Michael Prestwich Bücher

„Großartigerweise ist dieses Werk, verfasst durch einen verdienten Professor für Mittelalterliche Geschichte, nicht nur interessant, sondern auch akkurat; es enthält relevante Schnipsel zeitgenössischer Quellen und unzählige Abbildungen. Prestwich gelingt der Zaubertrick, das Gewöhnliche faszinierend zu machen. So schmuggelt er etwa Details zu Essen, Sold, Rekrutierung, ärztlichen Eingriffen und Logistik ein, wodurch er Einblick in die praktische und schnöde Kehrseite des Rittertums bietet – die lebenslangen Söldnerkarrieren jener Zeit oder die Riesenentschädigung, die die französische Regierung nach der Schlacht bei Crécy für die getöteten Pferde zahlte. Das Buch stellt aber auch die hässlichen Züge bloß, welche das Rittertum zu maskieren suchte. Wie die Einwohner der elf Städte und 3700 Dörfer nur zu gut wussten, die der Streifzug des Schwarzen Prinzen 1355 verwüstete, war Rittersein ein mörderischer Beruf. (.) Mit ein bisschen Glück wird dieses großartige kleine Buch (.) einer neuen Generation den Anstoß geben, die großen und schrecklichen Taten des Rittertums zu bestaunen.“ Alex Burghart, Times Literary Supplement

This study of Edward I, first published in 1988, is an account of one of the leading monarchs of the Middle Ages. Examining manuscript sources, the book reveals a capable monarch who pioneered legal and parliamentary change, conquered Wales and came close to conquering Scotland.

Experience life as a medieval knight in this hilarious graphic novel based on a real chivalric manual.

An insider's guide: Become a Knight. Wield a sword. Join a crusade. Make your fortune.

From Genghis Khan to Giotto, Marco Polo to Joan of Arc, Avicenna to Dante, this panorama of the medieval world features a cast of some of the most compelling personalities in history, whose lives capture the pivotal moments and essential ideas of the Middle Ages. These extraordinary people, whether seeking power and influence or justice and salvation, made their mark at every level of society, from the rulers of Christian and Muslim kingdoms to the leaders of peasant uprisings.In sixty-nine succinct biographies, Michael Prestwich takes us on a tour of the medieval world, journeying from Salisbury to Samarkand and encompassing the most significant figures in art, architecture, politics, religion, philosophy and science. The 700 years of history covered in this book saw astounding advances against a turbulent backdrop of plagues and crusades. Featuring warriors and saints, innovators and explorers, queens and nuns, pirates and poets, this is an enthralling overview of the people who made the Middle Ages.

A rich and revelatory exploration of the medieval world, conveyed through intimate biographies by a renowned historian 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.