European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

Book SynopsisThis book features a broad range of thematic and national case studies which explore the interrelations and confrontations between conservatives and the radical Right in the European and global contexts of the interwar years.It investigates the political, social, cultural, and economic issues that conservatives and radicals tried to address and solve in the aftermaths of the Great War. Conservative forces ended up prevailing over far-right forces in the 1920s, with the notable exception of the Fascist regime in Italy. But over the course of the 1930s, and the ascent of the Nazi regime in Germany, political radicalisation triggered both competition and hybridisation between conservative and right-wing radical forces, with increased power for far-right and fascist movements.The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of politics, history, fascism, and Nazism.Trade Review"Bresciani’s book makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the highly heterogeneous political Right in interwar Europe. Against the backdrop of the recent rise of right-wing populism in Europe and beyond, this is a particularly timely intervention that explores the complex relationship between conservatism and Right radicalism. The chapters in this book, written by some of the finest historians of their generation, will be of interest to anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the rise of fascism, notably in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe." — Robert Gerwarth, Director of the Centre for War Studies at University College Dublin, Ireland"Interwar conservatism and right radicalism appear in this volume as part of an "open system," subject to influences and provoking reactions across ideological positions and national boundaries. The tableau that emerges is of a pluriform Right watching and learning from one another, forming strategic alliances, and fostering similarly strategic enmities. With several provocative interventions—and as many hitherto under- or unexplored periods, places, and transnational connections—the book has a great deal to offer readers seeking to learn more about crises of democracy and the history of the Right more generally." — Holly Case, Professor of History at Brown University, USA"To assemble a volume so rich in theoretical insights and so wide-ranging in coverage is an impressive achievement. But to do so while also challenging—compellingly—some of the most persistent orthodoxies about fascism and the ‘old’ right or about supposed ‘centres’ and ‘peripheries’ of interwar radical right-wing politics is a rare feat for which the editor and all authors alike deserve special praise." — Aristotle Kallis, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Keele University, UKTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. "Laboratory for World Destruction": The Habsburg Monarchy and Fascism 2. Volksdeutsch Revisionism: East Central Europe’s Ethnic Germans and the Order of Paris 3. Conservative and Radical Dynamics of Italian Fascism: An (East) European Perspective (1918–1938) 4. The Crisis of Legitimacy and the Rise of the Radical Right in Interwar Yugoslavia (1918–1941) 5. Integral Nationalism in Absence of Nation-State: The Case of Ukraine 6. Catholic Authoritarians or Fascists as Such? The Polish Rightist Subculture Turns Fascist (1919–1939) 7. Faith, Family and Fatherland: Conservatism and Right Radicalism in Interwar Hungary 8. The Romanian Right: Images of Crisis, the Press and the Rise of Fascism 9. Nationalism and Authoritarianism in Interwar Greece (1922–1940) 10. Dynamics of Division: The French Right (1918–1941) 11. Consecrating the Fatherland: Catholicism, Nationalism and Fascism in Spain (1919–1939) 12. In the Mirror of Fascism: Portugal and the Italian Experience 13. America as Alternative to European Radicalism? The United States and the Transnational Rise of the Right 14. Fascism After Fascism: History and Politics

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Book SynopsisThis book is a ground-breaking exploration of everyday life as experienced through the lens of Black British cultural history and creative practice, through a multiplicity of voices and writing styles.The structure of Black Everyday Lives, Material Culture and Narrative examines life through a personal study of the family home room by room, object by object as a portal through which to examine the intricacies and nuances of daily considerations of African heritage people living in Britain in the modern era (post-1950). Using Small Anthropology methodology, this book foregrounds the experiences of Black British lives by bringing the threads of history and culture into the relevancy of the present day and demonstrates how the personal sphere directly links to wider public and political concerns.This book will be of interest to a wide range of disciplines, including Black studies, anthropology, cultural studies, history, visual culture, photography, media communiTrade Review"This is the only book that I’ve ever read that manages to capture how we really lived from day to day back in the day. It’s a book like no other. Many of us have been waiting for a book like this. Ras Shawn-Naphtali has given the world a book that is intelligent, accessible, cultural, and lyrical, but true. This is a great contribution to the documentation of our history. This book did so much for me. It made me consider our struggles, our aspirations, and the art in our lives." – Professor Benjamin Zephaniah"Sobers uses his inclusive Small Anthropology creatively and incisively to show being and becoming of Black materiality in the home that speaks to us subjectively, intergenerationally, and cross culturally." – Dr Michael McMillan"Shawn-Naphtali Sobers presents an essential body of work and a must read primer for anyone interested in the significance of visual ethnography, anthropology, sociology, or interdisciplinary and mixed methodology. Shawn unapologetically renders the power of narrative, objects, and memory enmeshed within the realities of Black culture and history, transporting us into a state of consciousness that is indeed not burdened." – Dr Sireita MullingsTable of Contents1. Front Door / Hallway signs 2. (Living Room) – Photo Wall 3. (Living Room) – Television 4. (Living Room) – Sewing Machine 5. (Living Room) – Armchair (fiction) 6. (Front Room) – Radiogram 7. (Front Room) – The Last Supper 8. (Front Room) – Souvenirs and Ornaments 9. (Kitchen) – Dutch Pot 10. (Kitchen) – Rice 11. (Bathroom) – Afro-comb 12. (Bathroom) – Sickle Cell Medication 13. (Parent Bedroom) – Suitcase / Grip – Part 1 14. (Teenage Bedroom) – Stuff (photo essay) 15. (‘Sent-for child’s’ Bedroom) – Suitcase / Grip – Part 2 16. (Garden) – Soil (part fiction) 17. – Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first extensive study of ideas on earthquakes before the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. The earthquake had a deep impact on European culture, and the reactions to it stood in a long tradition that, before this study, had yet to be explored in detail. Thinking on Earthquakes investigates both scholarly theories and views that were propagated among the early modern European population. Through a chronological approach, Vermij reveals that in contrast to the Ancient and medieval philosophers who suggested rational explanations for earthquakes, supernatural ideas made a powerful comeback in the sixteenth century. By analysing a variety of sources such as pamphlets, sermons, and treatises, this study shows how changes in the ideas on earthquakes were a result of social and political demands as well as from improvements in the means of communication, rather than from scientific methods. Thus, Vermij presents an illuminating case for the production of knowledge&nTrade Review'Following a chronological development, this volume represents an important synthesis of the scientific opinions and theories that have matured over the centuries in the European cultural sphere, showing how the ancient and medieval philosophers, who provided rational hypotheses for the origin of earthquakes, both switched to supernatural and sectarian explanations, diverting science towards social, political and religious needs.The analysis carried out by Rienk Vermij testifies to the cultural and knowledge development in modern Europe and represents a fundamental source for scholars of the history of geology and science.'Marco Pantaloni, Geological Society of Italy, 2020 (https://www.socgeol.it/N2838/thinking-on-earthquakes-in-early-modern-europe.html) 'In short, Vermij offers a fascinating study on confessionalized science and the study of earthquakes. His sensitivity to the political and social use of earthquake explanations is commendable and a welcome addition to disaster studies. [...] His intention to also look at explanations among the wider populace and his inclusion of different media are innovative for a history of science.'Marieke van Egeraat, Early Modern Low Countries, 2021'Thinking on Earthquakes is a solid piece of historical research [...] this book fills a long-standing gap in the literature on the early modern understanding of earthquakes, and it will prove a valuable reference work for historians and philosophers of science as well as for geologists, teachers, and science communicators.'Francesco Luzzini, Early Science and Medicine, 2021'[...] As the book demonstrates, the subject of earthquakes can certainly serve as an excellent point of entry for inquiring into the shifting configurations of science and religion in early modern Europe. [...] Thinking on Earthquakes fills a gap in scholarship. It makes a valuable contribution to the history of geology, the history of science and religion, and disaster studies.'Fa-ti Fan, Isis, The Journal of the History of Science Society, vol. 113, no.1, 2022‘By providing a chronicle of the events, the volume is a worthy contribution to the history of those seismic beliefs and ideas that had developed in the European milieu over the centuries. The author points out how ancient and medieval philosophers, after suggesting rational hypotheses about the origin of earthquakes, moved on to supernatural and confessional explanations, turning science to social, political and religious needs. Rienk Vermij’s work not only bears witness to the cultural history of modern European society, but also is a fundamental source for historians of geology and science.’Marco Pantaloni, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Physis International Journal for the History of Science Vol. LVII (2022)Table of ContentsPart I: Scientific, philosophical, and religious traditions up to the Renaissance 1. Experiencing earthquakes 2. Reading on earthquakes: explanations and interpretations up to the end of the Renaissance 3. Writing on earthquakes: the available information 4. Earthquakes in Renaissance scholarship Part II: Early modern confessionalized science 5. The assault on naturalism 6. The emergence of a science of signs 7. Prodigies in Reformation scholarship 8. Miracles and meteorology among Catholic scholars 9. Reactions to earthquakes in the sixteenth century: the emergence of a discourse 10. Interpreting earthquakes in the seventeenth century 11. Marginalized approaches Part III: The rise of modern empiricism 12. New sources of information and the rise of a scientific public 13. New observations and theories: the non-confessional investigation of nature 14. Confessionalized natural philosophy in the age of the new sciences 15. Earthquakes in the religious discourse of the late seventeenth century

