Atlas of the Medieval World

by Rosamond McKitterick

Forged in an age of faith and war and tempered by great statesmen, religious leaders and artists, medieval civilizations witnessed remarkable transformations. Far from being a homogeneous world of knights and castles, the era saw a multitude of contrasting and often competing cultures, many of which became the foundation stones for the emergence of modern societies. From the expansion of Islam across the Mediterranean to the appearance of centralized states and Christian monarchies, the Atlas of the Medieval World draws from new archival and archaeological evidence to reveal a period of astonishing cultural vibrancy and political diversity.
Alongside stunning maps covering nearly a millennium of one of the most formative phases in history, hundreds of exquisite pictures of art and architecture accompany expertly written text edited by Rosamond McKitterick, Professor of Early Medieval History at Cambridge University to bring an extraordinary period to life as no reference has before. The Arab invasions of Europe, the empire of Charlemagne, the African kingdoms of Songhai and Mali, the Crusades, the Viking and Mongol invasions, the Delhi sultanate and the T'ang and Ming empires are just a few of the subjects explained in the Atlas of the Medieval World. What's more, cultural and economic trends such as the spread of literacy and the growth of towns receive equal attention alongside the emergence of kingdoms and the march of armies to form a comprehensive history of all major societies outside of the Americas during the Middle Ages.

Genres: History, Medieval History, Medieval, Nonfiction, Maps, Reference, Geography

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 9, 2004

About the author

Rosamond Deborah McKitterick is one of Britain's foremost medieval historians. Since 1999, she has been Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge where she is a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College. Much of her work focuses on the Frankish kingdoms in the 8th and 9th centuries and uses palaeographical and manuscript studies to illuminate aspects of the political, cultural, intellectual, religious and social history of the early Middle Ages.

From 1951 to 1956 McKitterick lived in Cambridge, England, where her father had a position at Magdalene College. In 1956 she moved with her family to Western Australia where she completed primary and secondary school and completed an honours degree at the University of Western Australia. She holds the degrees of M.A., Ph.D., and Litt.D.

In 1971 she returned to Cambridge University to pursue her career. She was a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge and then became a Professorial Fellow of Sidney Sussex. She is also on the Editorial Board of the journal 'Networks and Neighbours'.

She married David John McKitterick, Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge, and they have one daughter.

Reviews

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hoped that it would be less Europe-centered, but I loved the maps, images, and discussions.

[Jennifer Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atlas of the Medieval World
Citation by: Jennifer Emberton
Type of Reference: Atlas
Call Number: 909.1
ISBN-13: 9780195221589
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date: 1/1/2005
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 304
Product dimensions: 11.20 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 1.00 (d)


Content/Scope: Wonderful illustration of maps during this time period to show economic trends and culture growth through the rise and fall of kingdoms.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: Rosamond McKitterick is Professor of Early Medieval History, Cambridge University. She is also the editor of numerous books including The Early Middle Ages: Europe 400-1000, The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 2, and The Frankish Kings and Culture in the Early Middle Ages.
Arrangement/Presentation: Outlined by beautiful maps.
Relation to other works: General reference
Accessibility/Diversity: Easy to read; great for visual learners.

Cost: $45.00

Professional Review:
Werner, E. K. (2005). Atlas of the Medieval World. Library Journal, 130(10), 174.
Section:
Reference
Atlas of the Medieval World.
Oxford Univ. 2005. 256p. ed. by Rosamond McKitterick.
illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-19-522158-3.
$45. REF
McKitterick (early medieval history, Cambridge; The Early Middle Ages: Europe 400- 1000; The New Cambridge Medieval History: Vol. 2) has produced a handsome, richly illustrated, and informative atlas, exploring through maps and narrative the millennium from the end of the Roman Empire to the colonization of the Americas. Originally published in the United Kingdom as The Times Medieval World (2003), also edited by McKitterick, this North American edition is almost identical to the original, bearing only slight differences in appearance. Unlike other atlases covering medieval civilizations, e.g., Atlas ofMedieval Europe (Angus MacKay & David Ditchburn, eds.) and Colin McEvedy's The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History, rev. ed., this atlas is not solely restricted to Europe but spans the entire globe. While emphasis is placed on Europe and the Middle East, regions like Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and countries like China and Japan receive their due through explorations of their trade and religious and cultural influence. In total, the work features more than 90 digitally produced color political and thematic maps as well as hundreds of sumptuous photographs of art and architecture. Bottom Line Atlases abound (see also John Haywood's Historical Atlas of the Medieval World), and there are only so many a library needs; if your reference collection could use an update, this makes for a valuable acquisition.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

With close to 100 maps, Atlas of the Medieval World provides the reader with an expansive view of medieval Europe with the occasional glimpse into Southeast Asia, Iceland/Greenland, and the Middle East. The maps are fairly detailed — some would argue not detailed enough, though I found them quite useful for my purposes– ranging from the cities and counties of medieval England and France in the 11th and 12th centuries, to the principal trade routes of Eastern Europe, to the agricultural and trade routes of England and France and Spain, and even the language groups of all of medieval Europe.

Accompanying the maps is some nice textual information covering topics such as: the judicial law and process, art and architecture including building plans of churches and monasteries, towns and urban life, and civic assemblies and representative institutions. A timeline noting signficant dates in medieval history runs along the bottom throughout a good portion of the book.

In sum, this is a good book if you’re looking for a host of maps of the medieval world. Personally, it was especially useful for location city names, duchies, and counties in England and France during the High Middle Ages. The biggest complaint from most is that the textual information does not always match the map showing on the page, though this didn’t bother me.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good overview of medieval history with numerous maps, illustrations, and images. Unlike most books addressing the "medieval period", this isn't just about Western Europe or Western Europe and Byzantium. It also included the Nordic countries, Islamic countries, Asian countries, and some in Africa. There was minimal coverage of North/South America and the coverage of sub-Saharan Africa was pretty minimal. The focus is clearly on Europe, though.

The atlas covered a wide breadth of topics, but not in much depth - which isn't surprising for an atlas and makes sense considering most subjects were given just a few pages of coverage (and that included space for maps, pictures, etc.).

The maps were sometimes a little hard to read and the lack of depth makes this more of a starting point or easy reference. Still, a good book.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This atlas boasts an interesting thematic organization and lots of beautiful photographs. My only complaint: the total lack of scale indicating distances. Some people may just know the dimensions of medieval France, but others of us would like more guidance!

[Rae Dulmage]

A very good and well researched book. Some issues with the book were editorial errors that you would not expect (i.e. dates for a King that did not match to his actual activities). Maps were useful but for someone who is colourblinds different shades could be confusing.