Europe in the High Middle Ages

Europe in the High Middle Ages

About the Book

"The Penguin History of Europe series... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects."--New Statesman

It was an age of hope and possibility, of accomplishment and expansion. Europe's High Middle Ages spanned the Crusades, the building of Chartres Cathedral, Dante's Inferno, and Thomas Aquinas. Buoyant, confident, creative, the era seemed to be flowering into a true renaissance-until the disastrous fourteenth century rained catastrophe in the form of plagues, famine, and war. 

In Europe in the High Middle Ages, William Chester Jordan paints a vivid, teeming landscape that captures this lost age in all its glory and complexity. Here are the great popes who revived the power of the Church against the secular princes; the writers and thinkers who paved the way for the Renaissance; the warriors who stemmed the Islamic tide in Spain and surged into Palestine; and the humbler estates, those who found new hope and prosperity until the long night of the 1300s. From high to low, from dramatic events to social structures, Jordan's account brings to life this fascinating age. Part of the Penguin History of Europe series, edited by David Cannadine.
Read more
Close

The Penguin History of Europe Series

The Global Age
The Pursuit of Power
To Hell and Back
Christendom Destroyed
The Birth of Classical Europe
The Inheritance of Rome
The Pursuit of Glory
Europe in the High Middle Ages

About the Author

William Chester Jordan
William Chester Jordan, former director of the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies, is professor of history and director of the Program in Medieval Studies at Princeton University. His previous book, The Great Famine, won the Haskins Medal of the Medieval Academy in 2000. More by William Chester Jordan
Decorative Carat

By clicking submit, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.

Random House Publishing Group