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Book SynopsisGlobal Trade in the Premodern World offers an authoritative and expansive history of exchange and interaction across Eurasia from the prehistoric origins of trade to the integration of large parts of this world-system by the fifteenth century CE.The book tackles questions that are critical to our understanding of premodern globalization. How did global trade in the premodern world take shape? Who did the trading and what motivated them? Which commodities were traded and how did different goods influence how trading networks functioned? How did geography change how and where people carried goods? How did states and communities seek to control the practice of commerce? And finally, what was the impact of trade on political structures and in the relationship between different states, empires, and communities?Drawing on the fruits of research in history, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as primary sources produced by authors from Africa, Asia, and Europe, Global Trade in the Premodern World is a book of remarkable scope written engagingly and accessibly with scholars, students, and non-specialists in mind.

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Book SynopsisThis concise and stimulating book explores the history of gender in England between 1500 and 1700. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to include new material on global connections, masculinity and recent historiography.Amid the upheavals of the Reformation and Civil Wars, gender was political. Sexual difference and women's roles were matters of public debate, while social and economic changes were impacting on work, family and marriage. The rich archives of law, state and family testify to the complex configurations of patriarchal order and resistance to it. Gender in Early Modern England provides insight into gender relations in a time when a stark hierarchy of gender co-existed with a surprising degree of female capacity, great potential for challenge and confrontation, and a persistent sense of the mystery of the body. Documents include early feminist argument, law, midwives' books, recipes, protest, sexual insults, cross-dressers, women escaping Table of ContentsPart 1: Analysis 1. Bodies and Minds 2. Patriarchal Households 3. Communities 4. Polity 5. Conclusion Part 2: Documents

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Book SynopsisThis book is a comprehensive introduction to the landscapes of the Middle Ages within and beyond Europe, paying close attention to the relationship between real' and imagined landscapes and the ways that medieval people made and inhabited their world.Rather than studying ''nature'' in the Middle Ages, the book instead examines the spaces that people constructed through soil, stone, and song; water and wasteland; plants and animals; and timber, textiles, and texts, which in turn made up the medieval world. Likewise, the text emphasises a definition of environment that focuses on living with', inviting readers to think about the more-than-human worlds that medieval people depended on, cared for, constructed, and damaged. Bringing together a wide range of primary source material, including evidence from texts, material culture, and visual arts, the book reflects the diversity of landscapes and human responses to them throughout the course of this period and considers the Trade Review'This book provides us with a fascinating insight into medieval perceptions of landscape, enriched with a great diversity of literary and pictorial evidence. In hearing about the communities who occupied these places, and the people who travelled through them, we can see that landscape is not just a physical entity, but a mental construct –"realms real and imagined".'Stephen Rippon, University of Exeter, UK 'This fascinating and wide-ranging volume takes the reader on a journey through the real and imagined landscapes of the Middle Ages – from the enchanted forests of northern Europe myth to the bustling port towns around the Mediterranean. It explores in detail the physicality of different environments in the period, using archaeology, material culture, art and both literary and historical texts to bring to life the huge range of landscapes which medieval people experienced in their daily lives. The thematic chapters are filled with rich details about trade and pilgrimage, movement, power and the natural world – the details drawn from texts originating from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. This book gives us an insight into the power that different environments had to shape people’s lives across the globe during this period, and in turn, how people shaped those environments, both real and imaginary, to reflect their changing worldviews and experiences. A vital and immersive book for students and anyone interested in environmental change, the natural world and the medieval period.'Sarah Spooner, University of East Anglia, UKTable of Contents1. Introduction: What Do We Mean When We Talk about Medieval Landscapes and Environments? 2. Garden, Forest 3. Field, Farm, Fen 4. Desert, Wilderness, Waste 5. Sea 6. Rivers and Roads 7. Fortified Landscapes 8. Town and City 9. Heaven, Hell, and Other Worlds 10. Conclusion: Memories and Aftermath

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Book SynopsisNow in its fifth edition, The Italian City Republics illustrates how, from the eleventh century onwards, many Italian towns achieved independence as political entities, unhindered by any centralising power. Until the fourteenth century, when the regimes of individual tyrants' took over in most towns, these communes were the scene of a precocious, and very well-documented, experiment in republican self-government.In this new edition, Trevor Dean has expanded the book's treatment of women and gender, the early history of the communes and the lives of non-élites. Focusing on the typical medium-sized towns rather than the better-known cities, the authors draw on a rich variety of contemporary material, both documentary and literary, to portray the world of the communes, illustrating the patriotism and public spirit as well as the equally characteristic factional strife which was to tear them apart. Discussion of the artistic and social lives of the inhabitants showsTable of Contents1. The legacy of power 2. The population 3. Government 4. Town and country 5. External relations 6. Civic spirit and the visual arts 7. Internal divisions 8. The failure of the republics 9. The historiography of the city-republics

