Year 8

'The most accessible, up-to-date introduction to its subject ... does full justice to the multifarious forces at work in high gothic Europe' Daily Telegraph The years from AD 1000 to the beginning of the fourteenth century were the most formative period in European history: a time of intense social, political, cultural and religious change. In this definitive work one of the world's leading medievalists explores a confident, dynamic age, far removed from our own. 'Jordan writes elegantly and ironically, giving the reader a broad but not dumbed-down view of medieval society and its complexities. A splendid start to Penguin's History of Europe series and a first-rate work in its own right' Kirkus Reviews 'The Penguin History of Europe series is one of contemporary publishing's great projects' New Statesman

This book describes the day-to-day life of the times - what it must have been like to be a peasant or merchant or student or noble in this period. Use the Index to search for specific topics and important individuals of the time.

Medieval women shaped political and domestic life, founded and nurtured religious orders, and created numerous enduring literary works. Comprehensive in scope, meticulous in scholarship, and accessible in style to general readers and specialists alike, this encyclopedia offers full coverage of the myriad roles, experiences, and contributions of women in the medieval world. There are more than 300 alphabetically arranged entries that conclude with extensive bibliographies of both primary and secondary sources. Entries cover people and topics ranging from the third to the fifteenth centuries, and treat well-known figures, more recently discovered or re-evaluated figures and much more.

This book recreates the victories and defeats on both sides, through eye-witness accounts of the traumatic clashes between two opposing faiths.
Search the index for information on Eleanor of Aquitane; Saladin; Richard the Lionheart; and Pope Urban II.

'O day so ardently desired! O time of times the most memorable! O deed before all other deeds!' The fall of Jerusalem in the summer of 1099 to an exhausted and starving army of Western European soldiers was one of the most extraordinary events of the Middle Ages.It was both the climax of a great wave of visionary Christian fervour and the beginning of what proved to be a futile and abortive attempt to implant a new European kingdom in an overwhelmingly Muslim world.The legacy of these events continues to be argued over more than nine centuries later.This remarkable collection of first-hand accounts brings to life the First Crusade in all its cruelty and strangeness.
Use the index to search for particular events and individuals.

In 1095 Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade to recover Jerusalem from the Seljuq Turks. Tens of thousands of people joined his cause, making it the single largest event of the Middle Ages. The conflict would rage for over 200 years, transforming Christian and Islamic relations forever. Andrew Jotischky takes readers through the key events, focussing on the experience of crusading, from both sides. Featuring textboxes with fascinating details on the key sites, figures and battles, this essential primer asks all the crucial questions: What were the motivations of the crusaders? What was it like to be a crusader or to live in a crusading society? And how do these events, nearly a thousand years ago, still shape the politics of today?

The New York Times bestseller, from the author of Powers and Thrones, that tells the story of Britain's greatest and worst dynasty--"a real-life Game of Thrones" (The Wall Street Journal) The first Plantagenet kings inherited a blood-soaked realm from the Normans and transformed it into an empire that stretched at its peak from Scotland to Jerusalem. In this epic narrative history of courage, treachery, ambition, and deception, Dan Jones resurrects the unruly royal dynasty that preceded the Tudors. They produced England's best and worst kings: Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, twice a queen and the most famous woman in Christendom; their son Richard the Lionheart, who fought Saladin in the Third Crusade; and his conniving brother King John, who was forced to grant his people new rights under the Magna Carta, the basis for our own bill of rights. Combining the latest academic research with a gift for storytelling, Jones vividly recreates the great battles of Bannockburn, Crécy, and Sluys and reveals how the maligned kings Edward II and Richard II met their downfalls. This is the era of chivalry and the Black Death, the Knights Templar, the founding of parliament, and the Hundred Years' War, when England's national identity was forged by the sword.

A biography of the Frankish warrior and king who built a great empire in western Europe.

The reign of Charlemagne marked a turning-point in the history of Europe. The documents selected in this book present a comprehensive picture of Charles' achievements as the founder of an empire, protector of the papacy, patron of learning and the arts, administrator and legislator. In the introduction of the book explores the major aspects of the reign, raising questions about the empire itself.

This book explores the life and times of Charlemagne. It includes a chronology of key events.

