Written around 1112-1116, the Chronicles and Deeds is the oldest narrative source from Poland. This work tells the ancient history of Poland down to the reign of Boleslaw III.

Alongside annals, chronicles were the main genre of historical writing in the Middle Ages. Their significance as sources for the study of medieval history and culture is today widely recognised not only by historians, but also by students of medieval literature and linguistics and by art historians. The series The Medieval Chronicle aims to provide a representative survey of the on-going research in the field of chronicle studies, illustrated by examples from specific chronicles from a wide variety of countries, periods and cultural backgrounds. There are several reasons why the chronicle is particularly suited as the topic of a yearbook. In the first place there is its ubiquity: all over Europe and throughout the Middle Ages chronicles were written, both in Latin and in the vernacular, and not only in Europe but also in the countries neighbouring on it, like those of the Arabic world. Secondly, all chronicles raise such questions as by whom, for whom, or for what purpose were they written, how do they reconstruct the past, what determined the choice of verse or prose, or what kind of literary influences are discernable in them. Finally, many chronicles have been beautifully illuminated, and the relation between text and image leads to a wholly different set of questions. The Medieval Chronicle is published in cooperation with the Medieval Chronicle Society (medievalchronicle.org).

Preliminary Material -- WRITTEN AND ORAL TESTIMONIES IN MEDIEVAL CHRONICLES: MATTHEW PARIS AND GIOVANNI VILLANI /Sophia Menache -- BYZANTINE CHRONICLES /Roger Scott -- WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS: TECHNIQUE AND IDEOLOGY IN OFFICIAL HISTORIOGRAPHY IN VERSE IN LATE-MEDIEVAL SPAIN /Alan Deyermond -- TIME AND MEMORY IN THREE PORTUGUESE CHRONICLES /Teresa Amado -- THE NEW AGE OF PROPHECY: THE CHRONICLE OF MATTHEW OF EDESSA AND ITS PLACE IN ARMENIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY /Tara L. Andrews -- LE TRAVAIL DE MEMOIRE: LA CRONICA DE DINO COMPAGNI. LA FIABILITE DU VOIR: LE ROLE DE TEMOIN OCULAIRE ET LA VERIDICITE DU SOUVENIR /Francesca Braida -- CREATING AND MAINTAINING A YEAR-BY-YEAR CHRONICLE: THE EVIDENCE OF THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. /Dauvit Broun -- THE HISTORY AND ORIGINS OF THE LATIN CHRONICLE TRADITION /R. W. Burgess and Michael Kulikowski -- LA REPRESENTATION MEDIEVALE DE L'EPOQUE DES TROYENS DANS LA VERSION GALICIENNE DE LA CRÓNICA TROIANA D'ALPHONSE XI /Pedro Chambel -- FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE RENAISSANCE: ELEMENTS OF TRANSITION IN THE CHRONICLE OF GEORGE BOUSTRONIOS /Nicholas Coureas -- THE HUNGARIAN EXPEDITION TO POLAND IN 1093 IN THE HUNGARIAN AND POLISH CHRONICLES /Ryszard Grzesik -- PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL: FROISSART'S CAUTIONARY TALE OF THE SIEGE OF PURNON AS RECOUNTED AND ILLUSTRATED IN BESANÇON, MUNICIPAL LIBRARY MS 864 /Valentina Mazzei -- 'TOUT CE QUE IL APPARTENOIT A UNE NOBLE ET HAULTE DAME': REPRESENTATIONS OF ARISTOCRATIC FEMALE CHARACTERS IN JEAN FROISSART'S CHRONIQUES BOOK IV /Katariina Närä -- THE IMAGE OF THE OTHER OR THE OWN: REPRESENTATION OF LOCAL SOCIETIES IN HEINRICI CHRONICON /Andris Šnē.

This book offers a radical reinterpretation of the Slavic pagan religion made on the basis of a thorough re-examination of all reliable sources. What did Slavic pagan religion have in common with the Afro-American cult of voodoo? Why were no Slavic gods mentioned before the mid-tenth century, and why were there no Slavic gods at all between the Dnieper and the Order? Why were Slavic foundation legends similar to the totemic myths of the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe, and who were Slavic Remus and Romulus? What were the Indo-European roots of Slavic hippomantic rituals, and where was the Eastern Slavic dragon Zmey Gorynych born? Answers to these and many other provocative questions can be found in this book.

Focused on the formative force of national identity for the Poles the transmission of values the book offers a tour of a huge set of primary sources from the period 966-1138 in search of the traditions of the Piasts the ruling dynasty of Poland.

This volume examines mutual ethnic and national perceptions and stereotypes in the Middle Ages by analysing a range of historical sources, with a particular focus on the mutual history of Germany and Poland.

The first multivolume encyclopedia to document the history of one of the most influential religious movements of the Middle Ages—the Crusades. The Crusades: An Encyclopedia surveys all aspects of the crusading movement from its origins in the 11th century to its decline in the 16th century. Unlike other works, which focus on the eastern Mediterranean region, this expansive four-volume encyclopedia also includes the struggle of Christendom against its enemies in Iberia, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic region, and also covers the military orders, crusades against fellow Christians, heretics, and more. This work includes comprehensive entries on personalities such as Godfrey of Bouillon, who refused the title "King of Jerusalem," and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who tore up his own clothing to make symbols of the cross for crusaders, as well as key events, countries, places, and themes that shed light on everything from the propaganda that inspired crusading warriors to the ways in which they fought. Special coverage of topics such as taxation, pilgrimage, warfare, chivalry, and religious orders give readers an appreciation of the multifaceted nature of these "holy wars."