Castle: Medieval Days and Knights (A Sabuda & Reinhart Pop-up Book)

Book Description

Over fifteen intricate pop-ups accompany Sabuda and Reinhart's fascinating text, which guides readers through the different aspects of life in a medieval castle. Readers will learn about knighting ceremonies, battles, and feasts. The true majesty of castles is fully realized when this book is opened to reveal a stunning 3-dimensional medieval world.

Customer Reviews:

Another intricate and exciting adventure.......2007-10-03

My son received this book for his 4th birthday and has been enjoying it at different levels over the past year. At first, he loved looking for the knights, admiring the intricate pop-ups, and listening to parts of the text about knights and their castles.

Now that he is 5, he is enjoying the book at a different level, spending longer moments discovering the surprises each page has to offer, and listening to the text with a greater attention to detail.

Of course, many of our grown-up guests enjoy looking at all of our Sabuda and Reinhart books as well. They are great fun and a true wonder!

Castle: Medieval Days and Knights.......2007-08-16

I am simply amazed that you can buy a high quality Sabuda pop-up book for such a reasonable price. These books are too nice for children who simply cannot appreciate the work that must have gone into creating them. Each one is a piece of art -- I just love them. I am convinced that eventually they will be too expensive to produce.

Buy 2, Use 1.......2007-07-14

Fascinating Pop-up book will spark the imagination of children and adults alike. Fun facts provide a glimpse into Medieval lives and are never dry. Kyle Olman came to our school and gave our 5th graders a demonstration on creating their own pop up knight, and happens to be an extremely kind and patient teacher as well as an incredible new author/artist!

Wonderful pop-up book!.......2007-07-11

Although this is clearly a book for older children and my son is only 16 months old, he already LOVES this book! (although secretly, I think my husband possibly enjoys it even more!) We've had it for 2 months now, and he still oohs and aahs as each page is turned (the boy, not the man!). His favorite is the interactive page in the middle where pulling on the arrowed tabs bring "life" to all of the medieval workers doing their jobs. We keep the book on a high shelf out of his reach, to keep him from damaging it accidentally. He eagerly requests to see it several times a week. It's interesting to me how he's never treated the Sabuda & Reinhart pop-up books (we have 3 - "Sharks" and "Dinosaurs" are just as amazing, although very different, from this one) in the same rough manner as he does with his other "toddler" books. Somehow, he knew these books are not the same. Even at his young age, he knows he has to let Mommy or Daddy help him with the delicate pages, and he gets SO excited with all of the amazing "action"! Excellent! Wonderful gift for any child.

Great Summer reading fun.......2007-06-27

I got this for my 7 year old to read over the summer. He and his 5 year old sister are having a ball lying on the floor discovering all the secret doors and reading about the Knights.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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STORYBOOK STYLE
Thrilled to find this book!
Rare original idea
Whodathunkit - a page-turner architecture book!
Homes out of Hollywood fantasy land

Storybook Style
Arrol Gellner , and Douglas Keister
Manufacturer: Studio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670893854
Release Date: 2001-10-11

Book Description

In the tradition of the Bungalow series, here is a marvelous celebration of the twentieth century's most delightful and whimsical architectural style

Storybook Style, the rambunctious evocation of medieval Europe in American housing, was born in the early 1920s and almost forgotten by the late 1930s. It took its inspiration from the Hollywood sets that enthralled Americans of the period and that still appeal to our jaded modern eye. Half timbered and turreted, pinnacled and portcullised, these houses owed their fanciful bravura to architects and builders with theatrical flair, fine craftsmanship, and humor. In Storybook Style, architectural information enhances the stunning color pictures by Bungalow and Painted Ladies photographer Doug Keister to impart a wealth of information and enjoyment.

Photography by Douglas Keister.

Customer Reviews:

STORYBOOK STYLE.......2007-01-10

A BEAUTIFUL LOOK AT WHIMSICAL HOMES FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART - THE BEST I'VE SEEN ON THE SUBJECT -

Thrilled to find this book!.......2005-06-08

I happened upon this book on Amazon last year - shortly after purchasing my very first home - a little storybook cottage. I've always adored this style of home but never knew what to call them. I was so happy to find this book and see someone had come up with a name for these enchanting homes. This book has brought me hours of enjoyment. I read it cover to cover immediately but I look through it over and over again. It has been such a help in giving me inspiration and information for the restoration of my little storybook home. I cannot sing enough praises for this book - my only complaint - I want another volume. If a Storybook Style 2 were to be published - I would buy it the very day it came out!!!!

