{"product_id":"the-last-knight-the-twilight-of-the-middle-ages-and-the-birth-of-the-modern-era-9780060754037","title":"The Last Knight: The Twilight of the Middle Ages and the Birth of the Modern Era","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere may not be a more fascinating a historical period than the late fourteenth century in Europe. The Hundred Years' War ravaged the continent, yet gallantry, chivalry, and literary brilliance flourished in the courts of England and elsewhere. It was a world in transition, soon to be replaced by the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration -- and John of Gaunt was its central figure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn today's terms, John of Gaunt was a multibillionaire with a brand name equal to Rockefeller. He fought in the Hundred Years' War, sponsored Chaucer and proto-Protestant religious thinkers, and survived the dramatic Peasants' Revolt, during which his sumptuous London residence was burned to the ground. As head of the Lancastrian branch of the Plantagenet family, Gaunt was the unknowing father of the War of the Roses; after his death, his son usurped the crown from his nephew, Richard II. Gaunt's adventures represent the culture and mores of the Middle Ages as those of few others do, and his death is portrayed in \u003cstrong\u003eThe Last Knight\u003c\/strong\u003e as the end of that enthralling period.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCantor, Norman F.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eNorman F. Cantor was Emeritus Professor of History, Sociology, and Comparative Literature at New York University. His many books include \u003cem\u003eIn the Wake of the Plague\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eInventing the Middle Ages\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Civilization of the Middle Ages\u003c\/em\u003e, the most widely read narrative of the Middle Ages in the English language. He died in 2004.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50459888353554,"sku":"9780060754037","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_65e016a2-7269-40a8-a32c-69888b7de4b1.jpg?v=1730011925","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-last-knight-the-twilight-of-the-middle-ages-and-the-birth-of-the-modern-era-9780060754037","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}