The period we know as the Middle Ages, roughly the years 400-1400, saw the formation of ideas and institutions that mark modern societies. Developments as disparate as the foundation of Islam and the emergence of the middle class occurred during this pivotal millennium. Although historical study of the Middle Ages has traditionally focused on Western Europe, modern historians recognize the complex global nature of this era. For all major world regions, this three-volume work offers in-depth essays on broad themes, short entries on specific topics, and carefully selected primary documents to help readers more fully understand this critically important period.

Edited by Joyce Salisbury, who is general editor of the award-winning Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life, and written by Professor Salisbury and a series of prominent historians with regional expertise, Greenwood Encyclopedia of Global Medieval Life and Culture comprises three volumes covering the following areas of the globe:
Volume 1:Europe and the Americas
Volume 2: Islam and Africa
Volume 3: Asia and Oceania

Each regional section comprises seven in-depth essays covering the following broad topics and concluding with bibliographies of important and current information resources: Historical Overview of the Region, Religion, Economy, The Arts, Society, Science and Technology, and Global Ties. The Global Ties essays trace the political, social, economic, religious, technological, or commercial connections that existed between the region under discussion and any other world regions during the Middle Ages. Each regional section also includes a series of brief entries covering people, events, developments, and concepts mentioned in the in-depth essays.
Examples of entry topics include the following: Berbers, Emperor Harsha, Ethiopian Christianity, Flowery Warfare, Footbinding, Hildegard of Bingen, Jainism, Jihad, Maya Collapse, Neo-Confucianism, Romanesque, and Sharia.

A series of sidebars in each section will provide lists, graphs, charts, and other useful data relating to the region. Each section will also be illustrated and will include a selection of interesting primary documents that further illustrate the main themes addressed in the in-depth essays. Cross-references within the sections and a detailed subject index will also help readers access information in the essays and short entries.

Joyce E. Salisbury is Frankenthal Professor Emerita of History at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, WI. She holds a doctorate in medieval history from Rutgers University and has won many teaching awards throughout her career. Professor Salisbury is also a respected scholar who has written and edited more than ten books, including the award-winning reference work, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life: A Tour Through History from Ancient Times to the Present; Perpetua's Passion: Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman; and The Blood of Martyrs: Unintended Consequences of Ancient Violence. She has recently taught medieval history while traveling around the world with the University of Virginia's Semester at Sea.