The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History: Revised Edition (Hist Atlas)

Nice sized book, which gives a good overview of Medieval History of Europe, the Mediterranean, western Russia and the Middle East.Starting in the 300s (which overlaps with the Classical History atlas), the book covers the fall of the Roman Empire in both the west (476 AD) and the east (1453 AD). The book divides maps into political (eg Roman, German, Russian, Abbasid, Sassanid) and linguistic (eg Slavic, Latin, Semitic) categories, showing migrations of all the major ethnic groups over time. Every 200 years or so, additional maps appear showing population density, the spread of Christianity and Islam and trade routes. Each map is accompanied by a page of text explaining some of the major changes and describing major events (eg Battle of Manzikurt, William the Conqueror, Justinian's Reconquest of Rome, the many battles of the Mongols), which allows the reader to further pursue the events/people described.Because the atlas is over such a long time period, and covers such a wide swath of territory, it provides many opportunities to spark the readers' interest and allow them to pursue their favorite topics, while showing history not just through the lens of one nation or one ethnic group.

It is a small size book. However it is full with intersting information. In each page there is a map and a detailed description of the historic events.

This atlas may benefit from more recent research results and from a slightly better base map, but it lacks the charm of the older version. No longer are we treated to ironic asides about history never being fair, for example. In what might be an attempt to permit the use of the atlas by American high school students, the vocabulary has been dumbed-down a notch or two (though not quite as far as it was for the Atlas of African History). This is a loss; one of the pleasures of reading McEvedy was the sense that you were in the presence of a acerbic, witty and somewhat old-fashioned English don.

The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History is a nifty little book of maps accompanied by an overview of important developments at each juncture of history. It encompasses Europe, northern Africa, what is now Russia and the middle east aka the known world. The color scheme consists of black, white and turquoise; there are symbols delineating topography and population; there are also lines indicating routes of various things; the maps are generally on the right page while relevant discussion sits on the left-hand page. The span of history included starts in the 4th century AD and ends in the 14th. And the maps typically reflect intervals between 25 and 75 years. I'm very pleased with this as my introduction to the historical atlas.

The Medieval period, like the period of the Roman Empire, takes in a very wide span of time, nations, and events. Want to really understand the period? Then prepare to dig in and buy a small library; and when buying your library your first purchase should be of an atlas. History is much less comprehensible and interesting without good maps.Penguin's Atlas of the Medieval World is merely adequate. Yes, it does produce decent maps that present the chronology of the period from the Roman Empire until the dawn of modern times. The essays do provide a basic summary of men, events, and ideas. But my problem is I was spoiled by the Atlas of the Roman World by Tim Cornell- there is simply no comparison between these two books. The latter goes into much more depth on certain topics, has a wider variety of maps, and in general is superb.As a geographical overview of the period this book is adequate. If you desire more continue searching.

Over time, boundaries change; country-names change; and "powers" ebb and flow. If one reads a lot of history, it helps immeasurably to have a map of what the world looked like at a particular point in time. The Atlas is concise; easy to hold; and the time segments are close enough that political boundary events are easy to follow. Since buying my original copy of the Penguin Medieval Atlas in the mid-1990s, I have referred to it often as I've read both fiction and non-fiction. The recent purchase was for my 15-year old grandson who is an avid reader of history.

I come back to this atlas and its partner, The New Penguin Atlas of Ancient History, again and again to anchor my understanding of where invaders, cities, nations and empires were located through European medieval history. Many histories I read, fail at providing useful maps. This is particularly true of those marketed through Kindle. This provides a large scale perspective of where things happened. I am particular mesmerized by the ebb and flow of the boundaries of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

The period from the reign of Constantine to the great voyages of discovery--or from the fourth to the fifteenth century--was once seen merely as the long, slow decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Yet, for Europeans, it is also a "supreme story of defeat turned into victory."Colin McEvedy's pioneering atlas, revised and expanded for this new edition, treats as one unit the Mediterranean, Europe and the nomads' steppeland to the East (the habitat of Huns, Turks and Mongols). Illuminating maps and lively commentaries present the towns and trade routes, the changing population patterns, the boundaries of Christendom (and later Islam) and the ever-shifting political units. The result is a wonderfully eloquent picture, as Dr. McEvedy puts it, "of how old empires fell and new ones rose, and how, in Europe, a new society emerged which had the energy to break free from the geographical, intellectual and technical limitations that defined the medieval world."

Clair, concis, synthétique et pourtant très riche.Très utile pour suivre les podcasts d'histoire que j'écoute

L'atlante in inglese presenta per ogni periodo, in successione, una pagina di spiegazione in sintesi e una cartina a fronte. L'inglese per il mio livello B2 non è difficile. Ottimo se sei appassionato di storia e vuoi migliorare l'inglese.

Muchas veces la geografía no es el fuerte de los libros de historia. Sobretodo en una época en que las "naciones" no estaba perfectamente definidas.A mi me sorprendió mucho encontrar reinos que no sabia habían existido. Lo recomiendo ampliamente

I purchased this and the Atlas of Ancient History, expecting them to be dry but useful reference material. What I didn't expect is that the writing is really excellent and I've found myself reading both books cover to cover. They really capture what was happening and tie it all together into a compelling narrative, supported by a range of useful maps on different topics that support the writing.

Mapas sinopticos de la Historia Medieval. Al igual que en el libro de Atlas de Historia Antigua de Penguin. Buenos resúmenes en idioma inglés; quizá también, como el libro mencionado, la letra un poco pequeña. Excelente complemento para los libros, o series de televisión, de ámbito histórico medieval.