The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe - Softcover

This illustrated book tells the story of Europe and the Mediterranean over the thousand years which saw the creation of Western Civilization. Written by scholars and based on the latest research, it offers an account of life in medieval Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the dawn of the Renaissance. The story covers a time of turmoil and change, from the empires of Charlemagne and the Byzantines to the newly formed nation states which fought the Hundred Years War. Great monasteries and cathedrals, the ambitions of the Crusades, chivalric knights, the realism of the new arts, economic and social growth, the catastrophe of plague, the growth of towns and cities, the development of commerce and banking: this remarkable period embraced them all. The six chapters of the book are divided between the Mediterranean world and northern Europe, illustrating how the centre of political and cultural life moved gradually northwards as the centuries progressed.

About the Editor: George Holmes is a Fellow of St. Catherine's College, Oxford. His previous books include Dante and Florence, Rome, and the Origins of the Renaissance.