Europe (c. 1400-1458): Translated by Robert BrownIntroduced and annotated by Nancy Bisaha

✍ Scribed by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini

• Publisher: The Catholic University of America Press
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 377
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Shortly before his election in 1458 as Pope Pius II, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini
produced a history of recent events in Europe. Europe (c. 1400-1458) provides students and scholars alike with a rich array of famous and lesser known figures and events spanning from Scandinavia to Italy and Iberia, and from Scotland to Lithuania and Greece. Aeneas focused on the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, who began his rule in 1440, creating a frame narrow enough to allow the author to move with ease across the continent. Despite this stated focus, Aeneas makes frequent digressions into ancient and medieval history, revealing his sense of how the deeper past affected the present character of cities and regions. Among the people and events Aeneas addresses are the rivalries of German princes, struggles between Eastern Europeans and the Ottoman
Turks, including the fall of Constantinople (1453), challenges to the powerful Teutonic Order, the last battles of the Hundred Years War, dynastic wrangling in Spain, the post-schism papacy's efforts to reclaim its former dominance, and a lengthy discussion of recent politics and wars in Italy, culminating in the campaigns of Alfonso of Naples. Amidst his descriptions of powerful men, Aeneas also frequently pauses to discuss notable women, customs of the peasantry, religious beliefs of heretics and pagans, and economic issues.

This popular text circulated widely in manuscript form and was printed in several editions between the late 15th and the early 18th centuries, in Latin, German, and Italian. The present volume represents the first time this work has been translated into English, bringing its colorful narrative to the attention of a wider audience. This edition also provides extensive footnotes, an appendix of rulers, and a lengthy introduction to Aeneas's life and the context and relevance of this work.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Dedication Letter
1. Hungary
2. Transylvania, Valachia
3. Thrace, Romania, Constantinople
4. Origin and History of the Turks
5. The Battle of Varna
6. The Battle of Kosovo
7. The Fall of Constantinople
8. The Battle of Belgrade
9. Macedonia, Thessaly
10. Boeotia
11. Attica
12. The Peloponnese, the Isthmus, Achaea
13. Acarnania
14. Epirus
15. Albania
16. The Illyrian Nations, Bosnia
17. Dalmatia, Croatia, Liburnia
18. Istria
19. Carniola
20. Carinthia
21. Styria
22. Austria
23. Moravia
24. Silesia
25. Poland
26. Lithuania
27. Ruthenia
28. Livonia
29. Prussia: The Teutonic Brothers
30. The Saxon Nation, Pomerania
31. Thuringia, Halberstadt
32. Brunswick, Saxony
33. Denmark, Norway, Sweden
34. Bohemia
35. Frisia
36. Holland, Utrecht, Dordrecht, Westphalia
37. Hesse
38. The Franks
39. Franconia
40. Bavaria, the Palatinate, Swabia
41. The Margravate of Baden, the Tyrol, Switzerland
42. Alsace, the Vogtland, Savoy, Arles
43. France
44. Ghent
45. England
46. Scotland, Ireland
47. Spain, Castile, Navarre, Portugal
48. Italy: Genoa
49. Italy: Milan
50. Italy: Venice
51. Italy: Mantua
52. Italy: Ferrara
53. Italy: Bologna
54. Italy: Florence, Lucca, San Casciano
55. Italy: Siena
56. Italy: Piombino
57. Italy: Viterbo
58. Italy: Rome
59. Italy: Umbria, the Marches
60. Italy: Ascoli Piceno
61. Italy: Urbino
62. Italy: Rimini
63. Italy: Faenza, Fabriano
64. Italy: Aquila
65. Italy: Naples
Appendix: Reigns of Selected Rulers
Bibliography
Index