The Middle Ages, LAN-MIC

The Middle Ages comprise the period in European history that began with the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century CE and lasted until the dawn of the Renaissance in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century. This interval of time saw the development of the Gothic style of art and architecture, flying buttresses and all. It was also the era of the Crusades and of papal monarchy, and it was during this period that the idea of Europe as a distinct cultural unit emerged.
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The Middle Ages Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Landa, Diego de
Diego de Landa was a Spanish Franciscan priest and bishop of Yucatán who is best known for his classic account......
Lang, Matthäus
Matthäus Lang was a German statesman and cardinal, counsellor of the emperor Maximilian I. Of bourgeois origin,......
Langton, Stephen
Stephen Langton was an English cardinal whose appointment as archbishop of Canterbury precipitated King John’s......
Leaders of Germany
Germany is a federal multiparty republic with two legislative houses. Its government is headed by the chancellor......
Leaders of Muscovy, Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union
Russia is a federal multiparty republic with a bicameral legislative body; its head of state is the president,......
Legnica, Battle of
Battle of Legnica, (9 April 1241). Mongol raiders in Poland defeated a European army containing much-feted Christian......
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer widely held to have been the first European to reach the shores of North America.......
Lelewel, Joachim
Joachim Lelewel was a prominent Polish historian, regarded as one of the founders of modern Polish historical thought.......
Leo III
Leo III was a Byzantine emperor (717–741), who founded the Isaurian, or Syrian, dynasty, successfully resisted......
Leo IV
Leo IV was a Byzantine emperor whose reign marked a transition between the period of Iconoclasm and the restoration......
Leo V
Leo V was a Byzantine emperor responsible for inaugurating the second Iconoclastic period in the Byzantine Empire.......
Leo VI
Leo VI was the Byzantine coemperor from 870 and emperor from 886 to 912, whose imperial laws, written in Greek,......
Leopold I
Leopold I was the Holy Roman emperor during whose lengthy reign (1658–1705) Austria emerged from a series of struggles......
Leopold II
Leopold II was the Holy Roman emperor from 1790 to 1792, one of the most capable of the 18th-century reformist......
Lepanto, Battle of
Battle of Lepanto, (October 7, 1571), naval engagement in the waters off southwestern Greece between the allied......
liege
liege, (probably from German ledig, “empty” or “free”), in European feudal society, an unconditional bond between......
Ligdan
Ligdan was the last of the paramount Mongol khans (ruled 1604–34). Ligdan was a member of the Chahar royal family......
Ligne, Charles-Joseph, prince de
Charles-Joseph, prince de Ligne was a Belgian military officer and man of letters whose memoirs and correspondence......
Liman von Sanders, Otto
Otto Liman von Sanders was a German general largely responsible for making the Ottoman army an effective fighting......
Lindisfarne raid
Lindisfarne raid, Viking assault in 793 on the island of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) off the coast of what is now......
Lisbon, Battle of
Battle of Lisbon, (1 July–25 October 1147). The capture of the city of Lisbon from the Almoravid Muslims was a......
list of chancellors of Germany
This is a chronologically ordered list of chancellors of...
list of cities and towns in Egypt
This is a list of cities and towns in Egypt, ordered alphabetically by muḥāfaẓah (governorate). (See also city;......
list of cities and towns in France
This is a list of selected cities, towns, and other populated places in France, ordered alphabetically by administrative......
list of cities and towns in Germany
This is a list of selected cities, towns, and other populated places in Germany, ordered alphabetically by state.......
list of cities and towns in Iran
This an alphabetically ordered list of cities and towns in Iran. (See also city; urban...
list of cities and towns in Israel
This is an alphabetically ordered list of cities and towns in...
list of cities and towns in Italy
This is a list of cities and towns in Italy, ordered alphabetically by region (regioni). (See also city; urban...
list of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
This is an alphabetically ordered list of cities and towns in Saudi...
list of cities and towns in Spain
This is a list of cities in Spain organized alphabetically first by autonomous community and then by...
list of cities and towns in Syria
This is an alphabetically ordered list of cities and towns in...