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Book SynopsisMedieval Monasticism traces the Western Monastic tradition from its fourth-century origins in the deserts of Egypt and Syria through the many and varied forms of religious life it assumed during the Middle Ages. It explores the relationship between monasteries and the secular world around them.For a thousand years, the great monastic houses and religious orders were a prominent feature of the social landscape of the West, and their leaders figured as much in the political as on the spiritual map of the medieval world. In this book many of them, together with their supporters and critics, are presented to us and speak their minds to us. We are shown, for instance, the controversy between the Benedictines and the reformed monasticism of the twelfth century and the problems that confronted women in religious life. A detailed glossary offers readers a helpful vocabulary of the subject. This fifth edition has been revised by Janet Burton to include an updated bibliTable of Contents1. The call of the desert 2. The rule of St Benedict 3. Wandering saints and princely patrons 4. England and the continent 5. The emperor and the rule 6. The age of cluny 7. The cloister and the world 8. Monastic reform: The quest for the primitive 9. The Cistercian model 10. The new monasticism versus the old 11. A new kind of knighthood 12. Sister or handmaids 13. The Friars 14. Epilogue: The individual and the community

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Book SynopsisThe county of Tripoli in what is now North Lebanon is arguably the most neglected of the so-called âcrusader statesâ established in the Middle East at the beginning of the twelfth century. The present work is the first monograph on the county to be published in English, and the first in any western language since 1945. What little has been written on the subject previously has focused upon the European ancestry of the counts of Tripoli: a specifically Southern French heritage inherited from the famous crusader Raymond IV of Saint-Gilles. Kevin Lewis argues that past historians have at once exaggerated the political importance of the countsâ French descent and ignored the more compelling signs of its cultural impact, highlighting poetry composed by troubadours in Occitan at Tripoliâs court. For Lewis, however, even this belies a deeper understanding of the processes that shaped the county. What emerges is an intriguing portrait of the county in which its rulers struggled to exert their power over Lebanon in the face of this regionâs insurmountable geographical forces and its sometimes bewildering, always beguiling diversity of religions, languages and cultures. The counts of Tripoli and contemporary Muslim onlookers certainly viewed the dynasty as sons of Saint-Gilles, but the countyâs administration relied upon Arabic, its stability upon the mixed loyalties of its local inhabitants, and its very existence upon the rugged mountains that cradled it. This book challenges prevailing knowledge of this little-known crusader state and by extension the medieval Middle East as a whole..Table of ContentsList of FiguresPrefaceAcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction Sons of Saint-Gilles1 The Succession of Cousins: Counts Raymond I (1103–05), William Jordan (1105–09) and Bertrand (1109–12)2 The Forging and Freedom of the County: Count Pons (1112–37)3 Military Decline and Matrimonial Discord: Count Raymond II (1137–52)4 Count and Captive: Count Raymond III (1152–74)5 The Regent Thwarted: Count Raymond III (1174–87)Conclusion Alien and NativeAppendix 1 SourcesAppendix 2 Troubadour poetry and TripoliBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA panoramic history of the vast migration of Eastern Europeans to the West by a recent winner of a MacArthur Fellowship.Trade Review"... vivid and meticulously researched work... The Great Departure offers a deep, multifaceted understanding of mass migration." -- Times Higher Education"...a perceptive history of migration and Eastern Europe…" -- The Economist"...timely, myth-busting chronicle…" -- Nature"... The Great Departure, an illuminating study of emigration from Eastern Europe to the US..." -- Financial Times

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Book SynopsisDrawing on the greatest writers of its civilization, Hamilton vividly depicts the life and spirit of Rome.Trade Review"No one in modern times has shown us more vividly… ‘the grandeur that was Rome.’ [Edith Hamilton] proved how applicable to our daily lives are the humor and wisdom of more than 2,000 years ago." -- The New York Times"... her [Edith Hamilton's] works still have the power to enlighten, particularly as artefacts of a time when what “Europe” meant was in crisis." -- Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisHistory sees Augustus Caesar as the first emperor of Rome, whose system of ordered government provided a firm and stable basis for the expansion and prosperity of the Roman Empire. Hailed as ''restorer of the Republic'' and regarded by some as a deity in his own lifetime, Augustus was emulated by many of his successors. David Shotter reviews the evidence in order to place Augustus firmly in the context of his own times. Key topics discussed include: the background to Augustus Caesar''s spectacular rise to power  his political and imperial reforms the creation of the Republica of Augustus the legacy Augustus Caesar left to his successors. Revised throughout, the second edition of this successful book takes the most recent research in the field into account. David Shotter also includes more coverage of the social and cultural aspects of this complex character''s reign together with an expanded guide to further reading.Trade Review'Shotter has given us a clearly written, well-organized introductory survey ... anyone interested in Augustus ... would also find much of value here. A good introduction.'- BMCRTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Crisis of the Roman Republic 2. The Divine Youht 3. The Powers of Augustus 4. Auctorias - and Patronage 5. The City of Marble 6. The Respublica of Augustus 7. The Empire and the Augustan Peace 8. The Succession 9. The Legacy of Augustus Appendix I: Chief Dates in the Life and Career of Augustus Caesar Appendix II: The sources for Augustus' Principate: With Further Reading on the Source Material Appendix III: Glossary of Latin Terms. Select Bibliography. Index of Proper Names and Places

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Book SynopsisHenry V of England, the princely hero of Shakespeareâs play, who successfully defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt and came close to becoming crowned King of France, is one of the best known and most compelling monarchs in English history. This new biography takes a fresh look at his entire life and nine year reign, and gives a balanced view of Henry, who is traditionally seen as a great hero but has been more recently depicted as an obsessive egotist or, worse, a ruthless warlord. The book locates Henryâs style of kingship in the context of the time, and looks at often neglected other figures who influenced and helped him, such as his father and his uncles, Henry and Thomas Beaufort. John Matusiak shows that the situation confronting Henry at the outset of his reign was far more favourable than is often supposed but that he was nonetheless a man of prodigious gifts whose extraordinary achievements in battle left the deepest possible impression upon his contemporaries. Trade Review"This is a vivid retelling of the traditional view of Henry V. Perhaps the fact that after reading it I felt even greater distaste than before for the man and all his works is testimony to the book’s quality." - A.J. Pollard, Teesside University, UKTable of ContentsChronology. Introduction. Chapter 1 - The Making of a Lancastrian Prince Chapter 2 - Military and Political Apprenticeship, 1399-1413 Chapter 3 - Unity and Honour, 1413-15 Chapter 4 - God`s Chosen Warrior Chapter 5 - The Conquest of Normandy, 1417-19 Chapter 6 - The Fragile Peace of 1420-21 Chapter 7 - The Unfinished War, 1421-22 Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn Uniting the Kingdom? a group of the most distinguished historians from Britain and Ireland assemble to consider the question of British identity spanning the period from the Middle Ages to the present. Traditional chronological and regional frontiers are broken down as medievalists, early modernists and modernists debate the key issues of the British state: the conflicting historiographies, the nature of political tensions and the themes of expansion and contraction. This outstanding collection of essays forms an illuminating introduction to the most up-to-date thinking about the problems of British histories and identities.Trade Review'A stimulating collection of essays.' - Nothern History`A fascinating, provocative and very timely book, Uniting the Kingdom? raises questions which are of relevance to us all, even if the answers implied may not be entirely to anybody's liking.' - The Scotsman`Excellent collection of essays.' - Alain de Botton, Independent on SundayTable of ContentsPart I Prologue 1 Introduction: The enigma of British History 2 British History as a ‘new subject’: Politics, perspectives and prospects Part II Medieval foundations 3 The United Kingdom of England: The Anglo-Saxon achievement 4 Foundations of a disunited kingdom 5 Overlordship and reaction, c. 1200–c. 1450 6 Scottish foundations: Thirteenth-century perspectives Late medieval contributions Part III Building the early modern state 7 The High Road from Scotland: Stewarts and Tudors in the mid-sixteenth century, One king, two kingdoms, 8 Composite monarchies in early modern Europe: The British and Irish example 9 Irish, Scottish and Welsh responses to centralisation, c. 1530–c. 1640: A comparative perspective 10 Three kingdoms and one commonwealth? The enigma of mid-seventeenth-century Britain and Ireland Part IV The age of Union 11 Varieties of Britishness: Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the Hanoverian state 12 A nation defined by Empire, 1755–1776 13 Englishness and Britishness: National identities, c. 1790–c. 1870 14 An imperial and multinational polity: The ‘scene from the centre’, 1832–1922 15 Letting go: The Conservative Party and the end of the Union with Ireland Part V Epilogue 16 How united is the modern United Kingdom? 17 Conclusion: Contingency, identity, sovereignty

