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Biographies MA.B-Ttlpgs MA.b-ttlpgs. qxp 3/31/04 10:07 AM Page 1 Biographies MA.b-ttlpgs. qxp 3/31/04 10:07 AM Page 3 Biographies Volume 2: J-Z JUDSON KNIGHT Edited by Judy Galens Judson Knight Judy Galens, Editor Staff Diane Sawinski, U•X•L Senior Editor Carol DeKane Nagel, U•X•L Managing Editor Thomas L. Romig, U•X•L Publisher Margaret Chamberlain, Permissions Associate (Pictures) Maria Franklin, Permissions Manager Randy Bassett, Imaging Database Supervisor Daniel Newell, Imaging Specialist Pamela A. Reed, Image Coordinator Robyn V. Young, Senior Image Editor Rita Wimberley, Senior Buyer Evi Seoud, Assistant Production Manager Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager Pamela A. E. Galbreath, Senior Art Director Kenn Zorn, Product Design Manager Marco Di Vita, the Graphix Group, Typesetting Middle Ages: Biographies Cover photograph of T’ai Tsung reproduced by permission of the Granger Collection, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knight, Judson. Middle ages. Biographies / Judson Knight ; Judy Galens, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7876-4857-4 (set) — ISBN 0-7876-4858-2 (vol. 1) — ISBN 0-7876-4859-0 (vol. 2 : hardcover) 1. Biography—Middle Ages, 500-1500. 2. Civilization, Medieval. 3. World history. I. Galens, Judy, 1968- II. Title. CT114 .K65 2000 920’.009’02—dc21 00–064864 This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. The author and editors of this work have added value to the underlying factual material herein through one or more of the follow- ing: unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and classification of the information. All rights to the publication will be vig- orously defended. Copyright © 2001 U•X•L, An imprint of the Gale Group All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Contents Reader’s Guide.....................ix Timeline of Events in the Middle Ages ..........xi Words to Know ...................xxxi Volume 1 (A–I) Peter Abelard ...................1 Li Po (box) ...................4 Ala-ud-din Muhammad Khalji ...........9 Hindu and Buddhist Rulers of India (box) ....10 Muhammad ibn Tughluq (box) .........13 Alexander Nevsky ................15 Heroes of Catholic Europe (box).........18 Augustine ....................23 Simeon Stylites the Elder (box) .........27 Averroës .....................31 Priscian (box) .................36 v Basil II ......................39 King Alfred the Great (box) ...........40 Sundiata Keita (box) ..............42 Bernard of Clairvaux ...............47 Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov and His Family (box) . 49 Boethius .....................53 Ashikaga Takauji (box) .............56 Charlemagne ...................61 Christine de Pisan ................69 Queen Margaret of Denmark (box) .......71 Clovis ......................77 King Arthur (box) ...............80 St. Cyril and St. Methodius ............85 Olga and Vladimir (box) ............87 Dante Alighieri ..................91 Omar Khayyám (box)..............94 El Cid ......................97 Harun al-Rashid (box) .............98 Eleanor of Aquitaine...............105 King John (box)................108 English Scholars, Thinkers, and Writers (Alcuin, St. Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas à Becket, William of Ockham, and Geoffrey Chaucer) ................113 St. Francis of Assisi ...............121 St. Dominic (box) ...............124 Genghis Khan ..................129 Brian Boru (box) ...............132 Gregory I ....................137 Boniface VIII (box) ..............140 Gregory VII and Henry IV ............145 Matilda of Tuscany (box) ...........148 Henry the Navigator ...............153 Cheng Ho (box)................156 vi Middle Ages: Biographies Historians (The Venerable Bede, Al-Mas’udi, Ssu-ma Kuang, and Anna Comnena) ........161 Holy Roman Emperors (Otto the Great, Otto III, Frederick I Barbarossa, and Frederick II) .................169 Innocent III ...................177 Benedict of Nursia (box) ............178 Urban II (box) ................180 Irene of Athens .................185 Yang Kuei-fei (box) ..............188 Volume 2 (J–Z) Joan of Arc ...................191 William Wallace (box) .............196 Justinian ....................199 Theodora (box) ................204 Kublai Khan ...................209 Rabban Bar Sauma (box)............213 Leif Eriksson ..................217 Other Medieval Explorers and Geographers (box) .............220 Moses Maimonides ...............223 Avicenna (box) ................226 Mansa Musa ...................229 Harsha (box) .................231 Mathematicians and Scientists (Aryabhata, al-Khwarizmi, al-Razi, Alhazen, and Roger Bacon).................235 Two Great Byzantines (box) ..........236 