Medieval World: An Illustrated Atlas

Much more than "just" an atlas, this reference book from National Geographic traces the development of the three civilizations that occupied parallel (sometimes intersecting) but divergent places in the Medieval world (400 1500 AD). The history of each century is gloriously traced in 30 page segments of this majestic, colorful, hardcover book. Rich in lyrical and captivating stories with colorful characters, exciting battles and alluring intrigues, voices of the day speak from words of rare manuscripts, landmark documents, and classic works of literature. Within each century the notable occurrences in European Christendom, Eastern European Byzantium, and Middle Eastern Islam are highlighted along with a timeline showing their relationship to each other. In addition to historical description and analysis, side-bar commentary covers beliefs, arts & letters, personae (biographical sketches), innovation, edifices, and locus (writings/books). There is considerable text surprising in an atlas but there are the expected maps as well. Within each century, there is a "modern" map showing the boundaries of each civilization during that time frame as well as historical maps reflecting the "at-the-time" perspective. There is also a world overview map that gives a summary of what was happening in the other parts of the world during that same century. Interesting, illustrative material abounds: art reproductions, artifact photos (in color), jewelry, photos of modern-day cities or artistic representations of historic ones, portraits, buildings, etc. There is much more here than a casual skimming of the pages provides. This book is used as a textual reference for some history programs, and it's easy to see why. Although not quite in the category of high school world history text (but close), it provides a detailed secular look at three amazing religion-based civilizations, two of which directly impact later centuries. 384 pgs, hc ~ Janice