Medieval People : Vivid Lives in a Distant Landscape - From Charlemagne to Piero Della Francesca

This Engrossing, Exquisitely Illustrated, Often Witty Account Tells The Life Stories Of Some Seventy Individuals Who Made The Middle Ages. There Are Kings And Queens, Popes And Politicians, Soldiers And Merchants, Scholars, Authors And Visionaries. They Range From The Important, Such As El Cid Or Frederick Barbarossa, To The Little Known, Such As The Dissolute Venetian Nun Clara Sanuto. Some Were Astonishingly Successful: The Empire Created By Chinggis Khan Was One Of The Most Extensive Ever Seen. Some, Such As Charles The Bold, The Over-ambitious 15th-century Duke Of Burgundy, Were Failures. Contrary To Modern Myth, Medieval People Did Not Believe The Earth Was Flat; Torture Was Far Less Common Than In Later Centuries; And Technological Advances Included Guns, Printing, Blast Furnaces, Spectacles, Stirrups And The Compass. Full Of Insights Such As These, This Book Shows How Medieval People Lived In An Era That Was More One Of Invention And Innovation Than Of Superstition And Backwardness. It Will Appeal To All Those Who Want A Truer Picture Of A World Often Erroneously Portrayed By Bestselling Novelists Of Today. -- Publisher's Description. The Medieval World -- 1. An Age Of Empires : 800-1100 -- 2. An Age Of Confidence : 1100-1200 -- 3. An Age Of Maturity : 1200-1300 -- 4. An Age Of Plague : 1300-1400 -- 5. An Age Of Transition : 1400-1500. Michael Prestwich. With 179 Illustrations, 171 In Colour. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 274-278) And Index. Contrary to modern myth, medieval people lived in an era of innovation more than of superstition. This beautifully illustrated, highly readable book will appeal to all those who want a truer picture of a world often wrongly represented today. People in the Middle Ages did not believe the earth was flat; torture was far less common than in later centuries; and technological advances included guns, printing, blast furnaces, spectacles, stirrups and the compass. Medieval People tells the life stories of seventy individuals across Europe and the Middle East from the ninth to fifteenth centuries - monarchs and merchants, popes, peasants and poets, artists and adventurers, saints, scholars and soldiers. Empire builders such as Charlemagne, and Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan) are included as well as influential women such as Matilda of Tuscany, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Joan of Arc. Religious figures range from Urban II, the pope who started the Crusades, to Hildegard of Bingen and Thomas Becket, martyred archbishop. Fulk Nerra, pioneering castle builder, sits beside the great Persian polymath Avicenna. James Douglas, hero of Scottish independence, rubs shoulders with Dante and Giotto. Note: The ebook edition includes the complete text of the printed book with a reduced number of illustrations. A rich and revelatory exploration of the medieval world, conveyed through intimate biographies by a renowned historian This engrossing, exquisitely illustrated, often witty account tells the life stories of some seventy individuals who "made" the Middle Ages. There are kings and queens, popes and politicians, soldiers and merchants, scholars, authors and visionaries. They range from the important, such as El Cid or Frederick Barbarossa, to the little known, such as the dissolute Venetian nun Clara Sanuto. Some were astonishingly the empire created by Chinggis Khan was one of the most extensive ever seen. Some, such as Charles the Bold, the over-ambitious 15thcentury duke of Burgundy, were failures. Contrary to modern myth, medieval people did not believe the earth was flat; torture was far less common than in later centuries; and technological advances included guns, printing, blast furnaces, spectacles, stirrups and the compass. Full of insights such as these, this book shows how medieval people lived in an era that was more one of invention and innovation than of superstition and backwardness. It will appeal to all those who want a truer picture of a world often erroneously portrayed by bestselling novelists of today. 179 illustrations, 171 in color A rich and revelatory exploration of the medieval world, conveyed through intimate biographies by a renowned historian This engrossing, exquisitely illustrated, often witty account tells the life stories of some seventy individuals who "made" the Middle Ages. There are kings and queens, popes and politicians, soldiers and merchants, scholars, authors and visionaries. They range from the important, such as El Cid or Frederick Barbarossa, to the little known, such as the dissolute Venetian nun Clara Sanuto. Some were astonishingly successful: the empire created by Chinggis Khan was one of the most extensive ever seen. Some, such as Charles the Bold, the over-ambitious 15th–century duke of Burgundy, were failures. Contrary to modern myth, medieval people did not believe the earth was flat; torture was far less common than in later centuries; and technological advances included guns, printing, blast furnaces, spectacles, stirrups and the compass. Full of insights such...