Exploring the Past: The Middle Ages

An overview of life in the Middle Ages, describing the arts and learning, religion, trading and exploration, nobilty, and life in the country, in the towns, and in the wider world.

Grade 4-6-- A good introduction that covers the period from 800 a.d. to 1500 a.d. by highlighting important events and discoveries. Chapters on the arts, religion, town and country life, and world travel are further broken into specific subtopics. Most of these are dealt with in single- or double-page spreads and heavily illustrated in color. The drawings are also annotated, adding to the information. The material is presented in a succinct manner, with little fictionalizing. This is not, however, a book for research. It will work best for readers with an interest in subjects connected to the period (knights, crusades etc.) who might enjoy a broader understanding of life at the time. Hand this one out with Macaulay's Castle (Houghton, 1977) or Windrow's The Medieval Knight (Watts, 1986). --Elisabeth LeBris, Kenilworth Public School System, IL
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.