English Middle Ages

Examining trial records and the pharmacopoeia of witches, alchemists, folk healers, and heretics of the 15th century, Thomas Hatsis details how a range of ideas from folk drugs to ecclesiastical fears over medicine women merged to form the classical “witch” stereotype and what history has called the “witches’ ointment”. He shares dozens of psychoactive formulas and recipes gleaned from rare manuscripts from university collections from all over the world as well as the practices and magical incantations necessary for their preparation.

Fresh from his defeat of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy has returned home in triumph, accompanied by the English nobles he cannot trust to leave behind. For Waltheof of Huntington, however, rebellion is not at the forefront of his thoughts. From the moment he catches sight of Judith, daughter of the King's formidable sister, he knows he has found his future wife. When Waltheof saves Judith's life, it is clear that the attraction is mutual. But marriage has little to do with love in medieval Europe.

For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the medieval Near East, but these religious wars are only part of the region's complex history. As The Mongol Storm reveals, during the same era the Near East was utterly remade by another series of wars: the Mongol invasions. In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and upended the region's geopolitics. This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East and its enduring global consequences.

The thought of trading her subservient role in her father’s home for that of being the dutiful wife of someone she had never met caused her to shudder with revulsion. No, she thought to herself, what I crave is the opportunity to adventure across the sea, to behold strange and wondrous sights far beyond the city walls of Lubeck. To do that even once would almost be worth submitting herself to a loveless marriage based solely on familial advantage. But not quite, she admitted to herself. For if there was one thing of which Christina Kohl was certain, it was that she wanted her independence...

Eva is dissatisfied with her marriage to Louis. She's a little older and has a little extra on her hips. Eva longs to feel sexy and desirable again, and to enjoy the intimate attentions of a man. Frustrated by her husband's disdain for her curvier, more mature body, Eva convinces Louis to go on vacation to Couplez. But Eva doesn't tell Louis that it's a resort for swingers or that she's harboring fantasies of sleeping with a luscious, dark-skinned Jamaican. After a big fight with Louis, Eva goes snorkeling and meets Amani, the drop-dead sexy and muscular snorkeling instructor. Amani is ...

The great poetic tradition of pre-Christian Scandinavia is known to us almost exclusively though the Prose Edda, a collection of narrative literature, and its companion, the Poetic Edda. The poems originated in Iceland, Norway, and Greenland between the ninth and 13th centuries, when they were compiled in a unique manuscript known as the Codex Regius. The poems are primarily lyrical rather than narrative.

Kevin and Ginny are best friends. They enjoy spending their summer vacations exploring Sharper's Woods, coming up with neat experiments, pretending to be Sherlock Holmes and Mister Watson, and sometimes just sitting in the clubhouse of The Holmes and Watson Mysterious Events and Objects Consortium. They are the only members of the club, but that doesn't stop them from having fun. Sometimes their exploring gets them into trouble, either for going somewhere they shouldn't have or by finding something that was better left unfound. In this case, it is a strange metal object, a talisman, which ...

It is the year 1051. Something is amiss in the sleepy seaside village of Gorleston and the young brothers Gyrth and Leofwine are sent to investigate, hoping to avoid the ire of their father the might Earl Godwin of Wessex after one of their pranks went awry. Reknowned as fools among the ruling class, they have been given a chance to redeem their reputations. The bright and busy village of Gorleston has suddenly become suspiciously quiet and the brothers are tasked by the Earl Harold to find out why. The unexpected discovery of a naked body only serves to complicate things for the pair. They...

A girl wakes up to find herself in a strange land called the Domain of Wishes. There she meets Min, a sarcastic bamboo-loving panda who becomes her guide. She soon learns from Min that her quest is to fulfill a series of wishes and that an evil group called the Negative Beings will try to prevent her. If she fails in her mission she will end up being stuck in the Domain forever. Together the girl and the panda join forces and embark on a series of adventures filled with excitement and danger.

Every time violence erupts in the Middle East, Ida knows what's coming next. Some of her classmates treat her like it's all her fault—just for being Palestinian! In eighth grade, Ida is forced to move to a different school. But people still treat her like she'll never fit in. Ida wishes she could disappear. One day, dreading a final class project, Ida hunts for food. She discovers a jar of olives that came from a beloved aunt in her family's village near Jerusalem. Ida eats one and finds herself there—as if her parents had never left Palestine!