This book is both informative and beautiful. It's a must for any storybook owner and anyone that is interested in architectural styles or anyone wishing to create their own storybook home.

Rare original idea.......2003-10-10

My first impression of this book was that it was a trifle; once I started to read it though, I discovered it was surprisingly substantial. What a joy to look at these quaint medieval-inspired houses. Lots of them, and all those turrets! You won't find mention of this phenomenon in any of the popular books on house styles, and the author deserves credit for documenting it.

The book displays a professional knowledge of architecture, unlike many in this category which seem to be written by art historians, and you can rest assured the author will not confuse a mullion with a muntin, or claim, as another one once did, that Tudor is an early Rennaissance style. (Although he happens to be incorrect in saying "terra cotta" means "hollow tile"; it means "baked earth".)

No vacant catalog-esque prose here; the author knows his subject and enjoys telling others about it.

Whodathunkit - a page-turner architecture book!.......2003-09-17

5 stars plus! A book to delight the heart! It's so well-written you don't want to stop reading, yet you want to see what delight awaits on the next page. My suggestion - page through and look at all the pictures - then go back and read it all. Great job - please do another one!
These guys did a similar book called Red Tile Style, on spanish revival architecture - if you like this one, check it out- it's also very well done.

Homes out of Hollywood fantasy land.......2003-03-26

Idea books for cottages and cottage detailing don't get much better than this. This book tells the story of the emergence of the Storybook style in the early part of the 20th century-- a style that came right out of the fantasy world of Hollywood. In fact, many of the homes featured in this book were commissioned by the movie folk of this era. This is a larger format book-- and you'll be glad it is when you see the pictures!

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Islamic Art

Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250
Richard Ettinghausen , Oleg Grabar , and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0300088698

Book Description

This richly illustrated book provides an unsurpassed overview of Islamic art and architecture during a time that witnessed the formation of a new artistic culture and its first, medieval, flowering in the vast area from the Atlantic to India. Inspired by Ettinghausen and Grabar's original text, this book has been completely rewritten and updated, and many new illustrations have been added.

Customer Reviews:

Islamic Art.......2007-08-27

This book contains the 'nut shell' of Islamic Art and Architecture. There are some plans, and many color photographs. Each project is accompanied by text explaining it and it's cultural significance. For someone who has an interest in the geometries and forms of Islamic Art this book was worth it.

Medieval Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 4th-14th Century

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Medieval Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 4th-14th Century
James Snyder
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 0810915324

The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din Attar (Handbook of Oriental Studies/Handbuch Der Orientalistik)

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The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din Attar (Handbook of Oriental Studies/Handbuch Der Orientalistik)
Hellmut Ritter
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004120688

Book Description

The Ocean of the Soul is one of the great works of the German Orientalist Hellmut Ritter (1892-1971). It presents a comprehensive analysis of the writings of the mystical Persian poet Farīd al-Dīn `Aṭṭār who is thought to have died at an advanced age in April 1221 when the Mongols destroyed his home city of Nīshāpūr in the north-east of Iran. The book, which resulted from decades of investigation of literary and historical sources, was first published in 1955 and has since remained unsurpassed not only as the definitive study of `Aṭṭār's world of ideas but as an indispensable guide to understanding pre-modern Islamic literature in general.

Quoting at length from `Aṭṭār and other Islamic sources, Ritter sketches an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the Islamic attitude toward life, characteristic developments in pious and ascetic circles, and, in conclusion, various dominant mystical currents of thought and feeling.

Amazon.com

The Gothic cathedral is one of humanity's greatest masterpieces--an architectural feast that couldn't help but attract the attention of renowned author-illustrator David Macaulay. Once an architectural student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Macaulay glories in the intricacies and beauty of structure, as evidenced in his masterful pen-and-ink drawings in critically acclaimed children's books such as Castle, Pyramid, and Rome Antics. He begins Cathedral in 1252, when the people of a fictitious French town named Chutreaux decide to build a cathedral after their existing church is struck by lightning. We first meet the craftspeople, then examine the tools, study their cathedral plans, and watch the laying of the foundation. Week by week we witness the construction of this glorious temple to God. Macaulay intuitively hones in on the details about which we are the most curious: How were those enormously high ceilings built and decorated? How were those 60-foot-high windows made and installed in the 13th century? And how did people haul those huge, heavy bells up into the skyscraper-high towers? Thanks to Macaulay's thorough, thoughtful tribute to the Gothic cathedral, not a stone, turret, or pane of stained glass is left unexamined or unexplained. (Ages 9 and older) --Gail Hudson

Book Description

Text and detailed drawings follow the planning and construction of a magnificent Gothic cathedral in the imaginary French town of Chutreaux during the thirteenth century.

