Over the course of a biography that sadly lasts just nineteen years, Joan of Arc completely altered the course of the Hundred Year's War. Acting on the counsel of divine voices, Joan left her small village behind, swapped her peasant dress for a suit of armor, and transformed herself into a revered military leader. From her first miracle, freeing the besieged city of Orleans, to her finest moment, leading King Charles VII to Reims for his coronation, the Maid of Orleans stunned the world with her courage, her goodness, and her faith. Ultimately, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for her insistence that she received counsel from God but what she achieved as a result of this guidance is a truly incredible story.

    At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England’s dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility and drew them like moths to the flame of his cause.He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as “the Black Prince.” His military achievements captured the imagination of Europe: heralds and chroniclers called him “the flower of all chivalry” and “the embodiment of all valor.” But what was the true nature of the man behind the chivalric myth, and of the violent but pious world in which he lived? This exemplary new history uses contemporary chronicles plus a wide range of documentary material—including the Prince's own letters and those of his closest followers—to tell the tale of an authentic English hero and to paint a memorable portrait of society in the tumultuous fourteenth century.

    In the 20th century, the Roman Catholic Church rehabilitated him and the late Pope John Paul II spoke of his work with fondness.However, what makes him of particular interest is the fact that he has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, and Rudolf Steiner have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition.Eckhart wrote at a time--much like our own--when society appeared to be coming apart at the seams. In the midst of all that chaos and uncertainty, he captured the many forms and stages of the love of God, the mystic path, and the journey of transformation--in language so startling that he, too, was often accused of heresy.Now, seven centuries later, this fresh, stunning rendering of his work translates the essence of one of Christianity's greatest poetic and spiritual voices. Here is a book that conveys the heart of Eckhart's teaching on what it means to love God and embark on an authentic spiritual journey--a journey that is characterized by mystery, paradox, and an embrace of the unknown.

    At a time when successful queens regnant were few and far between, Isabella faced not only the considerable challenge of being a young, female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world, but also of reforming a major European kingdom riddled with crime, debt, corruption, and religious factionism. Her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon united two kingdoms, a royal partnership in which Isabella more than held her own. Their pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and setting the stage for its golden era of global dominance.Acclaimed historian Giles Tremlett chronicles the life of Isabella of Castile as she led her country out of the murky Middle Ages and harnessed the newest ideas and tools of the early Renaissance to turn her ill-disciplined, quarrelsome nation into a sharper, truly modern state with a powerful, clear-minded, and ambitious monarch at its center. With authority and insight he relates the story of this legendary, if controversial, first initiate in a small club of great European queens that includes Elizabeth I of England, Russia's Catherine the Great, and Britain's Queen Victoria.

    By the early eleventh century, the empire was the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. It was also expanding economically, demographically, and, in time, intellectually as well. Yet this imperial project came to a crashing collapse fifty years later, when political disunity, fiscal mismanagement, and defeat at the hands of the Seljuks in the east and the Normans in the west brought an end to Byzantine hegemony. By 1081, not only was its dominance of southern Italy, the Balkans, Caucasus, and northern Mesopotamia over but Byzantium's very existence was threatened.How did this dramatic transformation happen? Based on a close examination of the relevant sources, this history-the first of its kind in over a century-offers a new reconstruction of the key events and crucial reigns as well as a different model for understanding imperial politics and wars, both civil and foreign. In addition to providing a badly needed narrative of this critical period of Byzantine history, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood offers new interpretations of key topics relevant to the medieval era. The narrative unfolds in three parts: the first covers the years 955-1025, a period of imperial conquest and consolidation of authority under the great emperor Basil "the Bulgar-Slayer." The second (1025-1059) examines the dispersal of centralized authority in Constantinople as well as the emergence of new foreign enemies (Pechenegs, Seljuks, and Normans). The last section chronicles the spectacular collapse of the empire during the second half of the eleventh century, concluding with a look at the First Crusade and its consequences for Byzantine relations with the powers of Western Europe. This briskly paced and thoroughly investigated narrative vividly brings to life one of the most exciting and transformative eras of medieval history.

