Is your knowledge of The Crusades less than tip-top? Maybe you're curious about Columbus, or you're desperate to read about the Black Death in all its gory detail? Whatever your starting point, this expert guide has it all - from kings, knights and anti-Popes, to invasion, famine, the Magna Carta and Joan of Arc (and a few rebellious peasants thrown in for good measure!). Get ready for a rip-roaring ride through the political, religious and cultural life of the Middle Ages, one of the most talked-about periods in history.
Chapter 1. Journeying Back to the Middle Ages: When, Where, What, Who?
Chapter 2. Finishing Off the Roman Empire and Entering the (Not So) Dark Ages
Chapter 3. Settling in England with the Anglo-Saxons
Chapter 4. Organising Early France & Germany: The Merovingians and Carolingians
Chapter 5. Becoming Great: Charlemagne and the New Roman Empire
Chapter 6. Laying the Foundations of Europe
Chapter 7. Linking East and West: Islam in Europe
Chapter 8. Invading from the North: The Vikings
Chapter 9. Splitting the Church: Schisms between East and West
Chapter 10. Revving Up the 'Real' Middle Ages with the Normans
Chapter 11. Uncovering the Origins of the Crusades
Chapter 12. Waging the First Crusade: 1096-1099
Chapter 13. Struggling for Power: Popes Versus Monarchs
Chapter 14. Waging the Second Crusade and Crusading at Home
Chapter 15. Pitting Richard I Against Saladin: The Third Crusade
Chapter 16. Following the Fourth Crusade and Other Failures
Chapter 17. Having Trouble in England: John, Henry III and Edward I
Chapter 18. Meeting Medieval Monks and Merchants
Chapter 19. Piling On the Popes: Avignon and the Antipopes
Chapter 20. Facing God's Judgement: Dealing with the Black Death
Chapter 21. Beginning One Hundred Years of War
Chapter 22. Pausing the War: Dealing with Unrest at Home
Chapter 23. Turning the Tide of War (Twice!): Henry V and Joan of Arc
Chapter 24. Moving On from the Medieval Era
Chapter 25. Ten Rubbish Rulers
Chapter 26. Ten Medieval Pastimes
Chapter 28. Ten Medieval People Who Changed the World
Chapter 29. Ten Great Medieval Innovations