Books, Banks, Buttons: And Other Inventions from the Middle Ages
Once regarded by historians as a period of intellectual stagnation, the Middle Ages were actually a time of extraordinary cultural and technological innovation. This entertaining romp through the inventions of the period tells the story of the first appearance of dozens of items and ideas of lasting significance.\ From this misunderstood age we get our buttons, our underwear, and our trousers; we entertain ourselves with medieval playing cards, tarot cards, and chess. It was during the Middle...
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This entertaining romp through the inventions of the period tells the story of the first appearance of dozens of items of lasting significance. From the invention of eyeglasses (by a now-forgotten layperson who sought to keep his methods secret, the better to profit from them) to the creation of the fork (at first regarded as an instrument of diabolical perversion but embraced when it helped people handle another invention of the age, pasta), this beautifully illustrated volume is a fitting tribute to a misunderstood era that gave us countless items from which we still benefit today.
1Reading and keeping the books12Time for pleasure and time for duty693Dressing and undressing1034And then came the fork1175Making war1316By land and sea143
\ Speculum\ - Michael E. Hoenicke Moore\ It is likely that this book will lead new students to develop a fascination with the Middle Ages while introducing seasoned scholars to topics they have overlooked.\ \ \ \ \ \ Blue Ridge Business Journal\ - Dan Smith\ A thoroughly engaging look at the slow, subtle development of civilization.\ \ \ \ Bloomsbury Review\ - Gray Pleuth\ These contents provide a scholarly overview of the changes evinced by era while retaining a readable style and refreshing pace.\ \ \ \ \ \ SpeculumIt is likely that this book will lead new students to develop a fascination with the Middle Ages while introducing seasoned scholars to topics they have overlooked.\ — Michael E. Hoenicke Moore, Southern Illinois University\ \ \ \ \ \ Blue Ridge Business JournalA thoroughly engaging look at the slow, subtle development of civilization.\ — Dan Smith\ \ \ \ \ \ Bloomsbury ReviewThese contents provide a scholarly overview of the changes evinced by era while retaining a readable style and refreshing pace.\ — Gray Pleuth\ \ \ \ \ \ Choice[Frugoni] deftly fashions a narrative that takes readers on an informative, often charming and wryly humorous, journey... What particularly distinguishes this volume, though, is the more than 100 exquisite illustrations that aptly represent social and religious attitudes toward the inventions and innovations of the time... Highly recommended.\ \ \ \ \ \ History MagazineWritten in an engaging and open style with many delightful color illustrations showing the various objects, the book examines such commonplace items as forks, glazed windows, paper watermarks, rudders and wheelbarrows, placing them in their medieval context with the support of contemporary sources.\ \ \