    When a series of remarkable events facilitates her return to the Mount and unveils why Katelyn was called as a Watchman, her fondest hope is to be reunited with Nicolas, regardless of the circumstances. However, when Nicolas unexpectedly appears with a new mission for Katelyn to help him thwart yet another threat to the Mount, she is devastated to learn that his head injury has deprived him of any memories of their relationship. Nonetheless, she is determined to once again find a way to save the Mount—this time in sixteenth-century France amidst violent religious turmoil—and to rekindle Nicolas’s feelings for her during the course of their mission. The couple’s love and loyalty are tested as Katelyn and Nicolas attempt to unmask the true source of the threat, their adversary Abdon, sort out their conflicting emotions, and deal with the consequences of the astounding age-old secret that is finally revealed.

    Join a young girl and her father, the falconer at a medieval castle, as they experience the joys of taking a goshawk out for a training flight. The girl leads readers through all the preparations and equipment needed for the flight from the hawk s hood and bells to the falconer s gloves culminating in a dramatic demonstration of the hawk s hunting skill. Bagram Ibatoulline s masterful illustrations capture the vivid details and beauty of a day spent hawking, while Danna Smith s poetic storytelling will make readers long to experience the art and sport of falconry firsthand."

    But when nearly all her clan is killed and she is betrayed, she loathes doing the unthinkable, but must seek the help of an Englishman who owed her father’s his life. Thomas Godfrey never married, but when a Scottish warrior lass shows up needing his aid, he finds her both annoying and irresistible. But the last thing he wants is to marry a woman who fights alongside him. If he was going to marry—which he isn’t—it would be to a soft, submissive woman. But when the Lady Brithwin meets the Scottish lass, she’s sure she’s found the perfect match for Thomas and nothing is going to stop her from seeing a summer wedding.

    Award-winning scholar-poet Miller Oberman's startlingly fresh translations of well-known and less familiar Old English poems often move between archaic and contemporary diction, while his original poems frequently draw on a compressed, tactile Old English lexicon and the powerful formal qualities of medieval verse.Shaped by Oberman's scholarly training in poetry, medieval language, translation, and queer theory, these remarkable poems explore sites of damage and transformation, both new and ancient. "Wulf and Eadwacer," a radical new translation of a thousand-year-old lyric, merges scholarly practice with a queer- and feminist-inspired rendering, while original poems such as "On Trans" draw lyrical connections between multiple processes of change and boundary crossing, from translation to transgender identity. Richly combining scholarly rigor, a finely tuned contemporary aesthetic, and an inventiveness that springs from a deep knowledge of the earliest forms of English, The Unstill Ones marks the emergence of a major new voice in poetry.

