Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Concepts and Terms
by Bradford B. Broughton, Bradford Broughton
Category: Family & Relationships

A complementary companion to the author's Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood: Concepts and Terms (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1986), this takes the Norman conquest of England in 1066 as its starting point and the late fourteenth century, marked by the unsuccessful revolt of the English peasantry in 1381, as its concluding point. The categories named in the subtitle encompass knights, nobles, rulers, clerics, fictional characters, literary works, chansons de geste, castles, battles, treaties, legal terms, and the authors whose works historical and fictional have transmitted the medieval heritage to later ages. Largely confining his scope to Anglo-Norman chivalry and politics, Broughton describes and analyzes the roles people, events, and places played in a colorful and bloody age. Within articles cross-references to other entries in this volume and the Concepts and Terms volume are nearly as thick as the rain of arrows from battlements during battle. This thorough cross-referencing is especially helpful to the casual reader who approaches these books without a background knowledge of knighthood and its social, political, and military dimensions. Together these two dictionaries offer modern readers the means to understand the medieval world. Wilson Library Bulletin This work, a companion volume to the Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Concepts and Terms (Greenwood Press, 1986), is designed to help the uninitiated reader understand more easily the development and growth of chivalry and knighthood in the medieval age. Focusing primarily on people, places, and events in France and England, Broughton provides a brief biography of major historical knights and other personages of note, descriptions of important literary knightly characters and the works in which they appear, identification of castles and other places of geographical interest, and accounts of major battles during the period 1050-1400. The entries are all arranged alphabetically, and virtually all include a reference to the primary scholarly works on the subject. Frequent cross references are made to the Concepts and Terms volume and to related entries in the present volume, enabling the researcher to find materials of interest easily. Broad in scope, the dictionary covers issues ranging from the Battle of Hastings, which brought the concept of knighthood to England in 1066, to the battle of Crecy (1346) and Poiters (1356) and the legendary Knights of King Arthur's Round Table. A significant contribution to the study of medieval history and literature, this volume will be an indispensable aid to students pursuing research in this area.