List of cities in China
This is an alphabetically ordered list of cities and towns in China organized by province, administrative region,......
list of cities in Russia
This is an alphabetically ordered list of cities and towns in Russia organized by republic, kray (territory), okrug......
list of presidents of Egypt
This is a chronologically ordered list of the presidents of...
list of presidents of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was elected the first president of France in 1848. Prior to that point, the country had......
list of prime ministers of Israel
This is a list of prime ministers of Israel organized chronologically from earliest to most...
list of prime ministers of Italy
This is a chronologically ordered list of the prime ministers of...
list of Spanish monarchs
This is a chronologically ordered list of monarchs of Spain, including the medieval kingdoms of Asturias, Leon,......
Little Armenia
Little Armenia, kingdom established in Cilicia, on the southeast coast of Anatolia, by the Armenian Rubenid dynasty......
Lobkowitz, Wenzel Eusebius, Fürst von
Wenzel Eusebius, Fürst von Lobkowitz was a statesman who served as chief minister of the Aulic Council (Reichshofrat)......
Lombard
Lombard, member of a Germanic people who from 568 to 774 ruled a kingdom in Italy. The Lombards were one of the......
Longchamp, William
William Longchamp was an ecclesiastical statesman who governed England in 1190–91, while King Richard I (reigned......
Lot, Ferdinand
Ferdinand Lot was a French historian of the early Middle Ages and the later Roman Empire. He is best known for......
Lothar I
Lothar I was a Frankish emperor, whose attempt to gain sole rule over the Frankish territories was checked by his......
Lothar II
Lothar II (or III) was a German king (1125–37) and Holy Roman emperor (1133–37). He is reckoned as Lothar III by......
Louis I
Louis I was a Carolingian ruler of the Franks who succeeded his father, Charlemagne, as emperor in 814 and whose......
Louis I
Louis I was the count of Flanders and of Nevers (from 1322) and of Réthel (from 1325), who sided with the French......
Louis I
Louis I was the duke of Anjou, count of Maine, count of Provence, and claimant to the crown of Sicily and Jerusalem.......
Louis II
Louis II was a Frankish emperor (850–875) who, as ruler of Italy, was instrumental in checking the Arab invasion......
Louis III
Louis III was the king of France (i.e., Francia Occidentalis, the West Frankish kingdom) from 879 to 882, whose......
Louis IV
Louis IV was the duke of Upper Bavaria (from 1294) and of united Bavaria (1340–47), German king (from 1314), and......
Louis IX
Louis IX ; canonized August 11, 1297, feast day August 25) was the king of France from 1226 to 1270, the most popular......
Louis VII
Louis VII was a Capetian king of France who pursued a long rivalry, marked by recurrent warfare and continuous......
Lucy, Richard de
Richard de Lucy was the chief justiciar (judiciary officer) of England under King Henry II (reigned 1154–89). He......
Lusignan Family
Lusignan Family, noble family of Poitou (a province of western France) that provided numerous crusaders and kings......
Lützen, Battle of
Battle of Lützen, (November 16 [November 6, Old Style], 1632), military engagement of the Thirty Years’ War in......
Madrid Codex
Madrid Codex, together with the Paris, Dresden, and Grolier codices, a richly illustrated glyphic text of the pre-Conquest......
Magna Carta
Magna Carta, charter of English liberties granted by King John on June 15, 1215, under threat of civil war and......
Magnus I
Magnus I was the king of Sweden (1275–90) who helped introduce a feudal class society into Sweden. The second eldest......
Mahmud I
Mahmud I was an Ottoman sultan who, on succeeding to the throne in 1730, restored order after the Patrona Halil......
Mahmud II
Mahmud II was an Ottoman sultan (1808–39) whose westernizing reforms helped to consolidate the Ottoman Empire despite......
Mahmud Nedim Paşa
Mahmud Nedim Paşa was an Ottoman diplomat and grand vizier (served 1871–72 and 1875–76) whose conservative policies......
Major Rulers of France
During its long history, France has gone through numerous types of government. Under the Fifth Republic, France’s......
makar
makar, any of the Scottish courtly poets who flourished from about 1425 to 1550. The best known are Robert Henryson,......
Maldon, Battle of
Battle of Maldon, in English history, a conflict fought in 991 between Saxons and victorious Viking raiders. The......
