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pink (salmon maybe?), green & red decorative full cloth hardcover 8vo. (octavo). dustwrapper in protective brodart book jacket cover. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. red stained top edge has a bit of fading, other edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in vg+ / near fine cond. minor fading, soiling, some chipping & wrinkling along the top edge, not price clipped (no price listed). nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking, underlining, remainder markings etc~. first edition so stated. first printing (nap). xi+497+xxp.+ colophon. 13 b&w maps. 6 glossy b&w photo illustrations. genealogical tables. bibliography. index. world history. medieval history. history of christianity. ~ A History Of The Middle Ages by an established scholar and teacher in the field, is a forceful, compact account of a period in European history recognized today as increasingly relevant to the problems and peculiar strengths of Western civilization. Concentrating on elements of primary importance, the narrative covers the period A.D. 284~1500 and deals with such subjects as the growth and development of the Christian faith and church organization, the rise and decline of the feudal states, and the slow evolution of the European nations and the European economy to the point where the modern era begins. Although chronology is never neglected in this clear narrative, primary subjects are treated in their unity. The mass of detail that has killed the interest of so many students of the period is firmly subordinated to the leading and formative themes of history. Nothing, moreover, is mentioned only to be dismissed. Knights and peasants, kings, queens, warriors, and clergy figure in this story and come to life for the reader as if he lived in their day. Special subjects such as the brilliant flowering of the Byzantine Empire receive their own consideration without obstructing the main course of the narrative in Western Europe. The economic basis of all human organization is kept constantly in view, and the manners, morals, and ways of living and fighting and governing of men of each period form an intimate part of the survey. In many areas Professor Painter's scholarship leads to new and interesting points. Mediaeval warfare and the political solutions to different problems of the age receive special emphasis. Notably, a fresh synthesis is attempted on the Christian hierarchy and rule that sets in its proper light the great endeavor ofthe Middle Ages to make of Europe a united and Christian polity. The discussion of the Hundred Years' War includes a clarifying study of military tactics. The emergent nationalism that takes shape under Jeanne d'Arc is shown for the potent force it has become in modern times. In a summary chapter Professor Painter writes appreciatively of the whole civilization of the Middle Ages, sorting out the problems and achievements of the epoch in a historical synthesis of deep interest to any student of the European past or present.
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