Product Description: For much of the Middle Ages the life of the rural peasant was one of restrictions, poverty, ogrous landlords, great discontent and unrest. In the later period, 14th century onwards, landlords began to lease much of their land, serfdom declined and peasants enjoyed a greater freedom of movement and employment, leading to the disruption of settlement patterns and population relocation...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: The Byzantine world underwent a remarkable recovery of intellectual energy in the period following the recovery of Constantinople in 1261. The reaction of the emperors and their entourage of well-educated high officials to their political disasters was a deliberate revival of the glories of ancient Greek culture...read more

This third edition of the Handbook of British Chronology, published by the Royal Historical Society in 1986, is now available from Cambridge University Press. This book has been a standard work of reference for serious students of history since the publication of the first edition in 1941. As well as including lists of monarchs, dukes, marquesses and earls, the book details officers of state and archbishops and bishops for the whole of the British Isles from the Anglo-Saxon period through to 1985. This volume will be of particular use to medieval historians, but will also be a valuable reference tool for students of modern history. (view table of contents)