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Book SynopsisA dogged enemy of Hitler, resolute ally of the Americans, and inspiring leader through World War II, Winston Churchill is venerated as one of the truly great statesmen of the last century. But while he has been widely extolled for his achievements, parts of Churchill''s record have gone woefully unexamined. As journalist Madhusree Mukerjee reveals, at the same time that Churchill brilliantly opposed the barbarism of the Nazis, he governed India with a fierce resolve to crush its freedom movement and a profound contempt for native lives. A series of Churchill''s decisions between 1940 and 1944 directly and inevitably led to the deaths of some three million Indians. The streets of eastern Indian cities were lined with corpses, yet instead of sending emergency food shipments Churchill used the wheat and ships at his disposal to build stockpiles for feeding postwar Britain and Europe. Combining meticulous research with a vivid narrative, and riveting accounts of personality and policy clashes within and without the British War Cabinet, Churchill''s Secret War places this oft-overlooked tragedy into the larger context of World War II, India''s fight for freedom, and Churchill''s enduring legacy. Winston Churchill may have found victory in Europe, but, as this ground-breaking historical investigation reveals, his mismanagement- facilitated by dubious advice from scientist and eugenicist Lord Cherwell- devastated India and set the stage for the massive bloodletting that accompanied independence.

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Book SynopsisThis revised second edition now extends to the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, covering the financial crisis and the related crisis in European integration, the impact of the War on Terror on Europe, and the redefinition of Europe following EU enlargement.Table of ContentsList of Maps List of Illustrations Introduction: Europe's Troubles 1. The War and its Legacy 2. Europe between the Powers, 1945-1953 3. Restoration, Reconstruction and Revolution: Europe, 1945-1950 4. Consolidating Western Europe, 1950-1963 5. Western Europe in the 1960s 6. The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, from 1953 to the 1970s 7. Western Europe in the 1970s: Downturn and Détente 8. Western Europe in the 1980s: The Era of Thatcher, Mitterrand and Kohl 9. European Integration: From Rome to Maastricht, 1957-1992 10. The Fall of the Communist Regimes: The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1980-1991 11. Europe after the Cold War 12. Europe in the new millennium

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Book SynopsisIs your knowledge of The Crusades less than tip-top? Maybe you're curious about Columbus, or you're desperate to read about the Black Death in all its gory detail? This title includes - from kings, knights and anti-Popes, to invasion, famine, the Magna Carta and Joan of Arc (and a few rebellious peasants thrown in for good measure).Trade Review‘…a comprehensive guide to political, religious and cultural life in the Middle Ages.' (Medway Messenger, June 2010).Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part I: Starting Up the Middle Ages(450 - 800) 7 Chapter 1: Journeying Back to the Middle Ages: When, Where, What, Who? 9 Chapter 2: Finishing Off the Roman Empire and Entering the (Not So) Dark Ages 19 Chapter 3: Settling in England with the Anglo-Saxons 33 Chapter 4: Organising Early France & Germany: The Merovingians and Carolingians 45 Chapter 5: Becoming Great: Charlemagne and the New Roman Empire 57 Part II: Forming the Basis of Europe(850 - 1100) 69 Chapter 6: Laying the Foundations of Europe 71 Chapter 7: Linking East and West: Islam in Europe 83 Chapter 8: Invading from the North: The Vikings 97 Chapter 9: Splitting the Church: Schisms between East and West 113 Chapter 10: Revving Up the 'Real' Middle Ages with the Normans 125 Part III: Waging Holy War: Crusading at Home and Abroad(1050 - 1300) 145 Chapter 11: Uncovering the Origins of the Crusades 147 Chapter 12: Waging the First Crusade: 1096 - 1099 159 Chapter 13: Struggling for Power: Popes Versus Monarchs 175 Chapter 14: Waging the Second Crusade and Crusading at Home 189 Chapter 15: Pitting Richard I Against Saladin: The Third Crusade 205 Chapter 16: Following the Fourth Crusade and Other Failures 219 Part IV: Dealing with Domestic Dramas: Parliament, Priories and Plagues(1200 - 1300) 237 Chapter 17: Having Trouble in England: John, Henry III and Edward I 239 Chapter 18: Meeting Medieval Monks and Merchants 255 Chapter 19: Piling On the Popes: Avignon and the Antipopes 269 Chapter 20: Facing God’s Judgement: Dealing with the Black Death 281 Part V: Ending the Middle and Beginning the Age of Discovery(1300 - 1492) 293 Chapter 21: Beginning One Hundred Years of War 295 Chapter 22: Pausing the War: Dealing with Unrest at Home 311 Chapter 23: Turning the Tide of War (Twice!): Henry V and Joan of Arc 321 Chapter 24: Moving On from the Medieval Era 335 Part VI: The Part of Tens 345 Chapter 25: Ten Rubbish Rulers 347 Chapter 26: Ten Medieval Pastimes 353 Chapter 27: Ten Great Castles 359 Chapter 28: Ten Medieval People Who Changed the World 365 Chapter 29: Ten Great Medieval Innovations 371 Index 375

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Book SynopsisClassic document of social realism contains 37 photographs by famed Victorian photographer John Thomson, accompanied by individual essays by Thomson himself or social activist Adolphe Smith that offer sharply drawn vignettes of lower-class laborers, dustmen, street musicians, shoe blacks, and other street people. A treasure trove of astonishing historical detail.

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Book SynopsisThis authoritative study by a distinguished scholar presents a brilliant panorama of Italian Renaissance life, explaining how and why the period constituted a cultural revolution. It traces the influences of classical antiquity on the age''s thinkers and artists and chronicles the revival of humanism, the conflict between church and empire, and the rise of both the modern state and the modern individual.