Customer Reviews:

Macaulay's books.......2007-01-20

This book lives up to my expectations of David Macaulay's books in that it's very well drawn, has an abundant amount of useful information and is presented in a clear, exciting manner!

Another Macaulay Masterpiece.......2006-11-23

Second only to his magnum opus, Castle, this 1981 book continues David Macaulay's tradition of creating intricate (but welcoming and friendly) illustrations as an accompaniment to the telling of his informative tales. Taking its place in a grand series that has included Pyramid, Mill, Castle, Unbuilding, and others, Cathedral details the design and creation of one of the great Gothic churches that came to exist across western Europe during the Age of Faith. The setting here is France during the intellectually-towering High Middle Ages, and in careful steps we come to understand firstly what motivated people to undertake a construction project on such a scale, secondly how the construction was carried out, and finally how a Gothic cathedral, truly a structure that seems to soar untethered to earth, is able to stand so proudly close to a millennium after its dedication. Most marvelously of all, unlike virtually every other Medieval building, the great worship places are still largely in use today, fulfilling their original purposes and continuing on as a tribute to and testimony of the genius of those who erected them. David Macaulay is a master and a treasure, and a book like his teaches without effort. Like all great things, his books are joys to re-visit over the course of a lifetime.

An excellent masterpiece!.......2006-02-01

Words are useless to describe this masterpiece created by David Macaulay.

I have visited France (more specifically Paris, Rheims, Chartres, Chambord, Versailles, Chenonceau) and went on a "cathedral pilgrimage" to see all the greatest French gothic cathedrals.

After picking up this book in my local library, I was spellbound by the beauty of Macaulay's drawings. Macaulay is able to recreate the majesticness and grandeur of the cathedrals and draws you into the cathedral. You can almost hear the cathedral choir singing in the backround and the quite chanting of the people.

Macaulay's drawings are first rate (no wonder this masterpiece won the Caldacot Medal!)

This book should be read by everyone to show what people can achieve through determination and having a united goal.

This just occurred to me.... why do man's most significant and most beautiful works of art and architecture result from their religion?

David Macaulay's book is pure gold! BUY THIS BOOK, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!

spellbinding for children and adults alike.......2005-08-12

Like all of Macaulay's architectural books, CATHEDRAL is ripe with vivid illustrations that are both enthralling and educational to behold. The drawings not only illustrate the cathedral's method of construction, but convey the presence and majesty of the space as well. One feels the dizzying height of the tower and the formidable strength of the foundation stones. I was always amazed at the ingenuity of the laborers in completing tasks that I would have otherwise felt impossible to attemp without power tools.

While it is hard to predict whether today's children will find the book as captivating as I did in the pre-internet era, I feel that David Macaulay's books make excellent gifts to children. Not only do they stimulate the imagination, but they educate children on architecture, history and culture, and show that magnificent works can be accomplished through cooperation, creativity, planning and hard work. Not bad for a few bucks! I recommend you splurge on the hardback, because this is a book you'll enjoy literally for decades.

A wonderful introduction to architecture and the Middle Ages.......2004-01-10

Having just finished a great book called "Great Cathedrals", filled with 400 pages of jaw-dropping photographs, I kept wondering how in the world they could have built such marvelous edifices with rudimentary implements over 800 years ago. David Macaulay's "Cathedral" is a book ostensibly written for children but which will fascinate readers of all ages. In scarcely 80 pages, Macaulay takes us back in time to the year 1252 in the fictional French village of Chutreaux where the people decide to build the "longest, widest, highest and most beautiful cathedral in all of France" for the glory of God. Macaulay's text is minimal, but his exquisite black and white line drawings say it all: the step-by-step stages in the building's construction, the craftsmen and the tools they used, and the dedication that kept this project going for 80 years until its completion. We feel a sense of awe at the dedication of the original architects and craftsmen and builders who knew that they would be long dead before the cathedral was finally finished. Macaulay's glossary at the end of the book helps us to understand the major elements of the Gothic cathedral, and his cross-sections and diagrams provide clear illustration of just how the cathedral rose from its foundations. At the end of this volume, we share the awe and pride the townspeople felt at having shared a goal for over 80 years and making it a reality. Macaulay's "Cathedral" is a marvelous creation in more ways than one.

