Medieval World   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Highly Recommended
Mysteries of the Middle Ages, And the Beginning of the Modern World  •  Thomas Cahill
HISTORY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 343 PAGES
Forgive the unfortunate title of this marvelous book. Cahill deftly evokes the historic glories of the major medieval (and the places they frequented) in this illuminating overview of philosophy, art and literature, the fifth volume in his series "Hinges of History" on the making of the modern world. Taking as its cue illuminated medieval manuscripts, the book is wonderfully decorated, including color reproductions of medieval masterpieces. Opening with the glories of cosmopolitan Alexandria and Rome, he quickly moves to Hildgard's Rhineland, the France and England of Queen Eleanor, Paris as filtered through the lovers Heloise and Abelard, medieval Oxford, the glories of Giotto's Padua, the Florence of Dante and Ravenna. It's an bold examination of the roots of modernity in medieval Roman Catholic thought. (EUR239, $22.00)		   Mysteries of the Middle Ages, And the Beginning of the Modern World
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age  •  William Manchester
HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 322 PAGES
In this wide-ranging study, Manchester evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, with information on Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. This is his 18th book and Manchester knows how to tell a great story. It's divided into three sections: Renaissance, Reformation and Discovery. (EUR06, $15.99)		   A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age
The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History  •  Colin McEvedy
HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 112 PAGES
McEvedy deftly sketches the culture, history and society of Medieval Europe in this slim historical atlas. (EUR240, $15.00)		   The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History
Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath, The Wife, The Cross  •  Sigrid Undset  •  Tina Nunnally
LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 1184 PAGES
This masterpiece by the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author, first published in 1927, has never gone out of print. The three historical novels, here in an omnibus edition, recreate a woman's life during the Middle Ages in devoutly Catholic Norway. The books, which follow Lavransdatter from her youth, though tumultuous marriage and reverberations of the plague, combines scholarly knowledge with keen psychological insight and a romantic outlook. (NOR40, $25.00)		   Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath, The Wife, The Cross
The Autumn of the Middle Ages  •  Johan Huizinga
HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 467 PAGES
A pioneering work of social and cultural history, this classic volume is a richly detailed portrait of life, thought and art in 14th- and 15th-century France and the Netherlands. You may have read this book in your college history class, but this graceful new translation is well worth a re-visit before journeying to these regions. With 45 illustrations complementing Huizinga's focus on the art and architecture. (EUR17, $30.00)		   The Autumn of the Middle Ages



Also Recommended

1066, The Year of the Conquest  •  David Howarth   • HISTORY  •  A crack medievalist and storyteller, Howarth brings to life the momentous events of 1066 in rich, anecdotal history -- a classic portrait of the Norman invasion and conquest of England. (GBR115, $14.00)
 		  
Life in A Medieval Castle  •  Francis Gies   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  From lord to servant, this illustrated book describes the daily life of the inhabitants at Chepstow Castle in Wales in the 13th century. (GBR109, $14.99)
 		  
Mont Saint Michel and Chartres  •  Henry Brooks Adams   • HISTORY  •  First published at the turn of the century, this classic work is a meditation on the Medieval world as reflected through its most famous religious structures. (FRN44, $17.00)
 		  
Plagues and Peoples  •  William McNeill   • HISTORY  •  This book traces the waves of epidemics that raged through Europe. (EUR26, $17.00)
 		  
The Age of the Cathedrals, Art and Society 980-1420  •  Georges Duby   • HISTORY  •  The definitive historical study of the building of the great cathedrals. French scholar Duby, writing very accessibly, describes the cathedrals themselves, and the philosophical, religious, and political climate that enabled them to be built. (EUR01, $28.00)
 		  
The Last Knight, The Twilight of the Middle Ages and the Birth of the Modern Era  •  Norman F. Cantor   • HISTORY  •  An absorbing history of late 14th-century Europe by the popular medievalist. (EUR184, $13.95)
 		  
Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages  •  Alain Erlande-Brandenburg   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)
 		  
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  An enthusiast, Scott delves into the history, design, architecture and wonder of Europe's medieval cathedrals and great Abbey churches. (EUR190, $21.95)
 		  
Dante  •  R.W. Lewis   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A brief, literate biography of the exceptionally literate Dante Alighieri. (ITL313, $19.95)
 		  
Beowulf  •  Seamus Heaney   • LITERATURE  •  A best-selling, critically acclaimed verse translation of the seminal Anglo-Saxon epic, which tells of a Scandinavian hero's bravery in defending Denmark from the monster Grendel. Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney translated. (SCN27, $13.95)
 		  
In a Dark Wood Wandering, A Novel of the Middle Ages  •  Hella Haasse   • LITERATURE  •  With a cast of thousands including Joan of Arc and the Dukes of Burgundy, this 1949 historical novel renders the political intrigue, people and texture of 15th-century Europe. With a magisterial grasp of the era, Haasse captures medieval court life during the Hundred Years War. (FRN86, $21.95)
 		  
The Canterbury Tales (In Modern English)  •  Geoffrey Chaucer  •  Nevill Coghill   • LITERATURE  •  A Penguin Classics edition of the cornerstone of medieval English literature, Chaucer's unfinished tales of pilgrims en route to Canterbury. (GBR250, $10.00)
 		  
The Inferno of Dante, A New Verse Translation  •  Dante Alighieri  •  Robert Pinsky   • LITERATURE  •  The celebrated modern translation of Dante's "Inferno." (ITL411, $12.00)
 		  
 
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