A Short Medieval Reader

"""Compact but comprehensive. Barbara H. Rosenwein has performed a heroic feat of selection, balancing grand political and military events with a sense of the lives of ordinary people; a balance too among Byzantine, Islamic, Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Western European areas. Not simply a compendium or work of reference, but a sparkling introduction to the Middle Ages."" - Paul Freedman, Yale University ""Do not buy this book if you favor the same-old rote medieval reader. Following the success of Reading the Middle Ages, Barbara H. Rosenwein has once again compiled an eclectic collection of medieval sources in this budget-friendly edition. Its title belies the rich and varied content of the book, sweeping from Iberia to Iraq and spanning more than a millennium. A Short Medieval Reader will undoubtedly become a standard text in classroom instruction."" - Kathryn L. Jasper, Illinois State University ""This collection offers Muslim, Christian, and Jewish texts as well as excellent discussion questions prefacing each source. Guiding readers from Viking Iceland to al-Tabari's Baghdad and back to the Umbria of Saint Francis, its excerpts let students witness the conquest of Byzantine Egypt from a Coptic perspective and hear the poetic passion of a baker's son for a courtly lady. Fodder for the imagination joins invitations to analysis in this valuable reader."" - Maureen C. Miller, University of California, Berkeley"