A History of the Middle Ages, 300-1500This clear and comprehensive text covers the Middle Ages from the classical era to the late medieval period. Distinguished historian John M. Riddle provides a cogent analysis of the rulers, wars, and events both natural and human that defined the medieval era. Taking a broad geographical perspective, Riddle includes northern and eastern Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic states. Each, he convincingly shows, offered values and institutions religious devotion, toleration and intolerance, laws, ways of thinking, and changing roles of women that presaged modernity. In addition to traditional topics of pen, sword, and word, the author explores other driving forces such as science, religion, and technology in ways that previous textbooks have not. He also examines such often-overlooked issues as medieval gender roles and medicine and seminal events such as the crusades from the vantage point of both Muslims and eastern and western Christians. In addition to a thorough chronological narrative, the text offers humanizing features to engage students. Each chapter opens with a theme-setting vignette about the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people. The book also introduces students to key controversies and themes in historiography by featuring in each chapter a prominent medieval historian and how his or her ideas have shaped contemporary thinking about the Middle Ages. Richly illustrated, this lively, engaging book will immerse readers in the medieval world, an era that shaped the foundation for the modern world." |
Contents
The Transformation of Classical Civilization The Political and Economic Story through the Fifth Century CE | 7 |
What Made Rome? | 8 |
The First Two Centuries of the Empire 37 BCE200 CE | 13 |
Breakdown of the System in That Terrible Third Century | 16 |
The Middle Ages Begin | 19 |
Last Western Emperors | 25 |
Perspectives on the Fall of the Western Empire | 27 |
Conclusion | 30 |
Technology and Towns Alter Cultural Roles | 254 |
Development of Feudal States | 261 |
Conclusion | 267 |
Suggested Web Sites | 268 |
HIGH MIDDLE AGES | 269 |
The Era of the First Crusade 10711097 | 271 |
The East on the Eve of the First Crusade | 272 |
First Crusade | 275 |
Notes | 31 |
The Transformation of Classical Civilization Religion and Culture | 33 |
The Quest for Meaning in the Pagan World | 34 |
Rise of Christianity | 38 |
Creators of the Christian Church | 42 |
Latin Church Fathers | 48 |
Womens Role in the Late Empire | 52 |
Learning and the Arts | 55 |
Conclusion | 63 |
Notes | 64 |
Suggested Readings | 65 |
Warriors Farmers and Saints in the Barbarian Kingdoms 200600 | 67 |
The Barbarian Background | 68 |
Challenges to Assimilation | 70 |
The German Kingdoms | 75 |
Franks and the Merovingian Kingdom | 82 |
Conversions Saints and Irish Christianity | 88 |
Rome and the Roman Church | 91 |
Conclusion | 94 |
Suggested Web Sites | 95 |
Byzantine Empire A Struggle for Unity and Regaining Past Glory 451630 | 97 |
Internal Conflicts in Byzantium 451527 | 100 |
Age of Justinian and Theodora 527565 | 103 |
Asian Tribes Overextension and Division in the PostJustinian Era | 113 |
Life in the Divided Byzantium 451630 | 119 |
Conclusion | 125 |
Notes | 126 |
Suggested Web Sites | 127 |
Islam The Religion Politics and Culture 5701000 | 129 |
The Rise of Islam | 130 |
Islam in Contact with Christianity | 135 |
Problem of Succession | 138 |
Islamic Society | 141 |
Islamic States Mature | 144 |
Pax Islamica | 147 |
Conclusion | 152 |
Notes | 153 |
CENTRAL MIDDLE AGES | 155 |
Technology Society and Politics in Early Medieval West 600750 | 157 |
Perspective on Technology | 159 |
Britains AngloSaxon Renaissance While Iberian Peninsula Struggles | 166 |
Late Merovingian Gaul | 172 |
Conclusion | 178 |
Suggested Web Sites | 179 |
The Age of Charlemagne 750814 | 181 |
Peasants Nobility and Clergy | 182 |
The Changing Landscape | 187 |
Charlemagne as King of the Franks | 192 |
Charlemagne the King Who Ruled | 195 |
Women in the Carolingian Era | 198 |
Charlemagne as Church Leader | 200 |
Conclusion | 203 |
Notes | 204 |
Suggested Web Sites | 205 |
