In the annals of piracy, the name Kate Bonnet stands out as an enigmatic figure. A woman of wealth and privilege, she defied societal norms to embark on a life of adventure and danger. Frank R. Stockton's "Kate Bonnet (Unabridged)" delves into the extraordinary tale of this female pirate. From her unconventional marriage to the notorious Captain Bonnet to her daring exploits on the high seas, Stockton paints a vivid portrait of a woman who shattered boundaries and left an enduring legacy i...

Imagine a dreamland where roasted pigs wander about with knives in their backs to make carving easy, where grilled geese fly directly into one's mouth, where cooked fish jump out of the water and land at one's feet. The weather is always mild, the wine flows freely, sex is readily available, and all people enjoy eternal youth.Such is Cockaigne. Portrayed in legend, oral history, and art, this imaginary land became the most pervasive collective dream of medieval times-an earthly par...

In The Axe and the Oath, one of the world's leading medieval historians presents a compelling picture of daily life in the Middle Ages as it was experienced by ordinary people. Writing for general readers, Robert Fossier vividly describes how these vulnerable people confronted life, from birth to death, including childhood, marriage, work, sex, food, illness, religion, and the natural world. While most histories of the period focus on the ideas and actions of the few who wielded p...

'Gripping ... An exquisite conversation between two people who know each other, like each other, and have mutual respect for one another' - Catholic TimesSince resigning from the papacy in 2013, the first Pope in over 700 years to do so, Pope Benedict has lived quietly in a convent in the Vatican gardens in Rome. He has devoted himself to a life of prayer and study and has vowed to remain silent, until now.So much controversy still surrounds Pope B...

The Middle Ages inherited from Antiquity a tradition of prophesy and gave it fresh and exuberant life. This tradition foretold a Millennium in which humanity would enjoy a new Paradise on earth, free of suffering and sin - a Kingdom of the Saints. Generation after generation was intermittently seized by a tense expectation of some sudden, miraculous event in which the world would be utterly transformed. Often these expectations became enmeshed with social unrest and movements arose which s...

In a breathtaking span of detailed research, Tobias Churton reveals, without resorting to mythology or pseudo-history, the most up-to-date knowledge on the development of Gnostic alchemy, the true origins of pre-Grand Lodge Freemasonry, and the mysterious Fraternity of the Rosy Cross (the Rosicrucians). Following the Hermetic spiritual and philosophical stream through 1,600 years of esoteric history, Churton introduces readers to great men of magic and wisdom--spiritual heroes and masters ...

This early work on Martin Luther is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It details the life of the monk responsible for translating the Bible from Latin into German and for inspiring the Lutheran movement. This is a fascinating work and is thoroughly recommended for anyone interested in the history of European religion. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in a...

This account of the ill-fated 1534 uprising of the Anabaptists in Muenster, Germany is "as hard to put down as a gripping piece of fiction" (Alasdair Heron, Professor of Reformed Theology at the University of Elrangen, Germany).He was only a Dutch tailor's apprentice, but from 1534 to 1535, Jan van Leyden led a radical sect of persecuted Anabaptists to repeated triumphs over the combined powers of church and state. Revered by his followers as the new David, the cha...

How was magic practised in medieval times? How did it relate to the diverse beliefs and practices that characterised this fascinating period? In Magic in the Middle Ages Richard Kieckhefer surveys the growth and development of magic in medieval times. He examines its relation to religion, science, philosophy, art, literature and politics before introducing us to the different types of magic that were used, the kinds of people who practised magic and the reasoning behind their beliefs. In a...

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the YearA Tablet Book of the YearMarking a departure in our understanding of Christian views of the afterlife from 250 to 650 CE, The Ransom of the Soul explores a revolutionary shift in thinking about the fate of the soul that occurred around the time of Rome’s fall. Peter Brown describes how this shift transformed the Church’s institutional relationship to money and set the stage for its domination of mediev...

Benedictine nun, poet and musician, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was one of the most remarkable figures of the Middle Ages. She undertook preaching tours throughout the German empire at the age of sixty, and was consulted not only by her religious contemporaries but also by kings and emperors, yet it is largely for her apocalyptic and mystical writings that she is remembered. This volume includes selections from her three visionary works, her treatises on medicine and the natural world,...

In the year 1570, at the age of thirty-seven, Michel de Montaigne gave up his job as a magistrate and retired to his château to brood on his own private grief - the deaths of his best friends, his father, his brother, and most recently his first-born child.But finding his mind agitated rather than settled by this idleness, Montaigne began to write, giving birth to the Essays - short prose explorations of an amazing variety of topics. And gradually, over the course of his w...