The earth is flat and the universe revolves around it; the plague is the handiwork of demons and witches; and those who refute prevailing scientific theories are fools or heretics. It is to this time of dark confusion and uncertainty, but also of rich discovery, that Mitsumasa Anno now takes us on a new journey—through the Middle Ages and up to the dawning of the Age of Reason. Here is an invitation to readers of all ages to understand and actually feel what the people of the medieval world must have felt when their long-held beliefs were threatened by new scientific thought.

With a poetic text and exquisitely detailed paintings, Anno triumphs in evoking the spirit of the time: it's culture and beliefs, fears and superstitions, as well as the growing advances in scientific thought and inquiry. For even though many were persecuted and vilified for questioning standard scientific theory of the time, startling new theories did flourish and exploration continued. Sailors, warned they would fall off the edge of the world, still risked journeying to new lands.

Mitsumasa Anno is known all around the world for his beautiful and imaginative picture books and distinguished graphic art. In Anno's Medieval World, he reveals once again the scientific spirit and special vision that permeate all of his work.

From the dust jacket