From the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance, this comprehensive encyclopedia presents the full pageant of medieval times across the entire Old World - with articles on the New World, Africa, and the Far East as well. Twenty major essays underpin the text, while more than 600 entries provide specific information on everything from the Abbasid Dynasty and Peter Abelard to John Wycliffe and the Seal of Zug. Interspersed throughout are maps, diagrams and more than 250 colour and black-and-white illustrations which vividly display all the elements of everyday life, such as travel, commerce, religion and royalty. Also included are chronologies of important events, glossaries of medieval terminology and jargon, material on music, science, art, crafts and legend, genealogical charts and excerpts from the documents of the time. Interest in the Middle Ages is stronger than ever as it becomes increasingly evident that the modern period has much more in common with the medieval world than was previously imagined. No other reference work better illustrates this historical truth. Authoritative, entertaining and beautifully illustrated, The Pimlico Encylclopedia of the Middle Ages is an indispensable guide to one of the great periods in human history. The General Editor, Norman Cantor, is an internationally respected scholar of medieval history and the author of Inventing the Middle Ages, The Civilization of the Middle Ages and Medieval Lives.
