The Medieval Expansion of Europe - Hardcover

J.R.S. Phillips

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0192192329 ISBN 13: 9780192192325

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1988

Synopsis

The exploits of Marco Polo and Eric the Red are well-known today, but less-known are the many other explorers of the time and the extent of medieval European contact with other continents. Between 1000 and 1500, world trade and travel flourished as never before as Europe looked for new worlds to explore and conquer. This detailed introductory survey draws on a large and controversial body of evidence to chart the medieval European tradition of expansion, exploring its roots in Classical ideas of the world and tracing its influence on the famous voyages of the Renaissance. Phillips also provides fascinating discussion of the myths and hoaxes surrounding medieval exploration.

About this title

About the Author

J. R. S. Phillips is Head of the Department of Medieval History at University College, Dublin.

Review

"The best available survey of medieval knowledge of, and contact with, the lands beyond Europe before 1492."--Journal of World History

"The accumulation of valuable information, leavened by many acute and illuminating observations...is quite breath-taking in its scope....Here is the ideal, comprehensive survey we have all been waiting for."--Irish Historical Studies

"An excellent and fascinating book....Phillips has covered an enormous range....At once an extremely able work of synthesis and a book with a clear and persuasive thesis of its own."--Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"The reader is...teased with old and new problems. How genuine is the Vinland Map? Were the Genoese Vivaldi brothers trying to anticipate Vasco da Gama or Columbus when they sailed West through the Straits of Gibraltar in 1291?...Phillips's book is full of fascinating detail, as well as being clear, wide-ranging, and equipped with a useful bibliography."--Welsh History Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0192192329
• ISBN 13: 9780192192325
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320