    R. R. Tolkien was a profoundly metaphysical thinker, and one of the most formative influences on his imagination, according to this new study of his works, was the great thirteenth-century theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas. Structured around Tolkien's Middle-earth creation myth, the Ainulindale, The Flame Imperishable follows the thought of Aquinas as a guide in laying bare the deeper foundations of many of the more familiar themes from Tolkien's legendarium, including such notions as sub-creation, free will, evil, and eucatastrophe. More than merely using Aquinas to illuminate Tolkien, however, this study concludes that, through its appropriation of many of the philosophical and theological insights of Aquinas, what Tolkien's literary opus achieves is an important and unique landmark in the history of Thomism itself, offering an imaginative and powerful contemporary retrieval, interpretation, and application of Thomistic metaphysics for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries."McIntosh's comprehension of Tolkien's Legendarium is masterly; his appropriation of Aquinas is superb; his knowledge of the most important works in recent theology is staggering. A first-rate work of scholarship on a rarely explored aspect of Tolkien's work--the metaphysics of Faërie."--RALPH C. WOOD, author of The Gospel According to Tolkien "The Flame Imperishable is a most valuable addition to Tolkien scholarship. Jonathan McIntosh explores Tolkien's implicit metaphysics of Middle-earth in the light of Thomism with skill and restraint, developing productive lines of argument. His focus on the creation story within the larger Silmarillion, combined with his attention to Tolkien's views on creation and sub-creation, allows him to develop a careful and insightful analysis that will greatly enrich our understanding of Tolkien's work."--HOLLY ORDWAY, author of Tolkien's Modern Sources: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages (forthcoming from Kent State University Press) "While many scholars have explored Tolkien's literary and philological influences, his philosophical and theological sources have attracted far less scrutiny--apart from general religious motives and themes. Jonathan S. McIntosh shines a brilliant light into this lacuna, revealing Tolkien's debts to St. Thomas Aquinas, and along the way situating Tolkien among the line of theological philosophers extending from antiquity, through the Middle Ages, and on into Tolkien's own day. The Flame Imperishable is surely the most thorough study to date of Tolkien's most cosmological works, and especially of his creation myth, the Ainulindalë. In a tour de force for religious and non-religious readers alike, McIntosh illuminates Tolkien's own metaphysical thought and how it pervades the entire fictive world of his legendarium."--JASON FISHER, editor of Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays "Breathtakingly original, this book deserves to be a landmark. McIntosh makes a compelling case for the cosmological depth of Tolkien's world, arguing not only that it is a world founded on St. Thomas Aquinas, but that it is also a significant contribution to metaphysics in its own right. With a boldness supported closely by a wealth of reasoned argument, McIntosh highlights the singularity and magnitude of Tolkien's achievement both as an artist and as a speculative thinker."--MARK SEBANC​, co-author of the Legacy of the Stone Harp series "In this scholarly study of the philosophical basis of Tolkien's Middle-earth, Jonathan McIntosh demonstrates that metaphysics can be exciting. Far from detracting from the beauty and originality of Tolkien's writing, approaching it through the thought of Thomas Aquinas serves to all the more fully reveal its power over the reader. We know that, however deeply we engage with these stories, there is always more to discover. This is a trustworthy guide to the radiant sense of being in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, which truly illuminates the realism of Tolkien's project."--ALISON MILBANK, author of Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians "In this exciting and lucidly written study, Jonathan McIntosh flings open a door that has remained all but sealed, bringing together the doctor of creation, Thomas Aquinas, with the artist of creation, J. R. R. Tolkien. In uncovering the influence of Aquinas on Tolkien's mythmaking, McIntosh lights up Tolkien's major themes--including the relationship between creation and sub-creation, the independence and 'otherness' of created reality, and the unity of world myth and fairy tale. Most importantly, he helps us recover the vision of a world made meaningful and whole by its Creator."--CRAIG BERNTHAL, author of Tolkien's Sacramental Vision: Discerning the Holy in Middle Earth "There have been many good books on Tolkien. There have even been several very good books on the philosophy of Tolkien. This book, however, is something else, something more, delving deeper. To borrow a phrase from C. S. Lewis, it goes further up and further in. Within these densely packed and brilliant pages, we journey to the core of Tolkien's Thomistic heart and mind. Reading this book engenders an unshakable conviction that one can no more separate Tolkien from Thomas than one can Dante from Thomas. Without Aquinas, there would have been no Divine Comedy. Without Aquinas, there would have been no Middle-earth. In short, and in sum, this book is absolutely essential reading to anyone who takes Tolkien seriously enough to want to understand him more deeply."--JOSEPH PEARCE, author of Tolkien: Man & Myth and Bilbo's Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of The Hobbit "One does not merely dip into The Flame Imperishable. Rather, one immerses oneself in the very love McIntosh so vividly shares and radiates. Indeed, it is clear that the author holds a special place in his soul for Tolkien and Lewis as well as Sts. Augustine and Aquinas. Gloriously, McIntosh invites us to enter the art as well. The Flame Imperishable is not just another in a long line of books about J.R.R. Tolkien, but a truly seminal book that will be remembered as such long after the ephemera surrounding Peter Jackson's work has come and gone. It will be canon."--BRADLEY J. BIRZER, author of J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth

    Explore from Europe to Africa, the Americas, Middle East, and Asia.

    Using a framework derived from studies of early medieval kingship, he assesses each phase of William’s life to establish why so many trusted William to invade England in 1066 and the consequences of this on the history of the so-called Norman Conquest after the Battle of Hastings and for generations to come. A leading historian of the period, Bates is notable for having worked extensively in the archives of northern France and discovered many eleventh- and twelfth-century charters largely unnoticed by English-language scholars. Taking an innovative approach, he argues for a move away from old perceptions and controversies associated with William’s life and the Norman Conquest. This deeply researched volume is the scholarly biography for our generation.