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Great resource
A sword expert who actually understood swords!
The best reference on the european medieval sword
The Definitive Sword Reference
Fascinating, a great book for beginners or experts of swords

Records of the Medieval Sword
Ewart Oakeshott
Manufacturer: Boydell Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0851155669

Book Description

An extensive and thorough study of the origins, development and usage of the glamorous two-edged knightly sword of the European middle ages, with a complete typology. Spanning the period from the great migrations to the Renaissance, this book presents a selection from a very large body of photographs and research and gives a full and detailed record of the swords of that turbulent time.

Customer Reviews:

Great resource.......2007-01-21

If you're into swords, this is a must have book. It's more than a catolog of styles of medieval swords but also explains the developement of the weapons and how swords and armour influenced each other. It also explains the difficulty in dating a weapon by the style of blade and hilt.

A sword expert who actually understood swords!.......2006-01-16

Ewart Oakeshott was unsurpassed in his understanding of medieval swords. Unlike the majority of weapons curators who focus exclusively on the hilt and try their hardest to pretend that the sword was never a practical tool, he appreciated the whole sword. Oakeshott's typology is based on blade shape, i.e. on how the sword handles and what it can be used for. Because of this Ewart was loved by re-enactors and historical swordsmen who view swords as a beautifully designed tool that comes to life in their hands.

I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to work with Ewart just before his death (editing a paper he submitted to the anthology Spada). Just as he reminded museum curators that the sword was a practical tool, not an art object, he reminded swordsmen that the sword was an important symbol of just might, not just a tool.

Records of the Medieval Sword is the best available book describing medieval swords (though his earlier book The Sword in the Age of Chivalry is also well worth picking up). It has clear photographs of the whole sword, and lists blade lengths. If only it had a few more measurements (weight, blade width at various points, point of balance, centre of percussion etc.) it would be a perfect resource for people who make and use swords but who rarely have the opportunity to hold genuine originals and feel their handling characteristics. Even with this minor omission, this book deserves pride of place in the library of anyone interested in the medieval sword.

Stephen Hand
Author, English Swordsmanship, Medieval Sword and Shield
Editor Spada, Spada II

The best reference on the european medieval sword.......2005-07-28

Ewart Oakeshott in this pictorial guide takes you by the hand
in a enjoyable trip along the classification created by him
on the european medieval sword: The Oakeshott Typology. You'll be delighted by the pictures of dozens of vintage pieces and you'll be inspired to forge your own swords based on the different pieces depicted in this book. A useful reference for the advanced sword enthusiast and an excellent introduction to the novice.

The Definitive Sword Reference.......1999-11-24

Records of the Medieval Sword is a remarkable volume, representing a body of work in the subject area with no equal.

Although the information is provided in an extremely authoritative manner, it is written in a very personable way, leaving this reader with a desire to know (have known?) the author.

If I were to attempt to be overly critical of this book, I would mention that there are a few minor, but still rather annoying, typographical errors and mis-numbered illustrations that detract somewhat from the otherwise masterly scholorship presented in the volume.

Also, in my opinion, a reference such as this should be provided in a hard cover edition, with full color plates wherever possible.

I will treasure this addition to my library.

Fascinating, a great book for beginners or experts of swords.......1999-11-03

This book contains a life-time's work and research of the sword. All the way from the early Scandinavian sword to the swords of the Renaissance and gives full in-depth summary and description on each piece. The author, Ewart Oakeshott is the leading expert of medieval swords and has taught me plenty (if not more) from his previous works. I am satisfied with the latest one here. "Records of the Medieval Sword" is well suited for a sword expert as well as for beginners and is for all to enjoy. The only thing I have to complain is that the binding of the book isnt done very well, but then again it could just be mine only. But then again, it should stop you from purchasing one.

