The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650 [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization (Greenwood Encyclopedias of Modern World Wars) - Hardcover

"What stands out immediately about this encyclopedia is that the entire work-over 3,000 entries from abatis to Zwingli spread over 1,000 pages of closely printed text-was written by Cathal J. Nolan. He is not an editor in the usual sense of an encyclopedia, but the author of this work...[i]n every area of expertise-from firearms and technology to social history and theology-Nolan has read and synthesized the major expert or experts in the field, making this a very impressive work of synthesis. The work is truly global in scope...[t]he work will be useful to both military historians and non-military historians of early modern Europe alike...[t]his is an extremely user-friendly as well as reliable reference work. If you have only one reference work on early modern military history on your shelf, this is now the one to have." - The Journal of Military History "College-level students of world history or religious history will find an extensive, useful reference in The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Wafare and Civilization. Entries chart individuals, battles, equipment and settlements alike as they provide entries key to understanding different methods of battle and political scenarios. A specialty item, but a 'must' for any collection specializing in the era's history." - California Bookwatch "The focus of this encyclopedic historical reference work by Nolan is the European wars of religion that were fought from the 14th through the 17th centuries, various chronological and geographical historical tributaries that are in one way or another related to those wars also come under consideration. The bulk of the approximately 2500 alphabetical entries provide narratives of major wars and battles and other standard topics of military history. However, they also include biographies of key military, political, and intellectual figures. Additionally, Nolan acknowledges the complexity of war by addressing questions of military technology, royal finance, social and class relations, major confessional groups, theological debates, and elite mores and conceits about combat and chivalry. Following the entries, a chronology of major events from 1008 to 1650 is presented, in addition to a thematically organized selected bibliography. Twenty-five pages of maps are also included." - Reference & Research Book News "This resource would be a good purchase for larger public libraries and undergraduate institutions that support courses in the history of warfare. It can provide students and general readers with background for understanding some of the major conflicts of the twenty-first century." - Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin "This encyclopedia is simply excellent. Seemingly covering most regions of the globe, Nolan does them all justice. This two-volume work is spectacular in its breadth of topics and knowledge, with nearly 2,000 entries arranged alphabetically. The set also includes a list of entries, a preface, an author's note, a note on dates, and a chronology of major events. This is a very useful addition to this field of study. Covering the world (but with more attention devoted to Europe), typical entries in this work are Aztec Empire of Mexico; Calvinism; Confucianism; both Defenestrations of Prague; Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), Dominican monk and religious reformer in Florence; Muskets; Printing; Salah al-Din (1137-1193), better known as Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria and the worthy foe of Crusaders; and Kabuto, an ornate Japanese armored helmet and mask. Entries range from a few sentences to several pages, and each has a suggested readings section. Highly recommended. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers." - Choice "This encyclopedia describes and illuminates a momentous 650-year period of world history that includes what historians have called The Dark Ages and the Renaissance...Nolan's well-written and authoritative preface serves as an excellent and clear introduction to this large slice of world history, and the alphabetically arranged entries are equally informative, impartially written, and accessible to students...Though specialized, this encyclopedia is recommended for libraries supporting a robust world history curriculum or fielding a number of questions on the topic." - School Library Journal "It is an extremely good, clear, concise dictionary/encyclopedia of world military history for the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The entries are lively and engaging and make me wonder why I was not more interested in military history in the past." - Reference Reviews "[A]n excellent reference work that is well written and easy to use." - American Reference Books Annual

The Age of Wars of Religion saw navies, armies, armed merchant companies, and mercenaries battle one another and local potentates in many lands and along numerous shores. Wars of religion were fought in and between all the major religions and civilizations, from Europe to China, in Africa, and in the isolated Americas, mixing motives of knightly idealism, mercenary greed, and competing claims of divine sanction. This unparalleled work traces the extraordinary upheavals of the period in military technology, competing theologies, and civilizational change that were brought about by, or impinged upon, military conflict. It offers nearly 2,000 discrete but cross-referenced entries on cultural, military, religious and political history, as well as geography, biography, and military literature. Close to 2,000 entries offer detailed information on the major events, places, battles, figures, technologies, and ideas one must know to begin to make sense of the past six centuries of global conflicts. Though especially ferocious and intense, the Wars of Reformation and Counter-Reformation fought by Europeans from the 15th through 17th centuries were hardly unique in world or military history. The Byzantine Empire, bastion of Christian Orthodoxy, staggered to the tortuous end of its long conflict with the Ottoman Empire, the Great Power of the Sunni Muslim world. The Ottomans, in turn, were still engaged in an equally ancient intra-Muslim war, between Sunnis and Shi'ites. In India, the Hindu Rajputs and Marathas, and also the Sikhs, organized armies around religious communities to throw off the Muslim Yoke (Mughul Empire), and also fought against Christian invaders from Europe. As for the isolated Americas, ideas of divine kingship sustained by powerful priesthoods and religious warfare also prevailed, as exemplified by the Inca and Aztec empires.