For more than sixty years, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was involved in all the important events in twelfth-century France and England. This wonderful book tells her tale in exquisite detail, from describing the fashionable furs and luxurious clothing she carried with her, to vivid descriptions of the court of medieval France. It recounts the harrowing battles in the Holy Land as well as the true-to-life discussions of Eleanor's many love interests. Filled with hard-to-find images--including a photo of the only remaining sculpture of the famous queen--this is a fascinating and visually stunning book.

The profoundly inspiring and fully documented saga of Joan of Arc, the young peasant girl whose "voices" moved her to rally the French nation and a reluctant king against British invaders in 1428, has fascinated artistic figures as diverse as William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Voltaire, George Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht, Carl Dreyer, and Robert Bresson. Was she a divinely inspired saint? A schizophrenic? A demonically possessed heretic, as her persecutors and captors tried to prove? Every era must retell and reimagine the Maid of Orleans's extraordinary story in its own way, and in Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured, the superb novelist and memoirist Kathryn Harrison gives us a Joan for our time--a shining exemplar of unshakable faith, extraordinary courage, and self-confidence during a brutally rigged ecclesiastical inquisition and in the face of her death by burning. Deftly weaving historical fact, myth, folklore, artistic representations, and centuries of scholarly and critical interpretation into a compelling narrative, she restores Joan of Arc to her rightful position as one of the greatest heroines in all of human history.

The story of one of the most remarkable women of the medieval world, as you have never read it before A French peasant girl who heard voices from God, Joan convinced the royal court of her divine calling and became a teenage warrior, leading an army to victory against the English. Eventually captured and put on trial, she was denounced as a heretic and burned at the stake at the age of just nineteen. Five hundred years later, she was recognised as a saint. Here, Joan and her world are brought vividly to life by acclaimed historian Helen Castor, taking us to the heart of a tumultuous and bloody moment in the fifteenth century and the short by astonishing life of an extraordinary woman.

Describes the 1431 trial of Joan of Arc, along with biographical information and facts about the political and social forces that led to her being burned at the stake as a witch.

This book explores the lives and impact of ten men who were larger than life and enlarged the lives of others. Sutcliff has dealt with these individuals in their historical aspects, trying to find the man behind the legend and fit them in their proper places in the story of Britain.
For the purpose of this research task, only the chapter on William Wallace is relevant.

Covers an array of topics on the Middle Ages including daily life, art and architecture, science, religion, politics, women's issues, and more.

In the year 800, Charlemagne was the first man to be dubbed Roman Emperor in almost 400 years. Known in his own day as Charles the Great, Charlemagne was a militant ruler whose legacy included ruling a united Western Europe

In addition to being queen consort of both Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine was the mother of Richard I the Lionhearted and John of England. An exciting and revealing biography of the most powerful woman in 12th-century Europe, Eleanor of Aquitainerelates the numerous dramatic events of her life, and explores the role she played in many of the most historically significant rivalries, conflicts, and political crises of her era.

Saladin was arguably the greatest Muslim leader in history. A great warrior and leader of his people, Saladin was also a spiritual man who displayed mercy to his mortal enemies.

This new series examines the circumstances and events surrounding some of the monumental conflicts that changed the history of warfare and the world. Each book includes maps that highlights the fields of battle and sidebars that take a more detailed look at some of the most significant and interesting people, places, and ideas that played a part in the battle. In 1187, King Richard I of England decided to lead an army of Christians on the Third Crusade to seize the Holy Land from the Muslims who controlled it.

An invaluable resource for high schools and colleges, The Trial of William Wallace covers the trial's key issues, history of the case, summary of arguments, the verdict, and the significance of the case, with a list of readings

Joan of Arc's life is an exciting and intriguing tale of a girl who heard voices telling her to save France and obeyed them. Following the orders of these voices, she persuaded the crown prince of France to let her lead an army to free the city of Orleans from the English. Immensely successful in that campaign, she and her army fought their way to Rheims, where the crown prince was named king of France. Her real heroism, however, manifested itself in a courtroom where she battled the prejudices of the men who ultimately had her burned at the stake as a heretic. In 1920, 400 years after her execution, the Roman Catholic Church recognized her as a saint. Centuries after her death, the girl who changed the course of the Hundred Years' War continues to fascinate and inspire. The story of her amazing life is told in style=color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11 ;>Joan of Arc: Religious and Military Leader.

An invaluable resource for high schools and colleges, The Trial of Joan of Arc covers the trial's key issues, history of the case, summary of arguments, the verdict, and the significance of the case, with a list of readings