    Malgard is named thegn of the town of Stybbor in East Anglia while Brand is made outlaw and hunted through the woods by Malgard's men, determined to extinguish the last possible claim to Malgard's thegnship.Aided by a strange young woman, Valla, who claims to be 242 years old, Brand escapes and is befriended by Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex and the choice of the Saxon nobles to be king after the childless Edward (the Confessor). Brand nurses his dream of vengeance over Malgard while sharing Harold’s perils and waiting for Valla who will only return from The Place of Dreams if Brand has remained true to his promise to lie with no other woman.All stories come together at the Battle of Hastings, where Harold’s great banner, The Fighting Man, flew above the field at Senlac Ridge in opposition to the papal cross carried by William the Bastard."Not since reading Sharpe have I felt such a sense of being in the story. Outstanding." - Stuart Quin, Full Circle Films"I read it on the train, walking down the street, well after my usual bed time and when I was supposed to be working. Even though I knew exactly where the story was headed, I was compelled to know what happened next." - Jane B Rawson, From The Wreck

    But what do you really know about this twelfth-century ruler of England? Do you know why he left England, or why he was taken prisoner by another sovereign as he tried to return? Did you know Richard had other brothers besides the famed scoundrel, Prince John? Have you heard tales of Richard not only as a missing king but as a leader who rode boldly into battle alongside his knights? Inside you will read about... - From Aquitaine to King of England - Beginnings of a Crusade - The Way to Palestine - Sea Battles and Sieges - A Captive King - The Last Five Years And much more! In this book, you'll learn the actual story of King Richard, a king who may not have been exactly "good," but was certainly brave, charismatic, and dashing-a historical character with a story to remember.

    For Brother Maurice, a monk and physician, the disease is the most terrifying he’s ever seen. But Maurice soon learns of an even more deadly threat: the exanimate Mortecarni. After his first unexpected encounter with the creatures, Maurice is pulled into a world of savagery and secrecy. As he travels across the country, investigating both the plague and the Mortecarni, Maurice questions how such unholy suffering is possible. When his own family is struck down, his beliefs falter. Can he regain his faith and save both England and himself?

    There is a fair amount of geographic variation. In Mediterranean Europe, areas such as Italy, the south of France and Spain, where plague ran for about four years consecutively, it was probably closer to 75–80% of the population. In Germany and England ... it was probably closer to 20%.” - Philip Daileader, medieval historian In the 14th century, a ruthless killer stalked the streets of England, wiping out up to 60% of the terror-stricken nation's inhabitants. This invisible and unforgiving terminator continued to harass the population for hundreds of years, but nothing could compare to the savagery it would unleash 3 centuries later. This conscienceless menace was none other than the notorious bubonic plague, also known as the “Black Death.” The High Middle Ages had seen a rise in Western Europe’s population in previous centuries, but these gains were almost entirely erased as the plague spread rapidly across all of Europe from 1346-1353. With a medieval understanding of medicine, diagnosis, and illness, nobody understood what caused Black Death or how to truly treat it. As a result, many religious people assumed it was divine retribution, while superstitious and suspicious citizens saw a nefarious human plot involved and persecuted certain minority groups among them. Though it is now widely believed that rats and fleas spread the disease by carrying the bubonic plague westward along well-established trade routes, and there are now vaccines to prevent the spread of the plague, the Black Death gruesomely killed upwards of 100 million people, with helpless chroniclers graphically describing the various stages of the disease. It took Europe decades for its population to bounce back, and similar plagues would affect various parts of the world for the next several centuries, but advances in medical technology have since allowed researchers to read various medieval accounts of the Black Death in order to understand the various strains of the disease. Furthermore, the social upheaval caused by the plague radically changed European societies, and some have noted that by the time the plague had passed, the Late Middle Ages would end with many of today’s European nations firmly established. In the mid-17th century, the heart of England fell victim to the mother of all epidemic catastrophes. The city of London was a ghost town, deserted by those who knew better than to hang around in a breeding ground that offered near-certain doom. Those who were confined within the city's borders had to make do with what they had, and the pitifully low morale seemed appropriate; the reek of rot and decomposition pervaded the air day in and day out, while corpses, young and old, riddled with strange swellings and blackened boils, littered the streets. For Londoners, to say it was hell would be an understatement. The Great Plague of London: The History and Legacy of England’s Last Major Outbreak of the Bubonic Plague explores the horrific disaster, its origins, the peculiar precautions and curious cures designed to combat the disease, and the sobering legacy it has left behind. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Great Plague of London like never before.