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Book SynopsisTake a cast of archaeologists and historians who inhabit different worlds. Add a medieval king who died in battle, and was revived by Shakespeare as the ultimate anti-hero. Throw in a forensic quest with almost unbelievable twists, and a theatrical modern burial with no parallel, and you have the material for an irresistible story for our times.Trade Review'An utterly compelling read ... a book which tells us as much about modern archaeology and the personalities of those who found Richard, as it does about a long dead king. By the end you may well be dusting down your trowel and setting out for the nearest dig' - Will Gore, Independent on Sunday'This book is about far more than the mere killing of a king. It’s about life, discovery and death … original and intriguing … as good as being there' - BBC History Magazine'The vivid tale of a king, his demise, and the thrilling rediscovery of his remains … an insider’s account of how modern archaeology really works, and how it was used to piece together the mystery of Richard’s resting place' - Military History'Not so much a who-dunnit, as a what- why- and how-dunnit: history’s most remarkable cold case, and a fascinating glimpse into the 21st-century world of faith, science and publicity. Compulsively readable' - David Miles, former Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage'Spellbinding … Pitts’s narrative gives us changing moods, exact dialogue, expressions on faces - and mounting amazement as the uncovering of the skeleton proceeded' - British Archaeology'An entertaining, knowledgeable and forensic examination of one of the most extraordinary archaeological digs ever' - Sir Tony Robinson, actor and amateur historian'Pitts arguably puts forth the most balanced, unbiased account of the discovery' - SmithsonianTable of ContentsPrologue • Act I: England, 1452–85 • Act II: Looking for Richard III • Act III: Excavation in 2012 • Act IV: An Autopsy • Act V: An Inquest

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Book SynopsisExplore the lives of over forty men and women great and otherwise whose pioneering journeys beyond the Irish shore played a profound role in world history. The Irish have always been a travelling people. Since 1800 an estimated 10 million people have left the Irish shores, and today more than 80 million people worldwide claim Irish descent. In the centuries after the fall of Rome, Irish missionaries carried the word of Christianity throughout Europe, while soldiers and mariners from across the land ventured overseas in all directions. The advent of the British Empire ignited a slow but extraordinary exodus from Ireland that has continued to the present. In his inimitable fashion, Turtle Bunbury explores the lives of those men and women, great and otherwise, whose journeys whether driven by faith, a desire for riches and adventure, or purely for survival have left their mark on the world.

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Book SynopsisAn engaging range of period texts and theme books for AS and A Level history. The years between the rise of William Pitt in the early 1780s and the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 saw Britain struggle with political and social tensions caused by the economic changes that began in the mid-eighteenth century. Changes in attitudes towards who could vote, how the poor should be treated, how towns should be governed and how popular protest should be conducted led to confrontations between different segments of society. Yet Britain escaped revolution. Resistance, radicalism and reform. Richard Brown explores key issues which help explain these developments of the period.Table of Contents1. Britain in the 1780s; 2. William Pitt, 1783-1801; 3. Tory dominance and decline, 1812-30; 4. The Whig reforms, 1830-41; 5. Redefining Toryism; 6. Peel and Ireland; 7. Britain at war, 1793-1815; 8. Foreign policy, 1814-41; 9. The first industrial nation; 10. Responding to economic change; 11. Children, work and education, 1833-53; 12. From Speenhamland to the new Poor Law, 1830-47; 13. Chadwick and public health, 1830-54; 14. Chartism; DOCUMENT STUDY: THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND, 1832-53.

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Book SynopsisA History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of the history of Portugal and its empire up to the start of the nineteenth century. Volume I concerns the formation and subsequent history of Portugal itself from pre-Roman times to the climactic French invasion of 1807.Trade Review'In response to the global turn in scholarship on colonial and early modern history, this book provides a fresh and much-needed perspective integrating metropolitan and colonial Portuguese histories. In fact, this analytical combination of national and imperial dimensions is totally original in the panorama of Portuguese histories where almost all the works available in English tend to concentrate exclusively on overseas expansion.' Diogo Ramada Curto, European University Institute, Florence and Universidade Nova de Lisboa'Anthony Disney has provided in this impressive two-volume survey of the history of Portugal and its overseas empire to the beginning of the nineteenth century a work of synthesis that has long been needed. Up-to-date in its scholarship, lucid and coherent in its exposition, his account, skillfully blending narrative and analysis, will immediately take its place as the essential starting-point for all those interested in the origins and character of the first truly global empire in world history.' Sir John Elliott, Regius Professor Emeritus of Modern History, University of Oxford'The history of the Portuguese world is barnacled with accretions: traditional errors, apparently ineradicable myths, partisan controversies, irrational passions. Anthony Disney has scraped the bottom and set the ship to rights. His book is sober but engaging, meticulous but well paced, comprehensive but concise: a monument of scholarship and discernment, which everyone interested in the subject will want to hand.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Tufts UniversityTable of Contents1. Hunter-gatherers to Iron Age farmers; 2. The Roman experience; 3. The Germanic kingdoms; 4. Gharb al-Andalus; 5. The medieval kingdom; 6. The fourteenth century; 7. The making of Avis Portugal; 8. The golden age; 9. The tarnished age; 10. Habsburg Portugal; 11. Restoration and reconstruction; 12. The age of gold and baroque splendour; 13. The age of Pombal; 14. The late eighteenth century: finale of the old regime.

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Book SynopsisClassical Athens boasted some of the most original and influential achievements in literature, art, philosophy, medicine and politics. This best-selling book, now issued in a second edition, provides a comprehensive and highly illustrated introduction to its history, society, culture and values aimed at the student and the general reader. The text has been extensively revised from the first edition and the bibliography updated. A wide range of topics is discussed, but the book refuses to divide up the Athenian world neatly into separate compartments, insisting that sense can only be made of the society by making connections between its history, institutions, values and environment. The book can be used either on its own or as an accompaniment to students learning Greek with the Reading Greek course.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. An outline history of Athens to the death of Alexander the Great; 2. Environment and settlement of Athens and Attikê; 3. Gods and festivals; 4. Human obligations, values and concerns; 5. Athenian society; 6. Athenian democracy and imperialism; 7. Athens at war; 8. The culture of Athens; 9. Postscript: the world of Athens and other worlds.

