E-Book Overview
The Middle Ages was an era of great changes in civilization, a transition between ancient times and the modern world. Lasting roughly from A.D. 500 to 1500, the period saw the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe and the spread of the Islamic faith in the Middle East. Around the world, empires-the Byzantine, Mongol, and Incan-rose and fell, and the first nation-states emerged in France, England, and Spain. Despite the beauty of illuminated manuscripts, soaring Gothic cathedrals, and the literary classics of Augustine and Dante, Europe's civilization lagged far behind that of the technologically advanced, administratively organized, and economically wealthy realms of the Arab world, West Africa, India, and China.
E-Book Content
Almanac
Almanac JUDSON KNIGHT Edited by Judy Galens
Middle Ages: Almanac
Judson Knight Judy Galens, Editor
Staff
Diane Sawinski, U•X•L Senior Editor Carol DeKane Nagel, U•X•L Managing Editor Thomas L. Romig, U•X•L Publisher Margaret Chamberlain, Permissions Associate (Pictures) Maria Franklin, Permissions Manager Randy Bassett, Imaging Database Supervisor Daniel Newell, Imaging Specialist Pamela A. Reed, Image Coordinator Robyn V. Young, Senior Image Editor Rita Wimberley, Senior Buyer Evi Seoud, Assistant Production Manager Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager Pamela A. E. Galbreath, Senior Art Director Kenn Zorn, Product Design Manager Marco Di Vita, the Graphix Group, Typesetting Cover photograph of crusaders disembarking in Egypt reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knight, Judson Middle ages. Almanac / Judson Knight ; Judy Galens, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7876-4856-6 1. Middle Ages—History. 2. World history. 3. Civilization, Medieval. I. Galens, Judy, 1968- II. Title. D