The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe (Oxford Illustrated Histories)

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 940.1 EAN: 9780192854353 ISBN: 0192854356 Label: Oxford University Press, USA Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 440 Publication Date: 2001-05-24 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial Reviews: Covering a thousand years of history, this richly illustrated volume tells the story of the creation of Western civilization in Europe and the Mediterranean. Written by noted scholars and based on the latest research, it offers the most authoritative account of life in medieval Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the coming of the Renaissance. Exploring a period of profound diversity and change, the contributors focus on all aspects of medieval history from the empires and kingdoms of Charlemagne and the Byzantines to the new nations which fought the Hundred Years War; from the expression of religion in the great monasteries and cathedrals to the mixed ambitions of the Crusades; and from the cultural worlds of chivalric knights, popular festivals, and new art forms to the social catastrophe of the Black Death. Divided between the Mediterranean world and northern Europe, the six chapters in this book demonstrate the movement of the center of gravity in European life from the Mediterranean to the north. With over two hundred illustrations, including dozens in color, the volume also contains comprehensive reference material in maps, genealogies, a chronology, lists of further reading, and a full index.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Survey writing is informative, not inspiring Comment: High-level survey by multiple authors of Middle Ages from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance. As a survey, the writing doesn't inspire, but it does inform. See, for example, Morris Bishop's The Middle Ages for a history with a consistently higher level of writing. Interesting is that Dark Ages weren't so dark, nor were they the result and fault of a repressive Christianity. The common folks of classic civilization lived lives just like the lives of those of the Dark Ages. In fact, with the collapse of the Roman Empire and the rise and spread of Christianity, there was a flowering of study, history, and literature, much of liturgical or doctrinal, some heretical, some orthodox. Its was a battle for hearts and minds, waged of course among the smaller upper crust of literacy. After the establishment of orthodoxy and the politicization of Christianity, literary and intellectual freedom did seem to decline, to a large part due to a bunker mentality on the part of a church attempting to maintain a separate by equal authority with and over secular empires and kings, and not helped by the east/west split between Rome and Constantinople, and the encroachment by Muslims from the east and literal barbarians from the north. Customer Rating: Summary: Accessible, illustrated, and interersting Comment: For those interested in the various aspects of Medieval Europe, this book is obviously a smash-hit, but where it especially succeeds is in making Medieval Europe appealing to layperson and scholar alike. It does this in several ways, mainly through its illustrations and readable text. I am not expert on medieval Europe, nor do I intend to be, but I found this very helpful for understanding the processes which would later surface in Early Modern and Modern Europe - my areas of study. Kudos to a fine illustrated volume. More Reviews