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Book SynopsisNew approaches to the history of print have allowed historians of early modern Europe to re-evaluate major shifts in religious, intellectual, cultural and political life across Europe. Drawing on precise and detailed study of the contexts of different types of print, including books, pamphlets, newspapers and flysheets, combined with quantitative analysis and a study of texts as material objects, Thomas Munck offers a transformed picture of early modern political culture, and through analysis of new styles and genres of writing he offers a fresh perspective on the intended readership. Conflict and Enlightenment uses a resolutely comparative approach to re-examine what was being disseminated in print, and how. By mapping the transmission of texts across cultural and linguistic divides, Munck reveals how far new forms of political discourse varied depending on the particular perspectives of authors, readers and regulatory authorities, as well as the cultural adaptability of translators aTrade Review'This impressive and ambitious study of the interplay of print, political thought and expression, and social and cultural change is a compelling, fine-tuned and original account of how the printing press served as an agent of change across the early modern period and Enlightenment.' Simon Burrows, Western Sydney University'With remarkable command of the Germanic languages, not to ignore his facility with French and other languages, Munck has written the history of books and publishing from the 1630s to the turbulent 1790s into Enlightenment historiography. The sheer quantity and quality of print culture, expanding more rapidly than the literate public, shows that without it, the origins and power of the Enlightenment cannot be understood.' Margaret C. Jacob, Distinguished Research Professor, University of California, Los Angeles'This weighty study takes the reader from the depths of the Thirty Years War to the end of the Enlightenment. Surveying the previous fifty years of research on the topic, it asks how print media reshaped ideas and impacted political culture in an era when polemic was rife and print was becoming the most powerful tool available to form opinion in the new reading public.' Dorinda Outram, Professor Emerita of History, University of Rochester, New York'Munck skilfully combines observation and classification at the meta level, and presents the interaction between political events and the production, distribution, and reception of print media, whose format allowed them to adapt to different political conditions.' Christine Haug, German Historical Institute London BulletinTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Print, production, authors and readers; 2. Instability and politicisation (1630–77); 3. Subversive print in the early Enlightenment; 4. Translation and transmission across cultural borders; 5. High enlightenment, political texts and reform (1748–89); 6. Revolution: democracy and loyalism in print (1789–95); Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisIn April 2006 a small British peace-keeping force was sent to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Within weeks they were cut off and besieged by some of the world''s toughest fighters: the infamous Taliban, who were determined to send the foreigners home again. Defence Secretary John Reid had hoped that Operation Herrick 4 could be accomplished without a shot being fired; instead, the Army was drawn into the fiercest fighting it had seen for fifty years. Millions of bullets and thousands of lives have been expended since then in an under-publicized but bitter conflict whose end is still not in sight. Some people consider it the fourth Anglo-Afghan War since Victorian times. How on earth did this happen? And what is it like for the troops on the front line of the ''War on Terror''?James Fergusson takes us to the dark heart of the battle zone. Here, in their own words and for the first time, are the young veterans of Herrick 4. Here, unmasked, are the civilian and military oTrade ReviewThe lessons drawn by James Fergusson are deeply uncomfortable; but his account cannot be ignored by anyone seriously interested in the future of the British armed forces -- Douglas Hurda riveting, blistering, deeply reported narrative of the recent British military interventions in Afghanistan -- Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc.If you read anything on Afghanistan this year, then read this strong, intelligent book of crafted anger and insight -- Anthony LoydFascinating... Succeeds brilliantly in detailing the emotional impact on soldiers killing for the first time and seeing comrades killed * The Sunday Times *The only thoughtful and informed book to come out of the UK's venture into Helmand -- Frank Ledwidge * Royal United Services Institute Journal *

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Book SynopsisOver the last two hundred years Parliament has witnessed and effected dramatic and often turbulent change. Political parties rose and fell. The old aristocratic order passed away. The vote was won for the working classes and, eventually, for women. The world was torn apart by two extraordinarily bloody wars. And individual politicians were cheered for their altruism or their bravery and jeered for their sexual or financial misdemeanours.This second volume of Chris Bryant's majestic Parliament: The Biography has a cast of characters that includes some of British history's most famous names: the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Gladstone, Disraeli, Lloyd George, Churchill and Thatcher. Its recurring theme is reform and innovation, but it also lays bare obsessive respect for the past and a dedication to evolution rather than revolution, which has left us with a fudged constitution still perilously dependent on custom, convention and gentlemen's agreements.This is riveting, flawlessly researched and accessible popular history for anyone with an interest in why modern Britain is the nation it is today.Trade ReviewImpressive * Independent *A sweeping history of Britain's political system... One of the most thoughtful accounts I have read -- Francis Beckett * BBC History *Parliament is a very good read, with interesting anecdotes and observations enriched by the fact the author is an MP * Total Politics *An entertaining read * The Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisDetailing the rediscovery in Moscow of the so-called jewels of Helen and the re-excavation of the site of Troy begun in 1988, which continues to yield new evidence about the historical city, In Search of the Trojan War takes a fresh look at some of the most excited discoveries in archaeology.

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Book SynopsisSuppose that everything we think we know about ''The Victorians'' is wrong? That we have persistently misrepresented the culture of the Victorian era, perhaps to make ourselves feel more satisfyingly liberal and sophisticated? What if they were much more fun than we ever suspected? Matthew Sweet''s Inventing the Victorians has some revelatory - and entertaining - answers for us. As Sweet shows us in this brilliant study, many of the concepts that strike us as terrifically new - political spin-doctoring, extravagant publicity stunts, hardcore pornography, anxieties about the impact of popular culture upon children - are Victorian inventions. Most of the pleasures that we imagine to be our own, the Victorians enjoyed first: the theme park, the shopping mall, the movies, the amusement arcade, the crime novel and the sensational newspaper report. They were engaged in a well-nigh continuous search for bigger and better thrills. If Queen Victoria wasn''t amused, then she waTrade Review'This is a profoundly stimulating and entertaining book'. D. J. Taylor, Sunday Times; 'Matthew Sweet has opened a blast of fresh air into the hothouse of Victorian studies. His book is packed with weird and wonderful information'. Spectator; 'He tells his revisionist version exceedingly well, describing a lurid thrill-seeking populace avid for sensation. Colourful characters parade through chapters that demonstrate how innovative, fast-paced, diverse and radical the era was. Sweet has turned his scholarly research through the detritus of high and low 19th-century culture into a page-turning piece of pop-culture history... A darned good read, and no mistake,' Big Issue

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Book SynopsisIn 1996, in the middle of watching an ill-tempered football match between England and Germany, Philip Oltermann''s parents tell him that they are going to leave their home city Hamburg behind and move to London.Inspired by his own experience of both countries, Philip Oltermann looks at eight historical encounters between English and German people from the last two hundred years: Helmut Kohl tries to explain German cuisine to the Iron Lady, the Mini plays catch-up with the Volkswagen Beetle, and Joe Strummer has an unlikely brush with the Baader-Meinhof gang.Keeping Up with the Germans is a witty look at the lighter-side of Anglo-German relations over the last 100 years.

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Book SynopsisIn 1964, Mary Whitehouse launched a campaign to fight what she called the ''propaganda of disbelief, doubt and dirt'' being poured into homes through the nation''s radio and television sets. Whitehouse, senior mistress at a Shropshire secondary school, became the unlikely figurehead of a mass movement for censorship: the National Viewers'' and Listeners'' Association, now Mediawatch-uk.For almost forty years, she kept up the fight against the programme makers, politicians, pop stars and playwrights who she felt were dragging British culture into a sewer of blasphemy and obscenity. From Doctor Who (''Teatime brutality for tots'') to Dennis Potter (whose mother sued her for libel and won) to the Beatles - whose Magical Mystery Tour escaped her intervention by the skin of its psychedelic teeth - the list of Mary Whitehouse''s targets will read to some like a nostalgic roll of honour.Caricatured while she lived as a figure of middle-brow reaction, Mary Whitehouse was held in contempt by the country''s intellectual elite. But were some of the dangers she warned of more real than they imagined? Ben Thompson''s selection of material from her extraordinary archive shows Mary Whitehouse''s legacy in a startling new light. From her exquisitely testy exchanges with successive BBC Directors General, to the anguished screeds penned by her television and radio vigilantes, these letters reveal a complex and combative individual, whose anxieties about culture and morality are often eerily relevant to the age of the internet. ''A fantastic read . . . I can''t recommend it highly enough.'' Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 6 Music

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Book SynopsisThe second instalment of the Pax Britannica Trilogy by Jan Morris, recreates the British Empire at its dazzling climax - the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, celebrated as a festival of imperial strength, unity, and splendour. This classic work of history portrays a nation at the very height of its vigour and self-satisfaction, imposing on the rest of the world its traditions and tastes, its idealists and rascals. The Pax Britannica Trilogy also includes Heaven''s Command: An Imperial Progress and Farewell the Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat. Together these three works of history trace the dramatic rise and fall of the British Empire, from the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 to the death of Winston Churchill in 1965. Jan Morris is world-renowned for her collection of travel writing and reportage, spanning over five decades and including such titles as Venice, Coronation Everest, Hong Kong, Spain, A Writ

