Description
Book SynopsisThis book guides readers through 10 pervasive fictions about medieval history, provides them with the sources and analytical tools to critique those fictions, and identifies what really happened in the Middle Ages.This book is the first to present fictions about the medieval world to serious students of history. Instead of merely listing myths and stating they are wrong, this volume promotes critical historical analysis of those myths and how they came to be. Each of the ten chapters outlines a pervasive modern myth about medieval European history, describing What People Think Happened and What Really Happened, and illustrating both trends with primary source documents.The book demonstrates that historical fictions also have a history, and that while we need to replace those fictions with facts about the medieval past, we can also benefit from understanding how a fiction about the Middle Ages developed and what that says about our modern perspectives on the past. Through this innovativ
Trade ReviewHighly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. * Choice *
This is a comprehensive book about the Middle Ages for students who are interested in that period of European history. It is also a very good reference book for teachers who want to learn more background information that may not be included, or may be inaccurate, in standard textbooks. * School Library Connection *
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. The Middle Ages Were the Dark Ages 2. Medieval People Thought the Earth Was Flat 3. Peasants Never Bathed, and They Ate Rotten Meat 4. People Were Terrified of the Year 1000 5. Medieval Wars Were Fought by Knights on Horseback 6. The Medieval Church Suppressed Science 7. Thousands of Children Died on Crusade in the Year 1212 8. There Was a Female Pope Named Joan 9. Medieval Medicine Was Nothing but Superstition 10. Medieval People Believed in Witches and Burned Them at the Stake 11. The Black Death Led to Masked Plague Doctors and Ring around the Rosie Bibliography Index
