Prestwich M. Medieval People. Vivid Lives in a Distant Landscape. From Charlemagne to Piero Della Francesca

London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2014. — 288 p.This engrossing, exquisitely illustrated, often witty account tells the life stories of some seventy individuals who "made" the Middle Ages. There are kings and queens, popes and politicians, soldiers and merchants, scholars, authors and visionaries. They range from the important, such as El Cid or Frederick Barbarossa, to the little known, such as the dissolute Venetian nun Clara Sanuto. Some were astonishingly successful: the empire created by Chinggis Khan was one of the most extensive ever seen. Some, such as Charles the Bold, the over-ambitious 15th Century duke of Burgundy, were failures.Contrary to modern myth, medieval people did not believe the earth was flat; torture was far less common than in later centuries; and technological advances included guns, printing, blast furnaces, spectacles, stirrups and the compass. Full of insights such as these, this book shows how medieval people lived in an era that was more one of invention and innovation than of superstition and backwardness. It will appeal to all those who want a truer picture of a world often erroneously portrayed by bestselling novelists of today.Introduction. The Medieval World.
An Age of Empires 800–1100.
Charlemagne 742–814.
First medieval emperor in Western Europe.
Hrotsvit of Gandersheim C. 935–c. 1000.
Author and dramatist.
King Olav I of Norway C. 960–1000.
Heroic Viking ruler.
Fulk Nerra 972–1040.
Castle-building count of anjou.
Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) 980–1037.
Persian scholar and polymath.
Emma of Normandy C. 980–1052.
Queen to two kings, mother to two more.
Odo of Bayeux C. 1030–97.
Bishop who commissioned the Bayeux tapestry.
Rodrigo Díaz (El Cid) C. 1043–99.
Hero of the reconquista.
Matilda of Tuscany 1046–1115.
Countess and military leader.
Pope Urban II C. 1035–98.
Initiator of the first crusade.
Guibert de Nogent C. 1060–1124.
Autobiographer.
Anna Komnene 1083–1153.
Discontented Byzantine princess and author.
An Age of Confidence 1100–1200.
Abbot Suger 1081–1151.
Skilled political operator.
Geoffrey of Monmouth C. 1100–c. 1155.
Popular pseudo-historian.
Godric of Finchale C. 1070–1170.
Long-lived merchant and hermit.
Héloïse C. 1100–64.
Victim of a tragic love affair.
Al-Idrisi 1099–1165.
Cartographer.
Hildegard of Bingen 1098–1179.
Notable nun.
Thomas Becket 1120–70.
Martyred archbishop and saint.
Usāma ibn Munqidh 1095–1188.
Arab warrior and author.
Frederick Barbarossa 1122–90.
German emperor.
Eleanor of Aquitaine 1124–1204.
Queen ‘BY The wrath of god’.
Saladin (Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb) 1137–93.
Muslim leader against the crusaders.
William Marshal 1147–1219.
Tournament champion and statesman.
Pope Innocent III C. 1160–1216.
Influential pontiff with a sense of humour.
An Age of Maturity 1200–1300.
Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan) C. 1160–1227.
Supreme nomadic conqueror.
Simon de Montfort 1165–1218.
Leader of the Albigensian crusade.
Dominic de Guzmán C. 1170–1221.
Saint, and founder of the dominican order.
Robert of Wetherby D. 1225.
A real Robin Hood?
Frederick II 1194–1250.
Emperor, and wonder of the world.
Matthew Paris C. 1200–59.
Chronicler and artist.
King Håkon IV of Norway 1204–63.
Ambitious Norwegian ruler.
King Louis IX of France 1214–70.
Crusading monarch and saint.
Alexander Nevsky 1220–63.
Russian hero and saint.
Thomas Aquinas C. 1225–74.
Philosopher, theologian and saint.
Villard de Honnecourt mid-1200s.
Architectural draughtsman.
Benedetto Zaccaria C. 1240–1307.
Entrepreneur and admiral.
James of St George D. C. 1309.
Castle-builder.
Jacques de Molay C. 1244–1314.
Last master of the templars.
Marco Polo C. 1254–1324.
Traveller.
An Age of Plague 1300–1400.
Dante Alighieri 1265–1321.
Great poet, poor politician.
William Lene D. 1329.
Successful peasant farmer.
James Douglas 1286–1330.
Hero of Scottish independence.
Giotto di Bondone C. 1267–1337.
Celebrity artist.
Richard of Wallingford C. 1292–1335.
Clockmaker and leper.
Jean de Lamouilly early 1300s.
Gunpowder pioneer.
Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) 1304–70.
Obsessional poet.
John Crabbe D. 1352.
Notorious pirate.
Guillaume Cale D. 1358.
Peasant leader.
Guy de Chauliac C. 1300–68.
Pioneering doctor.
Charles Iv of Bohemia 1316–78.
Emperor and creator of a capital.
King Pedro IV of Aragon 1319–87.
A ceremonious monarch.
Coluccio Salutati 1331–75.
Civil servant and humanist.
Catherine of Siena (Catherine Benincasa) 1347–80.
Difficult but remarkable young woman and saint.
John Hawkwood C. 1320–94.
Soldier of fortune.
John of Gaunt 1340–99.
Soldier and statesman.
Geoffrey Chaucer C. 1340–1400.
Customs official and poet.
Jean Froissart C. 1337–c. 1404.
Chronicler of chivalry.
An Age of Transition 1400–1500.
Temür (Tamerlane) 1336–1405.
The scourge of god.
Boucicaut (Jean II le Maingre) 1366–1421.
Chivalric hero.
Jan Žižka D. 1424.
Blind Hussite general.
Joan of Arc C. 1412–31.
The Maid of OrlÉans and saint.
Filippo Brunelleschi 1377–1446.
Architect.
Taccola (Mariano di Jacopo) 1382–1453.
Siena’s Archimedes.
Clara Sanuto early 1400s.
Dissolute venetian abbess.
Margaret of Anjou 1430–82.
Controversial queen of England.
Johannes Gutenberg C. 1400–68.
Inventor and failed businessman.
Charles the Bold 1433–77.
Overambitious duke of Burgundy.
Piero della Francesca C. 1412–92.
Painter and mathematician.
Further Reading.
Sources of Quotations.