates the very real circumstances of brutal medieval warfare.

A bit of a misnomer, the Holy Roman Empire was never centralized enough to form a cohesive government, language, or system of law, but its political and religious authority reigned over parts of Europe for over a thousand years. Beginning with the papal crowning of Charlemagne in 800 A.D., its transition in the tenth century under Germanic rule through to the House of Hapsburg, and on to its subsequent division via Napoleon Bonaparte, this dramatic text unpacks the legacy of this often-imitated empire.