Bryan C. Keene

This textbook explores vital networks and relationships among geographies and cultures that shaped medieval societies. Designed for students new to the subject, this second edition has been fully updated to include expanded coverage of Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Korea, and Jewish culture. The expert author team advances a global view of the period, introducing the reader to histories and narratives beyond a European context. A new chapter called “Perspectives” has been added which defines theoretical approaches to the material and considers changes in how we interpret history. Key Features: Divided into chronological sections, chapters are organized by four key themes: Religion, Economics, Politics, and Society. This framework enables students to connect wider ideas and debates across 500 to 1500. Individual chapters address current theoretical discussions, including issues around gender, migration, sustainable environments, race and intercultural religious spaces. The authors’ combined teaching experience and subject specialties ensure an engaging and accessible overview for students of history, literature, and those undertaking general studies courses. Full-colour maps and images illustrate chapter content and support understanding. As a result, this text is essential reading for all those interested in learning more about the histories and cultures of the period, as well as their relevance to our own contemporary experiences and perspectives. This textbook is supported by a companion website providing core resources for students and lecturers.

This textbook explores vital networks and relationships among geographies and cultures that shaped medieval societies. Designed for students new to the subject, this second edition has been fully updated to include expanded coverage of Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Korea, and Jewish culture. The expert author team advances a global view of the period, introducing the reader to histories and narratives beyond a European context. A new chapter called “Perspectives” has been added which defines theoretical approaches to the material and considers changes in how we interpret history. Key Features: Divided into chronological sections, chapters are organized by four key themes: Religion, Economics, Politics, and Society. This framework enables students to connect wider ideas and debates across 500 to 1500. Individual chapters address current theoretical discussions, including issues around gender, migration, sustainable environments, race and intercultural religious spaces. The authors’ combined teaching experience and subject specialties ensure an engaging and accessible overview for students of history, literature, and those undertaking general studies courses. Full-colour maps and images illustrate chapter content and support understanding. As a result, this text is essential reading for all those interested in learning more about the histories and cultures of the period, as well as their relevance to our own contemporary experiences and perspectives. This textbook is supported by a companion website providing core resources for students and lecturers.

From the soaring castles of Sleeping Beauty to the bloody battles of Game of Thrones, from Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings to mythical beasts in Dungeons & Dragons and from Medieval Times to the Renaissance Faire to Disneyland, the Middle Ages have inspired artists, playwrights, filmmakers, gamers, and writers for centuries. Indeed, no other historical era has captured the imaginations of so many creators. This volume aims to uncover the many reasons why the Middle Ages have proven so flexible-and applicable-to a variety of modern moments from the eighteenth through the twenty-first century. These "medieval" worlds are often the perfect ground for exploring contemporary cultural concerns and anxieties, saying much more about the time and place in which they were created than they do about the actual conditions of the medieval period. With 140 color illustrations, from sources ranging from thirteenth-century illuminated manuscripts to contemporary films and video games, and a preface by Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton, The Fantasy of the Middle Ages will surprise and delight both enthusiasts and scholars. This title is published to accompany an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from June 21-September 11, 2022.

Distant blue hills, soaring trees, vast cloudless skies-the majesty of nature has always had the power to lift the human spirit. For some it evokes a sense of timelessness and wonder. For others it reinforces religious convictions. And for many people today, it raises concerns for the welfare of the planet.During the Renaissance, artists from Italy to Flanders andEngland to Germany depicted nature in their religious art tointensify the spiritual experience of the viewer. Devotionalmanuscripts for personal or communal use-from small-scale prayer books to massive choir books-were filled withsome of the most illusionistic nature studies of this period.Sacred Landscapes, which accompanies an exhibition at theJ. Paul Getty Museum, presents some of the mostimpressive examples of this art, gathering a wide range ofilluminated manuscripts made between 1400 and 1600, aswell as panel paintings, drawings, and decorative arts.Readers will see the influ-ence of such masters as AlbrechtDu rer, Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, and Piero dellaFrancesca and will gain new appreciation for manuscriptilluminators like Simon Bening, Joris Hoefnagel, Vincent Raymond, and the Spitz Master. These artists were innovative in the early development of landscape painting and were revered through-out the early modern period. The authors provide thoughtful examination of works from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries.