Synopses & Reviews
Gives quick access to medieval England
This valuable reference work offers concise, expert answers to questions on all aspects of life and culture in medieval England-art, architecture, law, literature, kings, commoners, women, music, commerce, technology, warfare, religion, and many others. It takes as its scope English social, cultural, and political life from the Anglo-Saxon invasions in the fifth century to the turn of the sixteenth century. To make it even more useful to information seekers, the Encyclopedia also traces England's ties to the Celtic world of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, to the French and Anglo-Norman world of the Continent, to the Viking and Scandinavian world of the North Sea, and to the world of medieval Christendom. The result is a detailed portrait of the English Middle Ages and their key historical events, personages, and cultural contexts.
Authoritative, wide-ranging, informative
Multidisciplinary articles bring together a rich variety of scholarly perspectives and individual viewpoints found in no other comparable reference work. More than 700 entries by over 300 international scholars discuss topics ranging from Sedulius to Skelton, from Wulfstan of York to Reginald Pecock, from Pictish art to Gothic sculpture, from the Vikings to the Black Death, from musical instruments to weapons, from Beowulf to The Book of Margery Kempe, from comic tales to religious allegory, from saints to lawyers, from courtly love to prostitution, from mills to monasteries, from Alfred the Great to Geoffrey Chaucer.
Makes further inquiry simple and easy
A subject and name index makes it easy to locate information. Bibliographies direct users to essentialprimary and secondary sources and recent scholarship. Where possible, bibliographic references have been selected with an eye to accessibility for nonspecialists, although more advanced essential works are also included. Priority has been given to scholarship in English, books and journals likely to be available in university libraries, and general studies that provide good bibliographic and methodological guidance for further study.
Special features
The first comprehensive survey of England in the Middle Ages-in one authoritative volume; Accessible to students and useful to scholars; More than 300 expert contributors provide a stimulating diversity of interpretations and opinions; Explains how English history, literature, arts, and culture developed during the Middle Ages; Devotes substantial coverage to medieval art and architecture; Offers different viewpoints on related or overlapping topics, illuminating the complexities of modern scholarly inquiry; Over 150 illustrations
Synopsis
This valuable reference work offers concise, expert answers to questions on all aspects of life and culture in medieval England-art, architecture, law, literature, kings, commoners, women, music, commerce, technology, warfare, religion, and many others. It takes as its scope English social, cultural, and political life from the Anglo-Saxon invasions in the fifth century to the turn of the sixteenth century. To make it even more useful to information seekers, the Encyclopedia also traces England's ties to the Celtic world of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, to the French and Anglo-Norman world of the Continent, to the Viking and Scandinavian world of the North Sea, and to the world of medieval Christendom. The result is a detailed portrait of the English Middle Ages and their key historical events, personages, and cultural contexts.