Painting in Florence and Siena after the Black Death

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Art changes after the Black Death

Painting in Florence and Siena after the Black Death
Millard Meiss
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691003122

Book Description

Here-in a rich interweaving of considerations of connoisseurship, style, iconography, cultural and social background, and historical events-is the first extended study of the history of Florentine and Sienese painting in the later fourteenth century, in the period following the plague of the Black Death 1348.

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Art changes after the Black Death.......2007-04-27

Andrea Da Firenze, Spanish Chapel of Santa Maria Novella, "Christian Learning" 1365-67. Fig. 95, Old and New testament figures mixed on top tier. Often Old Testament figures have a New Testament saint associated with them. 3 Figures of heretics at feet of St. Thomas Aquinas. 7 Virtues are floating above them. From left to right are,3 up top are Faith, hope, and charity. 4 below are temperance, prudence, justice and fortitude. Row below, left to right are 7 theological sciences, 7 liberal arts is: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, logic, rhetoric, grammar. Firenze is anal retentive painter and very orderly in his composition.

Painting by Andrea Da Firenze Florentine school active, 1343-77 painting entitled "The Way of Salvation." Triumph of the Dominicans. In chapel of Cappella Spagnuolo, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, it is Dominican whose habits are black and white. Has 4 beasts representing the Gospels. Dominicans portrayed as teaching to the masses, giving absolution, St.Peter at the gates. Nude people in trees represent lust in church art. Figures are sized to show status. 3 Kings to right of Pope, Cardinal to the left. 3 Jews shows how Dominicans are responsible for trying to convert Jews, dogs depicted black and white like the habits because they are known as Domini Cannae, "Hounds of God" which is what the word Dominican means, they are attacking wolves who represent heresy. From 1231 on Dominicans are in charge of the Inquisitions in Europe. This painting is done to celebrate and teach of their successes.

1498, picture of landscape of city square of Florence, plague kills 70% of population. Paintings "Palazio Vechio which is the city hall. Signori have 2-month terms, they live there and don't get visitors so that they can't be bribed. Housing is densely packed walled city. Florence is known for Sodomy. 14 century artist and most famous painter is Giotto. He worked in wet fresco. Arena chapel in Padua "Joachim Expelled from the Temple" Fig. 35. 1305-12. Figures are real, they have weight and are standing on a surface. Figures are full and not emaciated like Middle Ages figures. Still people not to scale to surroundings. Giotto is considered the "Master" by his contemporaries. Uses good skin tones, figures have depth. He shows emotion and physicality, it foreshadows Renaissance of man in image of God.

Giotto's "Madonna" Enthroned Uffizi, Florence Fig. 10. is more realistic, looks like she is sitting and not floating. People are looking at Madonna, real sense of depth. There is real veneration of Virgin before the plague. Panel painting is big in Italy. Tempura (egg yoke) painting is used on wood panels allot.

Giotto's "Death of St. Francis" 1330's Art historians say it may be first Rennaisance painting. Figures very real, full figures, expressive faces, lots of emotion in painting. St. Francis had stigmata, monks, kissing his wounds.

Giotto di Bondone (Colle di Vespignano, near Florence 1267 - January 8, Florence 1337), better known simply as Giotto, was a Florentine painter and architect. He is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to and developed the Italian Renaissance.
Giotto was born in poverty in the countryside near Florence, the son of Bondone, a peasant, and was himself a shepherd. Most authors believe that Giotto was his real name, and not an abbreviation of Ambrogio (Ambrogiotto) or Angelo (Angelotto). Giotto's master work is the Arena Chapel cycle of the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padua depicting the life of the Virgin and the passion of Christ completed around 1305. The scheme has 100 major scenes with the heavily sculptural figures set in compressed but naturalistic settings often using forced perspective devices. Giotto's major innovation was to conceive of a painted architectural framework or grisaille using trompe-l'oeil effects that directly influenced Masaccio and in turn Michelangelo in his scheme for the Sistine Chapel. Famous panels in the series include the Adoration of the Magi in which a comet like Star of Bethlehem streaks across the sky and the Flight from Egypt in which Giotto broke many traditions for the depiction of the scene. The scenes from the Passion were much admired by artists of the Renaissance for their concentrated emotional and dramatic force, especially the "Lamentation over the Dead Christ", and studies of the sequence by Michelangelo exist. The Ognissanti Madonna now in the Uffizi and the sole surviving major panel work by the artist also dates from this period. In the fourteenth century Pope Benedictus XII was selecting artists to work for the Vatican, requesting from each applicant a sample of his ability. Although the Florentine painter Giotto was known as a master of design and composition, he submitted only a circle drawn freehand, the famous "0 of Giotto." Yet he was awarded the commission. Giotto's simple circle has been described as an ideal of elegance and perfection. At the request of the Pope, Giotto spent ten years in Rome. He was then employed by the King of Naples but little work remains from this period.
After 1320 Giotto returned to Florence, where he completed two fresco cycles and a number of altar pieces for the church of Santa Croce. Both of the fresco groups were badly damaged, though they show that in later years Giotto's style had become more ornate, perhaps as a response to the emerging International Gothic style. In 1334 Giotto was appointed chief architect to Florence Cathedral of which the Campanile bears his name, but was not completed to his design.