Malta, Siege of
Siege of Malta, one of the most savagely contested encounters of the 16th century, carried out from May to September......
manorialism
manorialism, political, economic, and social system by which the peasants of medieval Europe were rendered dependent......
Manuel I Comnenus
Manuel I Comnenus was a military leader, statesman, and Byzantine emperor (1143–80) whose policies failed to fulfill......
Manuel II Palaeologus
Manuel II Palaeologus was a soldier, statesman, and Byzantine emperor (1391–1425) whose diplomacy enabled him to......
Manzikert, Battle of
Battle of Manzikert, (26 August 1071), battle in which the Byzantines under the emperor Romanus IV Diogenes were......
Manṣūr, al-
al-Manṣūr was the second caliph of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty (754–775), generally regarded as the real founder of the......
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa was the archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740–80), wife and empress of the......
Maritsa River, Battle of the
Battle of the Maritsa River, (September 26, 1371), Ottoman Turk victory over Serbian forces that allowed the Turks......
Marwān I ibn al-Hakam
Marwān I ibn al-Hakam was the first of the Marwānid caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty (reigned 684–685). A governor......
Marwān II
Marwān II was the last of the Umayyad caliphs (reigned 744–750). He was killed while fleeing the forces of Abū......
Matthias
Matthias was the Holy Roman emperor from 1612, who, in a reversal of the policy of his father, Maximilian II, sponsored......
Maurice
Maurice was an outstanding general and emperor (582–602) who helped transform the shattered late Roman Empire into......
Maximilian I
Maximilian I was the archduke of Austria, German king, and Holy Roman emperor (1493–1519) who made his family,......
Maximilian II
Maximilian II was the Holy Roman emperor from 1564, whose liberal religious policies permitted an interval of peace......
Maximilian II Emanuel
Maximilian II Emanuel was the elector of Bavaria from 1679 and an able soldier whose quest for dynastic aggrandizement......
Maya
Maya, Mesoamerican Indians occupying a nearly continuous territory in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and northern......
Mayapán
Mayapán, ruined ancient Mayan city, located about 35 miles (55 km) southeast of modern Mérida, Yucatán state, Mexico.......
mayor of the palace
mayor of the palace, official of the western European kingdoms of the 6th–8th century, whose status developed under......
Maʾmūn, al-
al-Maʾmūn was the seventh ʿAbbāsid caliph (813–833), known for his attempts to end sectarian rivalry in Islām and......
Medici, Giovanni de’
Giovanni de’ Medici was the most noted soldier of all the Medici. Giovanni belonged to the younger, or cadet, branch......
Mehmed Fuat Köprülü
Mehmed Fuat Köprülü was a scholar, historian, and statesman who made important contributions to the history of......
Mehmed I
Mehmed I was an Ottoman sultan who reunified the dismembered Ottoman territories following the defeat of Ankara......
Mehmed II
Mehmed II was an Ottoman sultan from 1444 to 1446 and from 1451 to 1481. A great military leader, he captured Constantinople......
Mehmed III
Mehmed III was an Ottoman sultan (1595–1603) whose reign saw a long and arduous conflict with Austria and serious......
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV was an Ottoman sultan whose reign (1648–87) was marked first by administrative and financial decay and......
Mehmed V
Mehmed V was an Ottoman sultan from 1909 to 1918, whose reign was marked by the absolute rule of the Committee......
Mehmed VI
Mehmed VI was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, whose forced abdication and exile in 1922 prepared the way......
Menander Protector
Menander Protector was a Byzantine historian whose surviving works are a valuable authority for the 6th century,......
Menchú, Rigoberta
Rigoberta Menchú is a Guatemalan Indian-rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1992. Menchú,......
Mercy, Franz, Freiherr von
Franz, baron von Mercy was an Austrian and Bavarian field marshal during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), whose......
Metochites, Theodore
Theodore Metochites was a Byzantine prime minister, negotiator for Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus, and one of......
Michael I Rhangabe
Michael I Rhangabe was a Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813. The son-in-law of the emperor Nicephorus I, Michael......
Michael II
Michael II was a Byzantine emperor and founder of the Amorian dynasty who attempted to moderate the Iconoclastic......

The Middle Ages Encyclopedia Articles By Title