Mohammad I Askia ...............243 Charles the Bold (box).............246 Montezuma I ..................251 Muhammad ...................257 Murasaki Shikibu ................265 Giovanni Boccaccio (box) ...........266 Contents vii Osman I .....................273 Balkan Heroes (box) ..............274 Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui ............281 Jayavarman VII (box) .............284 St. Patrick ....................289 A Gallery of Saints (box) ............292 Marco Polo ...................297 Ibn Battuta (box) ...............302 Rabia al-Adawiyya................305 Julian of Norwich (box) ............309 Joachim of Fiore (box).............311 Richard I ....................313 Saladin .....................321 Leaders of the First Crusade (box) .......324 Shotoku Taishi .................329 Toghril Beg (box) ...............331 T’ai Tsung ....................335 Two Other Dynasties, Two Other Families (box) . 338 Emperor Tenchi and Fujiwara Kamatari (box) . 341 Tamerlane ....................343 Vlad Tepes (box) ...............346 Thomas Aquinas.................349 Some Notable Thinkers and Scholars of the Middle Ages (box) ..........352 Wen Ti .....................357 People Who Took Power from Outside (box) . 360 William the Conqueror .............365 Wu Ze-tian ...................371 Fredegund (box) ...............373 Index .........................xli viii Middle Ages: Biographies Reader’s Guide he Middle Ages was an era of great changes in civilization, Ta transition between ancient times and the modern world. Lasting roughly from A.D. 500 to 1500, the period saw the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe and the spread of the Islamic faith in the Middle East. Around the world, empires—the Byzantine, Mongol, and Incan—rose and fell, and the first nation-states emerged in France, Eng- land, and Spain. Despite the beauty of illuminated manu- scripts, soaring Gothic cathedrals, and the literary classics of Augustine and Dante, Europe’s civilization lagged far behind that of the technologically advanced, administratively orga- nized, and economically wealthy realms of the Arab world, West Africa, India, and China. Middle Ages: Biographies (two volumes) presents the life stories of fifty people who lived during the Middle Ages. Included are such major rulers as Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, and Eleanor of Aquitaine; thinkers and writers Augus- tine and Thomas Aquinas; religious leaders Muhammad and Francis of Assisi; and great explorers Marco Polo and Leif Eriksson. Also featured are lesser-known figures from the era, ix including Wu Ze-tian and Irene of Athens, the only female rulers in the history of China and Byzantium, respectively; Mansa Musa, leader of the great empire of Mali in Africa; Japanese woman author Murasaki Shikibu, who penned the world’s first novel; and Pachacutec, Inca emperor recognized as among the greatest rulers in history. Additional features Over one hundred illustrations and dozens of sidebar boxes exploring high-interest people and topics bring the text to life. Definitions of unfamiliar terms and a list of books and Web sites to consult for more information are included in each entry. The volume also contains a timeline of events, a general glossary, and an index offering easy access to the peo- ple, places, and subjects discussed throughout Middle Ages: Bi- ographies. Dedication To Margaret, my mother; to Deidre, my wife; and to Tyler, my daughter. Comments and suggestions We welcome your comments on this work as well as your suggestions for topics to be featured in future editions of Middle Ages: Biographies. Please write: Editors, Middle Ages: Bi- ographies, U•X•L, 27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; fax: 248-699-8097; or send e-mail via www.galegroup.com. x Middle Ages: Biographies Timeline of Events in the Middle Ages 180 The death of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius marks the end of the “Pax Romana,” or Roman peace. Years of instability follow, and although Rome recovers nu- merous times, this is the beginning of Rome’s three- century decline. 312 Roman emperor Constantine converts to Christianity. As a result, the empire that once persecuted Chris- tians will embrace their religion and eventually will begin to persecute other religions. 325 Constantine calls the Council of Nicaea, first of many ecumenical councils at which gatherings of bishops determine official church policy. 330 Constantine establishes Byzantium as eastern capital of the Roman Empire. 395 After the death of Emperor Theodosius, the Roman Empire is permanently divided in half. As time pass- es, the Eastern Roman Empire (later known as the Byzantine Empire) distances
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