Whose Middle Ages? is an interdisciplinary collection of short, accessible essays intended for the nonspecialist listener and ideal for teaching at an undergraduate level. Each of 22 essays takes up an area where digging for meaning in the medieval past has brought something distorted back into the present: in our popular entertainment; in our news, our politics, and our propaganda; and in subtler ways that inform how we think about our histories, our countries, and ourselves. Each author looks to a history that has refused to remain past and uses the tools of the academy to read and re-read familiar stories, objects, symbols, and myths.

In this riveting account, renowned scholar Ronald Hutton explores the history of deity-like figures in Christian Europe. Drawing on anthropology, archaeology, literature, and history, Hutton shows how hags, witches, the fairy queen, and the Green Man all came to be, and how they changed over the centuries. Looking closely at four main figures—Mother Earth, the Fairy Queen, the Mistress of the Night, and the Old Woman of Gaelic tradition—Hutton challenges decades of debate around the female figures who have long been thought versions of pre-Christian goddesses.

Do you hate the term “middle age?” So does Kristin van Ogtrop, who is still trying to come up with a less annoying way to describe those years when you find yourself both satisfied and outraged, confident and confused, full of appreciation but occasional disdain for the world around you.

What adventures do you have when you visit your grandparents? When I visit mine, we do things I love, like having fun in Grandpa’s garage. This weekend, Grandpa is teaching me something new. He's going to show me how to change the oil in his car. Have you ever done that before? Do you know what tools to use? I'm excited to find out what it takes to do the oil change. ***** This book is at a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 3.2, making this most appropriate for independent readers aged 7 - 12. With the universal appeal of the content, even parents and teachers will enjoy the story when ...

Twelve-year-old Sky Daniels isn’t interested in ordinary summer breaks. While her friends head to camp or sleep in, Sky grabs a dusty old map left behind by her late grandfather—a legendary gold prospector—and heads into the rugged wilderness of the Colorado Rockies… alone. Armed with a backpack, a compass, and more determination than most adults, Sky sets off on a life-changing adventure. But the mountains hold more than just gold—they hide danger, tests of courage, and deep, echoing wisdom. From icy rivers and wild predators to hidden ghost towns and unexpected friendships, Sky ...

This is your pilot speaking. We have a problem in the engine bay. It's nothing to worry about, but please make your way to the escape pods. Hal Junior and Stephen 'Stinky' Binn live aboard a high-tech space station, far from the nearest planet. The rules are strict, and their lives are carefully regulated. That's why they're so excited about the camping trip to Planet Gyris ... imagine a whole week of fishing, swimming, sleeping in tents and running wild! Unfortunately, the boys crash land in the middle of a forest, and there's little chance of rescue. Is this the end of the camping trip .....

Jimmy, known by his friends as Meathead, is struggling to keep a secret. He wets the bed. Together with his dog and his pet ferret, Meathead rides his Big Wheel to misadventures in the gully, a swampy stream that cuts through his neighborhood. Impressing the older kids seems important, but it leads him into trouble. Losing his beloved pets and having his secret exposed, Meathead learns his lessons the hard way.

In our forties, fifties, and beyond, we're wrestling with new questions. Is this it? Did I do what I wanted to do in my life? Who am I now that my kids have moved out? Will my sagging skin eventually hang all the way down to my feet? We feel a little like the world has nudged us aside for the younger crowd. But God still has much in store for us. God doesn't bring us to the middle of our lives so we can park in front of the TV and binge-watch home makeover shows. We are his gift to this world at every age and in every season, and it's time to embrace it like never before.

Some kids dream big. Finn Harper dreams dangerously! Every night, thirteen-year-old Finn slips into the Dreamscape, a realm of surreal worlds, wild creatures, and whispered fears, armed only with Flicker, his moody, half-magical lantern. As a junior Dreamkeeper, his job is to patch up nightmares before they spill into the waking world. No pressure! But when his best friend Lila’s little brother falls into a coma, and a forgotten villain known as the Nightmare Weaver resurfaces, Finn is pulled into a dangerous quest that spans collapsing dreambubbles, shape-shifting monsters, and a ...

The killer’s not packing a gun. He’s riding a snowboard … Fourteen-year-old Trennon is the hottest snowboarder on the hill. He busts eye-popping McTwists, backside Rodeos, and crunchy Burger Flips like a snow-shredding demon. But Trennon’s facing threats more terrifying than head-spinning jumps and bone-snapping halfpipes. He’s stumbled across a secret that threatens every rider on the mountain. And now he’s riding into danger—danger that could cost him his life … Strap in for a wild ride! If you like blood-chilling adventure, read Shredder today!