In his final years Giotto became friends with Boccaccio and Sacchetti, who featured him in their stories. In The Divine Comedy, Dante acknowledged the greatness of his living contemporary through the words of a painter in Purgatorio (XI, 94-96): "Cimabue believed that he held the field/In painting, and now Giotto has the cry,/ So the fame of the former is obscure." Giotto died while working on a "Last Judgement", including a portrait of Dante, for the Bargello Chapel in Florence.

Giovanni da Milano- not as intimate as Giotto's. His pictures not as intimate as Giotto's. His "Expulsion of Joachim 1365, Fig. 36 in Santa Croce Florence, all the women look the same, figures have no heft. No realism, it is a hierarchial piece not intimate. Giotto's "Meeting at the Golden Gate" 1305-1312 Fig. 26. Anna and Joachim have real emotion, embrace and kiss. Milano's same work in 1365 Fig. 27., Anna and Joachim not even looking at each other.
Giovanni da Milano (Giovanni di Jacopo di Guido da Caversaccio) was an Italian painter, known to be active in Florence and Rome between 1346 and 1369.

His style is, like many Florentine painters of the time, considered to be derivative of Giotto's. Vasari misidentified him as a student of Taddeo Gaddi, a noted Giotto protégé.
Hailing from Lombardy, the earliest documentation shows Giovanni in Florence on October 17, 1346, under the name Johannes Jacobi de Commo, listed amongst the foreign painters living in Tuscany.

Amongst Giovanni's most significant works:
* A polyptych with Madonna and Saints (c. 1355), the oldest known signed work by Giovanni da Milano, painted for the Prato Spedale della Misericordia
* A polyptych made for the Ognissanti of Florence (c. 1363), now dismembered and scattered, depicting saints and scenes of the Creation
* Man of Sorrows panel (c. 1365, Accademia, Florence), the oldest known signed and dated work
* Frescoes decorating both sides of the Rinuccini Chapel in Santa Croce, Florence. Each side consists of five scenes - one side depicting the Life of the Virgin and the other the Life of Mary Magdalene. Giovanni is credited with the upper two registers of each cycle. The bottom register is credited to Matteo di Pacino.

The latest extent documentation of Giovanni's career comes in 1369, when he is known to be working in Rome for Pope Urban V with Giottino and the sons of Taddeo Gaddi
Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo altarpiece of The Redeemer with the Madonna and Saints (1354-57) in the Strozzi family Chapel. Fig. 1. Florence Meiss does a lot on this piece in his book. This work is very Byzantine in nature. No depth Jesus is iconic, flat. A lot of gold. Jrsus giving the keys to St. Peter, scripture to St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John the Baptist always with ratty clothes and hair, virgin Mary always in blue, she has crown making her "Queen of Heaven, painting has Trinitarian reference.
Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo (c.1308-1368), better known as Orcagna, was a Florentine painter, sculptor and architect. A student of Andrea Pisano as well as Giotto di Bondone, his brothers Jacopo and Nardo di Cione were also artists. His works include the altarpiece of The Redeemer with the Madonna and Saints (1354-57) in the Strozzi Chapel, Santa Maria Novella and the tabernacle in Orsanmichele (finished 1359 which was regarded as "the most perfect work of its kind in Italian Gothic". His fresco The Triumph of Death inspired Franz Liszt's masterwork Totentanz, by general consent the finest of his concerto works.

Taddeo Gaddi- Florentine, very surreal look in his work The Angelic Announcement to the Shepherds 1328-1330 very real and detailed.

