The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe

by Holmes, George

• ISBN13: 9780192854353
• ISBN10: 0192854356
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This richly illustrated book is the most authoritative account of life in medieval Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the coming of the Renaissance.Full coverage is given to all aspects of life in a thousand-year period which saw the creation of western civilization: from the empires and kingdoms of Charlemagne, the Byzantines, and the Hundred Years War, to the ideas of the Crusades; the building of great cathedrals and the social catastropheof the Black Death; the cultural worlds of chivalric knights, popular festivals, and new art forms. The chapters show the movement of hte centre of gravity in European life from the Mediterranean to the north; and the authors explore the contrast between Byzantine and Renaissance cultures in thesouth and the new, complex political and social structures of north-west Europe, which by 1300 had the most advanced civilization the world had ever seen.Over 200 illustrations, including 24 colour plates, amplify the text; and the picture is completed with comprehensive reference material including maps, genealogies, and a full chronology.

Author Biography

Now retired, George Holmes was Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

List of Colour Plates	xiii
List of Maps	xv
The Transformation of the Roman Mediterranean, 400-900	1	(62)
Thomas Brown
The Northern World in the Dark Ages, 400-900	63	(52)
Edward James
The Society of Northern Europe in the High Middle Ages, 900-1200	115	(60)
David Whitton
Northern Europe invades the Mediterranean, 900-1200	175	(60)
Rosemary Morris
The Mediterranean in the Age of the Renaissance, 1200-1500	235	(62)
Peter Denley
The Civilization of Courts and Cities in the North, 1200-1500	297	(55)
Malcolm Vale
Editor's Postscript	352	(5)
Further Reading	357	(13)
Chronology	370	(11)
Acknowledgements of Sources	381	(2)
Index	383