Medieval World

Thundering hooves, shining armor, and magnificent fortresses . . . the medieval age still fascinates young readers. Heraldry, knights, castles, battles, hawking and hunting, sieges, and holy wars — it's all here in this fascinating book that takes readers back through the centuries to medieval times. Fans of the chivalrous age will learn how a young page trained for knighthood, what it was like to ride into battle, how a castle was equipped for a siege, and much, much more.

Examines various aspects of life during the Middle Ages, including the feudal system, knights and chivalry, life in a castle, and battle during medieval times.

Thundering hooves, shining armor, and magnificent fortresses . . . the medieval age still fascinates young readers. Heraldry, knights, castles, battles, hawking and hunting, sieges, and holy wars — it's all here in this fascinating book that takes readers back through the centuries to medieval times. Fans of the chivalrous age will learn how a young page trained for knighthood, what it was like to ride into battle, how a castle was equipped for a siege, and much, much more.

Children's Literature

The knight on the cover comes galloping directly toward the reader with sword and shield in hand. Behind him, a fierce battle rages with knights in full armor. This heavily illustrated book credits no less than twenty-five individual artists and includes reproductions of medieval paintings and tapestries. Woodcut illustrations, cut-away cross-sections of buildings, and busy full-color scenes of life in the medieval period fill the pages of this book. Every illustration or photograph has a detailed caption. The illustration showing the fortification of a castle also describes a specific battle staged at that castle. The text has many references to specific places, people, and events of the time. The book is divided into five main chapters, plus a reference section, each with many subdivisions. The "Age of Chivalry" chapter discusses the medieval world, the crisis in Christendom, the knight's code, becoming a knight, the knightly orders, and heraldry. The "Fortress Homes" chapter discusses building a castle, finding clues to the past, a castle town, the gates and walls, and the market days. The "Castle Life" chapter talks about the food and drink, the kitchen, the great hall, the home life, keeping clean and healthy, keeping in fashion, the chapel, hunting and hawking, and the tournament. The "Ready for Battle" chapter discusses the armor used by knights, the deadly weapons, the battling beasts, the open battle, the capture and ransom, being besieged, being under attack, the end of a siege, the fields of conflict, the holy wars, riding east, and the killing fields. The fifth chapter, "The End of an Age," talks about other knights and tales of chivalry. The last chapter, entitled"Reference Section," deals with castles in history, knights and knaves, and knights in fiction. The back matter also contains an index and an illustrated glossary.

Philip Steele has a passion for writing about history. He is a well-known author of more than one hundred children's books, including Castles, Pirates, Knights, The Best Book of Mummies, The World of Pirates, and The World of Castles. He was a student of medieval French and German literature, and has visited castles in England, France, Germany, Spain, and Poland. He has travelled to the Valley of the Kings and other sites of Ancient Egypt, and has met mummies face to face in the Cairo Museum. Philip now lives near Beaumaris and the other great castles of North Wales.