An abridgement of the 1988 Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe ; whether the 1992 paper edition was of the abridgement or the mother volume is unclear. The remaining illustrations comprise line maps, family trees, and 14 monochrome plates. The survey stretches from 400 to 1500 AD. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Covering a thousand years of history, this volume tells the story of the creation of Western civilization in Europe and the Mediterranean. Now available in a compact, more convenient format, it offers the same text and many of the illustrations which first appeared in the widely acclaimed Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe. Written by expert scholars and based on the latest research, the book explores a period of profound diversity and change, focusing on all aspects of medieval history from the empires and kingdoms of Charlemagne and the Byzantines to the new nations which fought the Hundred Years War. The Oxford History of the Medieval World also examines such intriguing cultural subjects as the chivalric code of knights, popular festivals, and the proliferation of new art forms, and the catastrophic social effect of the Black Death. Authoritative and eminently readable, this book will entertain as much as it will educate.