Life in the Byzantine Empire comes alive in this extraordinary, insightful study ideal for high school students, undergraduates, and general readers interested in answering questions about every day details that truly shaped Byzantine life.
Contents Illustrations Preface Exploring Byzantium Worldviews Society and Economy Family and Household Constantinople Cities and Towns The Countryside Military Life The Monastery Artistic Life Life of the Mind Rulers of Byzantium Glossary Some Byzantine and Contemporary Writers Bibliography
MARCUS RAUTMAN is Professor and Department Chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri, Columbia.
[B]y placing a chapter on education, health care, technology,
astronomy, astrology, and magic at the end of the book, Rautman
leaves the reader with a complex and interesting view of Byzantine
culture that escapes the usual preconceptions regarding the
overwhelming orthodox nature of the state. Rautman's Byzantines are
social beings with religious beliefs, not religious subjects with
an incidental social and intellectual life….[A] welcome addition to
the field and should provide the general public and instructors of
Byzantine history with a good introduction to Byzantine life.
*Speculum, A Journal of Medieval Studies*
Because of the chronological and geographical scope, Rautman has
not focused on a representative location and period, but sketches
the diversity of daily experiences as a way of conveying what did
and did not change over the thousand years. His topics include
society and economy, family and household, cities and towns,
military life, the monastery, and artistic life.
*Art Book News Annual*
[D]iscusses daily life ranging from social events and sports to
games kids played, tourist attractions, war and peace times and
more. Supplementing such daily concerns are insights into Byzantine
perceptions, society, and family structure and the major towns and
rural life which affected all classes. Any high school or
college-level holding strong in Mongol Empire, from its justice
system to its cooking….A top pick for any program which includes
Mongol Empire studies.
*Midwest Book Review/California Bookwatch*
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