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. |
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Arabic areas army barbarian battle became began bishop Black Death Bulgars Byzantine 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 Oxford pagan papacy papal peasants period Persians person political pope Qur'an raided region religion religious Roman Empire Rome royal rule Saladin Sicily Slavs soldiers sought Spain Syria Teutonic Knights thirteenth century tion towns trade tribes Turks twelfth century Vikings Visigoths West western Europe women wrote