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Book SynopsisAn original and profound portrait of contemporary Britain told through the testimonies of its inhabitants.''A spectacularly enjoyable and compelling reading experience . . . funny, moving, surprising and thought-provoking. It humanises literature in this toxic moment.''MAX PORTER, author of Lanny''Seemingly simple yet so deeply profound, The Passengers is an absorbing insight into the lives and minds of so-called ordinary people: their hopes and fears and idiosyncrasies at a specific moment in time.''CLIO BARNARD, director of Ali & Ava and The Essex Serpent''A nation's psyche comes to the surface. The Passengers is not just an oral history of the contemporary moment but, drenched in mood and texture, renders the country itself as a sonic collage.''SUKHDEV SANDHU, GUARDIANBetween October 2018 and March 2021, Will Ashon collected voices people talking

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Book SynopsisThe Medieval Church: A Brief History argues for the pervasiveness of the Church in every aspect of life in medieval Europe. It shows how the institution of the Church attempted to control the lives and behaviour of medieval people, for example, through canon law, while at the same time being influenced by popular movements like the friars and heresy. This fully updated and illustrated second edition offers a new introductory chapter on the Basics of Christianity,' for students who might be unfamiliar with this territory. The book now has new material on some of the key individuals in church history: Benedict of Nursia, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis of Assisi as well as a more comprehensive study throughout of the role of women in the medieval church.Lynch and Adamo seek to explain the history of the Church as an institution, and to explore its all-pervasive role in medieval life. In the course of the thousand years covered in this book,Trade Review"Both editions constitute the best "brief'' history of this subject that is presently available.Summing up: Highly recommended"G.H. Shriver, emeritus, Georgia Southern University in CHOICE. "The book is readable, wise in its judgments and broader statements, written with an eye on students who know little of the topic and not much more about the Middle Ages in general, and outstanding for its presentation of a tale of change and transition and the interplay of faith and practice: Christianity as a religion and the church as an institution. Pithy statements, often with a touch of humor and irony, enhance its readability. Lynch's first edition (of 1992) was very good and this new version more than matches the original standard."Joel T. Rosenthal, emeritus, Stony Brook Univeristy in The Medieval Review.Table of ContentsList of figures. List of maps. Preface to the 1st edition. Preface to the 2nd edition. Publisher’s acknowledgements. Glossary. Chapter 1: The basics of Christianity. Chapter 2: Ancient Christianity. Chapter 3: Beginnings of the medieval church. Chapter 4: The conversion of the west (350–700). Chapter 5: The Papal-Frankish Alliance. Chapter 6: The church in the Carolingian Empire. Chapter 7: The Carolingian Renaissance. Chapter 8: The collapse of the Carolingian world. Chapter 9: The church in the year 1000. Chapter 10: The eleventh-century reforms. Chapter 11: The rise of Christendom. Chapter 12: The age of the papacy. Chapter 13: The New Testament revival. Chapter 14: Monastic life in the twelfth century. Chapter 15: The heretics. Chapter 16: The friars. Chapter 17: The schools. Chapter 18: The sacramental life. Chapter 19: Crisis and calamity. Chapter 20: The church in the fifteenth century. Chapter 21: Epilogue. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis is a survey of a seminal and intensely controversial period in British history, from the union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603 to the union of the Kingdoms in 1707. The book explores the intersecting histories of the Stuart monarchies and considers how events in each nation were shaped by being part of a multiple kingdom as well as by their own internal dynamics. Throughout, special attention is given to the personalities and political style of successive rulers. Their role in precipitating two revolutions is examined against the background of longer term constitutional, religious and social themes. In particular, the parallels between James I and Charles II, and between Charles I and James II, are clearly drawn out.Trade Review"Dr Nicholls has proved to be a resourceful choice ... he delivers an accurate, sensitive and engaging account, never allowing the reader to be lost in the quagmires of scholarly debate." The Historical AssociationTable of ContentsList of Plates ix List of Maps xi Preface xii List of Abbreviations xv Genealogical Tables xvi 1 1603 Union of the Crown 1 2 Great Britain’s Solomon 29 3 The Ascendency of Buckingham 51 4 The Personal Rule of Charles I 77 5 The Collapse of Multiple Monarchies 105 6 War in Three Kingdoms 131 7 The British Republic 165 8 The Restoration of the British Monarchies 197 9 Court and Country 221 10 Exclusion and Reaction 254 11 A Glorious Revolution? 267 12 Britain Under William and Anne 299 13 1707 Union of the Kingdoms 329 Notes 349 Bibliographical Essay 359 Appendix 1: Glossary 382 Appendix 2: Archbishops of Canterbury, 1603-1707 392 Appendix 3: Lord Chancellors and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, 1603-1707 393 Appendix 4: Lord Treasurers of England, 1603-1707 395 Appendix 5: Principal Secretaries of State of England, 1603-1707 397 Appendix 6: Chief Governors of Ireland, 1603-1707 402 Appendix 7: Scottish Secretaries, 1603-1707 405 Appendix 8 (A): English Parliamentary Sessions, 1604-1707 407 Appendix 8 (B): Irish Parliamentary Sessions, 1613-1713 410 Appendix 8 (C): Scottish Parliamentary Sessions, 1604-1707 407 Appendix 9 (A): The Population of England and Wales, 1601-1706 415 Appendix 9 (B): The Population of Ireland, 1603-1712 416 Appendix 9 (C): The Population of Scotland, 1603-1707 417 Appendix 10: Prices in England, 1601-1700 418 Appendix 11: Wage-rates in England, 1580-1710 419 Index 420

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Book SynopsisThis is a history of the Huns in Europe from their first attacks on the Goths north of the Black Sea to the collapse of their central European empire after the death of the legendary Attila.Table of ContentsIntroduction. 1. Sources. 2. The History of the Huns Before Attila. 3. Hun Society Before Attila. 4. The Victories of Attila. 5. Peace on the Danube Frontier. 6. The Defeats of Attila. 7. Hun Society Under Attila. 8. Roman Foreign Policy and the Huns. 9. Conclusion. Appendixes:. A: The Songs of the Huns. B: The Causes of the War of 441. C: Valips. D: The Campaign of 441-3. E: Chronological Note on the Years 449-50. F: The Site of Attila's Headquarters. G: The Alleged Gothic Names of the Huns. Afterword by Peter Heather. Further Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis history of the great heretical movements of the middle ages provides an account of the dissent and protests made against the Medieval churches of Rome and Byzantium. It examines the origins and nature of these heresies, and how medieval churchmen grappled with deviation.Table of ContentsPart I: The Beginnings. 1. The Problem with Heresy. 2. The Revival of Heresy in the West: The Eleventh Century. Part II: The Twelfth Century. 3. Orthodox Reform and Heresy. 4. Heretical Preachers and the Rise of Catharism. 5. The Waldensians and the Deepening Crisis. Part III: Heresy and the Church. 6. The Counter-Attack: Innocent III to Innocent IV. 7. The Cathars. 8. The Waldensians After the Conference of Bergamo. 9. Tension and Insecurity: Gregory X to John XXII. 10. Inquisition and Abuse. 11. Spiritual Franciscans and Heretical Joachimites. Part IV: Evangelical Heresy in the Late Middle Ages. 12. Church and Society: Benedict XII to Eugenius IV. 13. John Wycliff. 14. The English Lollards. 15. The Bohemian Reform Movement. 16. Politics and Hussitism, 1409-1419. 17. Success and Failure: From the Defenestration to the Agreement at Jihlava. 18. The Unitas Fratum and the Development of Confessions. 19. Medieval Heresy and the Reformation. 20. Heresy and Reform.

