Overview
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.
"Medieval England is a topic that has perennial fascination: King Arthur, Robin Hood, chivalry, and Beowulf seem to have obtained a permanent place in high-school reading lists and the popular imagination. Spanning the 5th through the 15th century, this encyclopedia covers broad topics such as music, women, and language, as well as specific topics such as people, famous buildings, printing, monastic orders, prostitution, and stained glass. There are helpful charts of the kings and queens of England, archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the popes. Black-and-white illustrations abound, and each entry contains a bibliography for further research."--"Outstanding Reference Sources : the 1999 Selection of New Titles", American Libraries, May 1999. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA."