Atlas of Medieval Europe [Hardcover]

David Ditchburn (Editor), Angus Mackay (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0415019230 | ISBN-13: 978-0415019231 | Edition: 1

Covering the period from the fall of the Roman Empire through to the beginnings of the Renaissance, this is an indispensable volume which brings the complex and colourful history of the Middle Ages to life.
Key features:
* geographical coverage extends to the broadest definition of Europe from the Atlantic coast to the Russian steppes
* each map approaches a separate issue or series of events in Medieval history, whilst a commentary locates it in its broader context
* as a body, the maps provide a vivid representation of the development of nations, peoples and social structures.
With over 140 maps, expert commentaries and an extensive bibliography, this is the essential reference for those who are striving to understand the fundamental issues of this period.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...an important new reference and research tool.
–Western Association of Map Libraries, March/July 1999

. . .the atlas has veen designed as a teaching aid with schoarly sophistication and an attention to deatil that many such aids do not possess. All medievalists, not just histori ans, will find this atlas a helpful new resource.
–The Medieval Review (posted on line)

About the Author

Angus MacKay is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh. David Ditchburn is Lecturer of History at the University of Aberdeen.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415019230
• ISBN-13: 978-0415019231
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Surprisingly Detailed Historical Summary, June 27, 2000

By 

J. Loomis (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Atlas of Medieval Europe (Paperback)

The Atlas of Medieval Europe is a terrific historical resource. It contains maps and explanations of a wide variety of events and topics about medieval history. There are maps showing the most interesting and specific trends, like the spread of anti-Semitism, and the raising of provisions for war in England.

I purchased this book for a specific research project, but am delighted to find that it is an informative and engaging supplement to my library. I would heartily recommend this title to anyone interested in medieval Europe. By studying the wide range of subjects covered in this atlas, one can get a feel for medieval history without trying to digest volumes of dry text.

That said, nothing is perfect. I found the organization of this text to be a little clumsy at times. There is such a wide variety of topics and the topics for each period of time are not consistent. Also, with the quantity of data in some of the maps, color would be a boon.

The other works on this subject are usually very brief in their descriptions and contain a grade school report level of information. In contrast, The Atlas of Medieval History is a comprehensive, adult reference that, despite a few minor shortcomings, does justice to the complexity of the subject matter.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sketch Maps, December 16, 2004

By 

John (REDWOOD CITY, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atlas of Medieval Europe (Paperback)

This "atlas" contains only black and white sketch maps, which give no indication of actual geographical and topological conditions. It has a fairly decent discussion of the history connected with each map, but this is necessarily short. This book should cost about 5 times less than it does, if it were about $7.00 it might be worth buying.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Reference Book, January 2, 2004

By 

hopefulskeptic (Hot Springs Village, AR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlas of Medieval Europe (Paperback)

This 280 page book is a useful reference as an overview of Medieval Europe but is very dry as a read because of the necessary brevity in this small book. Thirty-seven different Scottish university scholars contributed to the work so it is uneven in its textual presentation and illustration. The sections of the book are Early Medieval (from the fall of the western Roman empire to ca 1100), Central Middle Ages (c 1100 - c 1300), and Late Middle Ages (c 1300 - c 1500) and each of these sections is broken down into Politics; Religion; Government, Society and Economy; and Culture.

One of the principal strengths of the work is the profusion of maps - well over a hundred I should think. They are, however of widely varying quality. Some are very well done and readable but others are essentially impossible to interpret either because of large amounts of detail in a small space or because of lack of references such as rivers and cities with names that can be recognized by the non-specialist modern reader.

I would recommend it to the amateur historian as a reference but not to a reader who is simply interested in a good read about the people and lives of the Middle Ages.