Handbook of Medieval Culture: Fundamental Aspects and Conditions of the European Middle Ages (Volumes 1, 2 & 3)

A follow-up publication to the Handbook of Medieval Studies , this new reference work turns to a different focus: medieval culture. Medieval research has grown tremendously in depth and breadth over the last decades. Particularly our understanding of medieval culture, of the basic living conditions, and the specific value system prevalent at that time has considerably expanded, to a point where we are in danger of no longer seeing the proverbial forest for the trees. The present, innovative handbook offers compact articles on essential topics, ideals, specific knowledge, and concepts defining the medieval world as comprehensively as possible. The topics covered in this new handbook pertain to issues such as love and marriage, belief in God, hell, and the devil, education, lordship and servitude, Christianity versus Judaism and Islam, health, medicine, the rural world, the rise of the urban class, travel, roads and bridges, entertainment, games, and sport activities, numbers, measuring, the education system, the papacy, saints, the senses, death, and money. Volume 1 Albrecht Classen Medieval Culture—An Introduction to a New Handbook1 Christopher R. Clason Animals, Birds, and Fish in the Middle Ages18 Charlotte A. Stanford Architecture55 Frances Parton Visual Arts80 Thomas Willard Astrology, Alchemy and other Occult Sciences102 Romedio Schmitz-Esser Astronomy120 Stephen Penn The Bible and Biblical Exegesis134 Daniel Pigg Children and Childhood in the Middle Ages149 Ken Mondschein Chivalry and Knighthood159 Linda Rouillard Church and the Clergy172 Johannes Bernwieser Cities187 Lia Ross Communication in the Middle Ages203 Mark T. Abate Convivencia: Conquest and Coexistence in Medieval Spain232 Nadia Pawelchak Medieval Courts and Aristocracy278 Gerhard Jaritz Daily Life301 Hiram Kümper Death314 Jan Wehrle Dreams and Dream Theory329 Werner Schäfke Dwarves, Trolls, Ogres, and Giants347 David Sheffler Education and Schooling384 Gerhard Jaritz Excrement and Waste406 Emily J. Rozier Fashion415 Jean N. Goodrich Fairy, Elves and the Enchanted Otherworld431 Scott L. Taylor Feudalism in Literature and Society465 Sarah Gordon Food and Cookbooks477 Charles W. Connell Foreigners and Fear489 Marilyn Sandidge The Forest, the River, the Mountain, the Field, and the Meadow537 John M. Hill Friendship in the Middle Ages565 Paul Milliman Games and Pastimes582 Hans-Werner Goetz God613 Kriszta Kotsis The Greek Orthodox Church628 Eileen Gardiner Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven653 Cynthia Jenéy Horses and Equitation674 Volume 2 Jacqueline Stuhmiller Hunting, Hawking, Fowling, and Fishing697 Charlotte A. Stanford Illness and Death722 Mark T. Abate Islamic Spain: Al-Andalus and the Three Cultures740 Miriamne Ara Krummel Jewish Culture and Literature in England772 Oliver M. Traxel Languages794 Scott L. Taylor Law in Literature and Society836 Christian Bratu Literature864 Albrecht Classen Love, Sex, and Marriage901 Christa Agnes Tuczay Magic and Divination937 Alain Touwaide Medicine954 Scott Gwara Medieval Manuscripts999 Kisha G. Tracy Memory, Recollection, and Forgetting1020 Jeroen Puttevils Medieval merchants1039 Werner Heinz History of Medieval Metrology1057 Richard Landes Millenarianism/Millennialism, Eschatology, Apocalypticism, Utopianism1093 Ralf Lützelschwab Western Monasticism1113 Philipp Robinson Rössner Money, Banking, Economy1137 Mary Kate Hurley Monsters1167 Karl Kügle Conceptualizing and Experiencing Music in the Middle Ages (ca. 500–1500)1184 Moritz Wedell Numbers1205 Rory Naismith Numismatics1261 Sarah M. Anderson Old Age1281 John A. Dempsey The Papacy and the Pan-European Culture1324 Cristian Bratu Patrons, Arts, and Audiences1381 Francis G. Gentry Poverty1404 Charles W. Connell Public Opinion and Popular Culture1419 John Sewell Religious Conflict1454 Michael Sizer Revolt and Revolution1486 Volume 3 Albrecht Classen Roads, Streets, Bridges, and Travelers1511 Daniel F. Pigg The Rural World and the Peasants1535 Christina Clever Saints and Relics1543 Richard G. Newhauser The Senses, the Medieval Sensorium, and Sensing (in) the Middle Ages1559 Charles W. Connell The Sermon in the Middle Ages1576 Timothy Runyan Ships and Seafaring1610 Ben Snook Threats, Dangers, and Catastrophes1634 Ken Mondschein and Denis Casey Time and Timekeeping1657 Romedio Schmitz-Esser Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages1680 Graeme Dunphy The Medieval University1705 Ben Snook War and Peace1735 Ken Mondschein Weapons, Warfare, Siege Machinery, and Training in Arms1758 Christa Agnes Tuczay Witchcraft and Superstition1786 Bibliography1813 Primary Literature1813 Secondary Literature1860 Index of Names2117 General Index2149 Index of Works2222 Thanks to extensive research, our understanding of medieval culture has virtually exploded over the last decades. Medieval society embraced a complex set of values that must be discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective. This new handbook offers articles on central topics defining the medieval world and culture. The topics covered are, for example, love and marriage, transportation, medicine, Church and religions, literature, and the arts