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Book Synopsis* Important study of women and power in medieval England. * Sets biographical study of two early English queens in social and political context. * Draws on latest research in womena s and feminist history as anthropology. * Provides insights into structure of medieval rule. .Trade ReviewThere is much learning, originality and, indeed, entertainment in Pauline Stafford's Queen Emma and Queen Edith...This book develops a most interesting subject with learning and insight which illuminate the period as a whole." (English Historical Review) "It provides fascinating insights into medieval family structures, the manipulation of saints' cults, the nature of royal estates and patronage, to name but a few of its themes. Anyone who wants to understand the power structures of the early Middle Ages will want to read it." (History) "The stories of Queen Emma and Queen Edith are satisfyingly rich in the telling in Pauline Stafford's latest book, Queen Emma and Queen Edith. The sources which provide these riches are varied and Stafford's use of them masterly." (Parergon) "Readable and learned, it is an admirable illustration of the way in which gender studies may be used to enrich understanding of the whole history of a period." (Times Higher Education Supplement) "It will become an indispensable tool on undergraduate courses dealing with gender, power and politics in the middle ages ... It also represents a clear, elegantly written and meticulously documented contribution to the study of the eleventh (and tenth) century in England." (Gender and History) "(Stafford) has used her two queens to suggest a great deal, not only about queens and court politics in eleventh-century England but also about the society and politics of a whole period of west European history." (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford: The Brown Book)Table of ContentsList of Figures. Preface. Acknowledgements. Part I: The Stories. . Prologue. 1. Emma and Edith in the Narratives of the Eleventh Century. 2. Emma's and Edith's Narratives. Part II: The Structures. . 3. The Faces of the Queen. 4. Family: Structures and Ideals. 5. Household, Land and Patronage. 6. Queen and Queenship. 7. The Fluctuating Power of the Queen: Witnessing and Identities. Part III: The Lives. . 8. Emma. 9. Edith. Appendix I The Lands and Revenues of Edith in Domesday Book. Appendix II Emma's and Edith's Household Followers. Appendix III Genealogical Tables. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisSociologist Robert Wuthnow notes remarkable similarities in the social conditions surrounding three of the greatest challenges to the status quo in the development of modern societyâthe Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the rise of Marxist socialism.

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Book SynopsisFirst of the widely celebrated and sumptuously illustrated series, this book reveals in intimate detail what life was really like in the ancient world.Trade ReviewPrivate life has always been a matter of public conjecture. This admirable book brings it intelligently into the web of social history and is a model for historians and readers alike. Beautifully produced, it adds apt and rare illustrations to a text by experts who presuppose human curiosity, but no undue knowledge. Its range and level of argument will intrigue anyone who has wondered about past attitudes to such matters as sex and the family, households, social inferiors, dress and even undress. -- Robin Lane Fox * Washington Post *This first volume is one of the most arresting, original, and rewarding historical surveys to be published in many years, and its value is enhanced by the hundreds of illustrations, which present almost every conceivable detail of private life as it was lived in the centuries. -- Bernard Knox * The Atlantic *A stimulating—indeed a provocative—and beautiful book on a difficult subject… It’s a treasure. * Christian Science Monitor *The five essays collected here…treat readers to a vast array of anecdotes and conjectures about the private life of our forebears. -- Roger Kimball * Wall Street Journal *A book which makes the reader think, teasing and encouraging with spicy details, long views, a capacity for the unexpected insight. Now for something completely different. -- Jasper Griffin * London Review of Books *This is a long, demanding and very rewarding book. If the remaining four volumes are of this quality, the series will indeed, as the editors claim, be ‘a milestone in historical research.’ -- Jane F. Gardner * Times Higher Education Supplement *This absorbingly illustrated series is intent on presenting the past with both physical immediacy and with as little academic fuss as possible. The illustrations in the first volume have a subjective penetration of the text that is like an inner musical accompaniment. This volume does not pretend to roll out a complete rug of civilization… Few readers, even of I, Claudius, will have experienced pagan Rome with quite the freshness evident here… History-to-touch. * Kirkus Reviews *The new emphasis on the history of everybody has now been consecrated in [this] ambitious five-volume series… Copious illustrative materials—paintings, drawings, caricatures, and photographs, all cannily chosen and wittily captioned to display domestic life… Magnificent. -- Roger Shattuck * New York Times Book Review *Together these five compact volumes cover much of the history of the classical world, and do so with both ease and authority. * Washington Post Book World *Table of ContentsForeword by Georges Duby Introduction by Paul Veyne 1. Roman Empire by Paul Veyne Introduction From Mother's Womb to Last Will and Testament Marriage Slavery The Household and Its Freed Slaves Where Public Life Was Private "Work" and Leisure Patrimony Public Opinion and Utopia Pleasures and Excesses Tranquilizers 2. Late Antiquity by Peter Brown Introduction The "Wellborn" Few Person and Group in Judaism and Early Christianity Church and Leadership The Challenge of the Desert East and West: The New Marital Morality 3. Private Life and Domestic Architecture in Roman Africa by Yvon Thebert The Roman Home: Foreword by Paul Veyne Some Theoretical Considerations The Domestic Architecture of the Ruling Class "Private" and "Public" Spaces: The Components of the Domus How the Domus Worked Conclusion 4. The Early Middle Ages in the West by Michel Rouche Introduction by Paul Veyne Historical Introduction Private Life Conquers State and Society Body and Heart Violence and Death Sacred and Secret Conclusion 5. Byzantium in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries by Evelyne Patlagean The Byzantine Empire Private Space Self and Others The Inner Life Private Belief Conclusion Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisMarco Santagata illuminates one of the world's supreme poets from many angles philosopher, father, courtier, political partisan. He brings together a vast body of Italian scholarship on Dante's medieval world, untangles a complex web of family relationships for English readers, and shows the influence of local and regional politics on his writing.

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Book SynopsisMany books have been written about the Normandy landings, but Robert Kershaw brings a new perspective by drawing heavily on German and Allied sources little used in the standard accounts. The actual landings and the subsequent few days of battle often resolved themselves into a multitude of desperate small-scale struggles - for the next few yards of beach, to cross the next field, or to reach the next hedgerow. By looking at the battle at this level through the eyes of both Allied and German participants, the author is able to develop new insights into the successes and failures of both sides. He also shows why the battle for Normandy developed into the long and bitter struggle that has become so well known.The book features extracts from the German telephone log for Omaha Beach, bringing the landings to life. The author also analyses the failure by both sides to balance tank and infantry forces in the difficult Normandy terrain, and examines why the Allies, with local superiority in t

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Book SynopsisIn A History of Britain in 100 Maps Jeremy Black takes readers deep into the unparalleled collections of the British Library Map Room to tell a new story of the British Isles through acknowledged treasures and previously undiscovered and unpublished items.

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