Middle Europe

An essential new history of Central Europe that “deftly unravels the strands of a long and complex past” (Wall Street Journal) Central Europe has long been infamous as a region beset by war, a place where empires clashed and world wars began. In The Middle Kingdoms, Martyn Rady offers the...

In the midst of the devastating Hundred Years’ War between France and England, Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight, fresh from combat in Scotland finds his wife, Marguerite, accusing squire Jacques Le Gris of brutally raping her. A deadlocked court decrees a “trial by combat” that also leaves Marguerite’s fate in the balance. For if her husband loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser. While enemy troops pillage the land, and rebellion and plague threaten the lives of all, Carrouges and Le Gris meet in full armor on a walled field in Paris.

NEW AND IMPROVED SECOND EDITION - 2025 Initially published by Peter Owen Publishers, 2013 When nine-year-old Henry III ascended to the throne of a kingdom on the verge of collapse, none could have predicted his fifty-six-year reign would become the longest in medieval England. The first child king to inherit the English throne since the Norman Conquest, his reign (1216–72) transformed the kingdom politically and culturally during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Though often overshadowed by his father, King John, and his son, Edward I, Henry III was one of England’s ...

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 14th 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. 

In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.  

Western civilization has given us modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of law, a sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts we take for granted.

In this charming journey into the past, a historian reveals medieval wisdom that can still guide us today "One of the most compelling medieval history books I have ever read." –Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England Peter Jones was teaching medieval history at...

What happens when a nomadic tribe rises from the steppes of Asia to rule over three continents for more than six centuries? The Ottoman Empire was more than just a dynasty of sultans and battles—it was a civilization that shaped the course of history. From the fall of Constantinople to the height of Suleiman’s reign, from the might of the Janissaries to the struggles of the 19th century, this empire’s story is one of ambition, triumph, resilience, and eventual decline. The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire: How a Nomadic Tribe Transformed the Middle East, Europe, and Beyond takes ...

If you want to discover the captivating history of Europe, then this audiobook might be what you're looking for. It includes five books that cover topics like ancient history, influence of ancient Greece and Rome, fall of the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, important events, and much more.

For centuries, the Middle Ages have been mocked, misrepresented, and dismissed as a “dark age” of ignorance and oppression. The truth is very different. Defending the Middle Ages dismantles modern myths and restores a clear, historically grounded understanding of a civilization shaped by faith, courage, and sacrifice. Drawing on historical evidence and Catholic tradition, this work explores: The real motives and context of the Crusades The truth about the Inquisition The dignity and strength of medieval women The moral and cultural achievements of Christendom The lies and distortions ...

A Thousand Miles to Freedom is a gripping, deeply human true story of one young Afghan girl’s impossible journey across mountains, borders, sea and war zones in pursuit of the freedom she was told she could never have. She was born into a world shaped by conflict, tradition, and the constant threat of violence, she grew up determined to carve a path beyond the limits placed on Afghan girls. From surviving abusive cultural norms to becoming a nurse through sheer resilience, her life is marked by extraordinary courage. But when she is forced into an intolerable arranged marriage, she makes ...

Weird but True Stories from Medieval Europe: Bizarre, Shocking, and Unbelievable Tales from the Middle Ages Step into the shadowy, surreal, and surprisingly real world of medieval Europe like never before. Weird but True Stories from Medieval Europe takes readers on a riveting journey through the strangest corners of the Middle Ages—where pigs stood trial, bishops exploded in their coffins, and entire cities danced themselves into exhaustion. Based entirely on documented historical events, this fascinating and entertaining book reveals ten unbelievable but true stories from across Europe ...

A new history of Assyria, the ancient civilization that set the model for future empires. "Truly extraordinary." —Times (London) At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here...

Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings.

After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today. By placing the image of the Virgin...

The Crimean War was a major conflict that took place between 1853 and 1856 involving Russia, the Ottoman Empire, France, and the United Kingdom. In this concise history book, you will delve into the causes, events, and consequences of this brutal war. From the Charge of the Light Brigade to the Siege of Sevastopol, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the key battles and turning points that defined the conflict. With vivid descriptions and insightful analysis, this book is a must-hear for anyone interested in the history of warfare and international relations.

A History of the Middle Ages is the amazing story of European man in transition. It is a dramatic chronicle of 1,000 years of political, social, and economic transformation beginning with the dissolution of the classical Mediterranean civilization and ending with the first flowering of the Renaissance. It is also the story of two new religions, Christianity and Islam, both of which were destined to dominate the mind of every person in those new civilizations arising in their wake.

Drawing from both Christian and Islamic sources, Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain demonstrates that the clash of arms between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian peninsula that began in the early eighth century was transformed into a crusade by the papacy during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Successive popes accorded to Christian warriors willing to participate in the peninsular wars against Islam the same crusading benefits offered to those going to the Holy Land.

One night, Geppetto the wood carver made a wish. He wished his puppet Pinocchio were a real boy! When the Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, she tells the puppet he can become a real boy if he proves himself brave, truthful, and unselfish. Listen along as Pinocchio embarks on a journey of a lifetime!

When the legendary Frankish king and emperor Charlemagne died in 814 he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Johannes Fried paints a compelling portrait of a devout ruler, a violent time, and a unified kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called the father of Europe.