Europe Disunited Assaulted and Saved 8141024 | 207 |
Disintegration of Charlemagnes Empire | 208 |
The Vikings at Home | 211 |
Vikings Southward Southwestward | 214 |
Vikings and Muslims in the Frankish Kingdoms and Iberia | 219 |
Northmen in Russia Eastern Europe and Byzantium | 221 |
Iceland Greenland and North America | 226 |
Germany Italy and the Holy Roman Empire | 228 |
Conclusion | 235 |
Suggested Readings | 236 |
New Devotion Growth of Towns and Commerce 9501100 | 237 |
Cluny and the Benedictine Centuries | 238 |
Investiture Struggle | 240 |
Reurbanization in the Great Turnaround 10001200 | 245 |
Expansion of Long and ShortDistance Commerce | 251 |
Technology Innovations and Transfers | 280 |
Peasants Monks Lords and Land | 284 |
Intellectual Revival | 288 |
Conclusion | 292 |
Notes | 293 |
Suggested Web Sites | 294 |
The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century | 295 |
The Western Kingdoms | 296 |
Rise of Universities | 302 |
Wine Women Song and Counterculture | 307 |
Islamic Learning and Its Assimilation in the West | 312 |
Second Crusade | 315 |
The Greek and Slavic East | 319 |
Western Europe at the End of the Century | 323 |
Conclusion | 328 |
Suggested Readings | 329 |
The Flowering of the Middle Ages ca 11501300 | 331 |
Just Law Just War and Monarchy | 332 |
Fair Price and Medieval Economic Theory | 335 |
Monastic Reforms Poverty and Property | 337 |
The Conflict over Reason | 341 |
Medicine as Science | 347 |
Breaking with Classical Tradition | 349 |
Gothic Art and Architecture | 352 |
The Romances | 355 |
Women and Gender Relations | 360 |
Conclusion | 365 |
Notes | 366 |
Suggested Readings | 367 |
THE TRANSITION FROM THE MEDIEVAL TO MODERN PERIODS | 369 |
Falcons Swords Occams Razor and Germs From Bouvines to the Black Death 12141347 | 371 |
Empire from Frederick II to the Hapsburgs | 372 |
The Papacy and Crusades Gone Awry | 376 |
France | 379 |
England Scotland and Ireland | 382 |
Iberia and Northern Italy | 387 |
Northern and Eastern Europe | 391 |
Aristocrats Peasants and Burghers in Transition | 396 |
Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science | 398 |
Economic Downturn and Black Death | 401 |
Conclusion | 405 |
Notes | 406 |
Suggested Readings | 407 |
Conformity Creativity and Authority 13501500 | 409 |
Nonconformists and NonChristians | 410 |
Italy the Paradox | 416 |
A Renovatio | 421 |
Italian Literature and Letters | 426 |
Art and Letters in Northern Europe and Arabia | 431 |
Conclusion | 436 |
Suggested Readings | 437 |
The Medieval Twilight in Europe and Western Asia Decay and Discovery | 439 |
Science and Technology | 441 |
Spain Unites Portugal Excepted | 447 |
British Isles and Civil Strife | 448 |
Apanages Taxes and Wars | 452 |
Holy Roman Empire and Eastern Europe | 454 |
Byzantium Turks Tamerlane and Muslim East | 459 |
Pessimism and the Ideal of the Sublime Life | 463 |
Demographic Trends and Witchcraft | 464 |
Conclusion | 468 |
469 | |
The Legacy of the Middle Ages | 471 |
Roman Empire to 500 | 475 |
5001500 | 477 |
487 | |
About the Author | |
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Arabic areas army barbarian battle became began bishop Black Death Bulgars Byzantine Byzantium caliph called Carolingian cathedral chapter Charlemagne Christian church civil classical Constantine Constantinople council Crusade culture death defeated developed Diocletian duke early eastern Eastern Roman Empire economic emperor England English father feudal France Frankish Franks Frederick Gaul German Greek Gregory guilds Henry historians Holy Iberia Iberian Peninsula Ireland Islam Italy Jerusalem Jews John Justinian king kingdom knights known land Latin leader learning lived lord Louis marriage medieval Merovingian Middle Ages military monastery monastic monks Monophysites Muhammad Muslim nobility nobles Normans northern Africa Ostrogoths Otto pagan papacy papal peasants period Persians person political pope Press Qur'an raided region religion religious Roman Empire Rome royal rule Sicily Slavs sought Spain Syria Teutonic Knights thirteenth century tion towns trade tribes Turks twelfth century University Vikings Visigoths West western Europe women wrote