    In reality, however, medieval conceptions of womanhood were multifaceted, and women’s roles were varied and nuanced. Female stereotypes existed in the medieval world, but so too did women of power and influence. The pages of illuminated manuscripts reveal to us the many facets of medieval womanhood and slices of medieval life—from preoccupations with biblical heroines and saints to courtship, childbirth, and motherhood. While men dominated artistic production, this volume demonstrates the ways in which female artists, authors, and patrons were instrumental in the creation of illuminated manuscripts.   Featuring over one hundred illuminations depicting medieval women from England to Ethiopia, this book provides a lively and accessible introduction to the lives of women in the medieval world.

    This gripping companion piece to The Last Wife reimagines the little-known story of Elizabeth I before she was queen.

    It was in London that most of the drama of Anne Boleyn s life and death was played out most famously, in the Tower of London, the scene of her coronation celebrations, of her trial and execution, and where her body lies buried. Londoners, like everyone else, clearly had strong feelings about her, and in her few years as a public figure Anne Boleyn was influential as a patron of the arts and of French taste, as the center of a religious and intellectual circle, and for her purchasing power, both directly and as a leader of fashion. It was primarily to London, beyond the immediate circle of the court, that her carefully 'spun' image as queen was directed during the public celebrations surrounding her coronation. In the centuries since Anne Boleyn s death, her reputation has expanded to give her an almost mythical status in London, inspiring everything from pub names to music hall songs, and novels to merchandise including pin cushions with removable heads. And now there is a thriving online community surrounding her there are over fifty Twitter accounts using some version of her name.This book looks at the evidence both for the effect London and its people had on the course of Anne Boleyn s life and death, and the effects she had, and continues to have, on them."

    Shifting focus from the cultural, social, and economic study of Byzantium to the life and evolution of ideas in their context, it provides an authoritative history of intellectual endeavors from Late Antiquity to the fifteenth century. At its heart lie the transmission, transformation, and shifts of Hellenic, Christian, and Byzantine ideas and concepts as exemplified in diverse aspects of intellectual life, from philosophy, theology, and rhetoric to astrology, astronomy, and politics. Case studies introduce the major players in Byzantine intellectual life, and particular emphasis is placed on the reception of ancient thought and its significance for secular as well as religious modes of thinking and acting. New insights are offered regarding controversial, understudied, or promising topics of research, such as philosophy and medical thought in Byzantium, and intellectual exchanges with the Arab world.

    From its beginning as a few lines of Latin text written in a sixth-century monk’s hand, Arthurian legend has blossomed over the years into a unique universe built on the real foundations of Britain’s Dark Ages and the principles of ancient chivalry. Liberally expanded over the years to include romantic entanglements, an imaginary ancient empire, and the threat of the supernatural, the legend of King Arthur remains as engaging today as it was in medieval times. King Arthur’s life, whether it happened or not, cuts to the core of the Matter of Britain and reveals the heart of Britain’s fanciful idea of its origin.

    During a time in history when travel was often difficult, expensive, and fraught with danger, these wayfarers composed accounts of their experiences in unprecedented numbers and transformed traditional conceptions of human mobility. Exploring this phenomenon, The Medieval Invention of Travel draws on an impressive array of sources to develop original readings of canonical figures such as Marco Polo, John Mandeville, and Petrarch, as well as a host of lesser-known travel writers. As Shayne Aaron Legassie demonstrates, the Middle Ages inherited a Greco-Roman model of heroic travel, which viewed the ideal journey as a triumph over temptation and bodily travail. Medieval travel writers revolutionized this ancient paradigm by incorporating practices of reading and writing into the ascetic regime of the heroic voyager, fashioning a bold new conception of travel that would endure into modern times. Engaging methods and insights from a range of disciplines, The Medieval Invention of Travel offers a comprehensive account of how medieval travel writers and their audiences reshaped the intellectual and material culture of Europe for centuries to come.