Taddeo Gaddi (c.1300-1366) was an Italian painter and architect, active during the early Renaissance. As a painter, he created altar-pieces and murals and is primarily noted as a pupil and follower of Giotto. As an architect, he is credited with the design of the Ponte Vecchio.
Life and Art Son of Gaddo Gaddi, an artist of whom little is known, Taddeo's art education came primarily as a pupil of, and assistant to, the painter Giotto di Bondone. Cennino Cennini referred to Taddeo as Giotto's godson and claimed that their relationship lasted 24 years.
Early works such as the The Stigmatization of Saint Francis (c.1325-1330, tempera on wood panel) demonstrate a subtle recasting of Giotto's style. Perhaps his most famous works are the series of frescoes depicting the lives of the Virgin and of Christ in the Giugni Chapel (neé Baroncelli Chapel) at Santa Croce in Florence (1328-38). The Angelic Announcement to the Shepherds (depicted at right) illustrates Taddeo's interest in light and its effects. His study of solar eclipses in particular would eventually lead to serious eye injury in 1339. As an architect, Taddeo Gaddi is credited with the design of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, as well as the Ponte Trinita, which was destroyed in the 16th century.

Two facts point to Taddeo Gaddi's importance as a Florentine artist:
1. Giorgio Vasari included a biography of Taddeo Gaddi in his Lives.
2. Taddeo's name appears atop a list of 'the best masters of painting who are in Florence'.

Styles of Florence vs. Sienna- Duccio most famous 14 century painter in Sienna. "Entrance into Jerusalem" 1308-11 Sienna painters were more conservative for a longer period of time. Face are not individualized, do more miniature works, no depth.

Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1255-1260, Siena - c. 1318-1319, Siena) was the most influential Sienese artist of his time and one of the key figures in the development of European painting. Duccio is considered to have had a major influence on the formation of the International Gothic style, and to have influenced Simone Martini and the brothers Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti, among others.

His works include the Rucellai Madonna (1285) for Santa Maria Novella (now in the Uffizi) and the fabled Maestà (1308-11), his masterpiece, for Siena's cathedral. Originally carried through the streets of Siena in a religious ceremony, the multipaneled Maesta represented a major step forward in painterly style and narrative storytelling through visual art. His Madonna and Child, painted on a wood panel around the year 1300, was purchased in November 2004 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for an estimated sum in excess of 45 million USD, the most expensive purchase ever by the mueum. In 2006 James Beck, a scholar at Columbia University stated that he believes the painting is a nineteenth century forgery; the Metropolitan Museum's curator of European Paintings has disputed Beck's assertion.
Simone Martini- Sienna painter famous "Annunciation" 1333 is famous. International Gothic school. Slender figures.

Simone Martini (c. 1284 - 1344) was an Italian painter born in Siena.
He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style. It is thought that Martini was a pupil of Duccio di Buoninsegna, the leading Sienese painter of his time. His brother-in-law was the artist Lippo Memmi. Very little documentation survives regarding Simone's life, and many attributions are debated by art historians. Simone Martini died while in the service of the Papal court at Avignon in 1344. Simone was doubtlessly apprenticed from an early age, as would have been the normal practice. Among his first documented works is the Maestà of 1315 in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. A copy of the work, executed shortly thereafter by Lippo Memmi in San Gimignano, testifies to the enduring influence Simone's prototypes would have on other artists throughout the fourteenth century. Perpetuating the Sienese tradition, Simone's style contrasted with the sobriety and monumentality of Florentine art, and is noted for its soft, stylized, decorative features, sinuosity of line, and unsurpassed courtly elegance. Simone's art owes much to French manuscript illumination and ivory carving: examples of such art were brought to Siena in the fourteenth century by means of the Via Francigena, a main pilgrimage and trade route from Northern Europe to Rome. Simone's major works include the Maestà (1315) in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, St Louis of Toulouse Crowning the King at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples (1317), the S. Caterina Polyptych in Pisa (1319) and the Annunciation and two Saints at the Uffizi in Florence (1333), as well as frescoes in the Chapel of St. Martin in the lower church of the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. Francis Petrarch became friend with Simone while in Avignon, and two of his sonnets make reference to a portrait of Laura de Noves he supposedly painted for the poet.

Bonaventura Berlinghieri 1235 vs. Giovanni del Biondo 1366, styles are the same frontal figures conservative depictions.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

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`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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