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The Medieval World View: An Introduction
The Medieval World View, 2/e , is an engaging introduction to the people, places, and ideas that shaped the intellectual world of the Middle Ages. The book presents the presuppositions of medieval society in a systematic fashion by integrating brief, self-contained selections from primary texts
and carefully captioned photographs into a narrative of the medieval world and its foundations.
The text is divided into three parts. Treating both the classical and biblical antecedents of the Middle Ages and ending in Late Antiquity, Part 1 includes a thorough discussion of the monumental figure of St. Augustine. Part 2 deals with the early Middle Ages, beginning with the disintegration of
the Roman Empire and continuing through the German invasions, the sixth- and seventh-century founders, and the renaissance associated with the reign of Charlemagne. Part 3 examines the High Middle Ages and beyond, following developments in the Church, in politics, and in arts and culture from the
twelfth century through the end of the fourteenth century. This second edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent scholarship in the field. It adds a new chapter covering the fourteenth century and pays greater attention to women and gender-related issues. The bibliography has been
updated and revised and now provides a useful guide to electronic resources.
The Medieval World View, 2/e , handles sophisticated issues with great clarity and ease, making this an ideal text for courses in Medieval history, literature, or art history.
and carefully captioned photographs into a narrative of the medieval world and its foundations.
The text is divided into three parts. Treating both the classical and biblical antecedents of the Middle Ages and ending in Late Antiquity, Part 1 includes a thorough discussion of the monumental figure of St. Augustine. Part 2 deals with the early Middle Ages, beginning with the disintegration of
the Roman Empire and continuing through the German invasions, the sixth- and seventh-century founders, and the renaissance associated with the reign of Charlemagne. Part 3 examines the High Middle Ages and beyond, following developments in the Church, in politics, and in arts and culture from the
twelfth century through the end of the fourteenth century. This second edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent scholarship in the field. It adds a new chapter covering the fourteenth century and pays greater attention to women and gender-related issues. The bibliography has been
updated and revised and now provides a useful guide to electronic resources.
The Medieval World View, 2/e , handles sophisticated issues with great clarity and ease, making this an ideal text for courses in Medieval history, literature, or art history.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 1983
6 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
William R. Cook
32 books30 followersDr. William R. Cook is the Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he has taught since 1970. He earned his bachelor’s degree cum laude from Wabash College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa there. He was then awarded Woodrow Wilson and Herbert Lehman fellowships to study medieval history at Cornell University, where he earned his Ph.D.
Professor Cook teaches courses in ancient and medieval history, the Renaissance and Reformation periods, and the Bible and Christian thought. Since 1983 Professor Cook has directed 11 Seminars for School Teachers for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
His books include Images of St. Francis of Assisi and Francis of Assisi: The Way of Poverty and Humility. Dr. Cook contributed to the Cambridge Companion to Giotto and edits and contributes to The Art of the Franciscan Order in Italy.
Among his many awards, Professor Cook has received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 1992 the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named him New York State’s Professor of the Year. In 2003 he received the first-ever CARA Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Medieval Studies from the Medieval Academy of America.
Professor Cook teaches courses in ancient and medieval history, the Renaissance and Reformation periods, and the Bible and Christian thought. Since 1983 Professor Cook has directed 11 Seminars for School Teachers for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
His books include Images of St. Francis of Assisi and Francis of Assisi: The Way of Poverty and Humility. Dr. Cook contributed to the Cambridge Companion to Giotto and edits and contributes to The Art of the Franciscan Order in Italy.
Among his many awards, Professor Cook has received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 1992 the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named him New York State’s Professor of the Year. In 2003 he received the first-ever CARA Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Medieval Studies from the Medieval Academy of America.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 22, 2014
This is wonderful! It tied together so much that I've read lately -- government, literature, philosophy, religion, etc. Lots of selections from primary texts, and the passages are long enough to be interesting.
January 7, 2022
Herzman and Cook's project is a sweeping survey of the intellectual and cultural tendencies of medieval Europe. The book is built on the thesis that the stereotype of the Medieval period as an intellectual step backward is an oversimplification: there was important thought and cultural production taking place during the Middle Ages, and the value of its products become easier to see when we understand the worldview of Medieval Europe, it's foundations and it's development.
The Foundations of the Middle Ages, which covers the Classical (Greek and Roman) and Biblical heritage of the Medieval world, offering a chronological context to the Medieval period and showing how M. The Second Section, The Mediterranean world, offers a geographical context for Medieval Europe by providing a brief overview of Muslim society, Byzantium, and Europe itself in the immediate wake of the Roman Empire's collapse. Section 3, the Early Middle Ages, covers Western monasticism and the Carolingian synthesis. Monasteries were significant centers of intellectual development, making them central to Herzman and Cook’s view of the MA as intellectually productive). The Holy Roman Empire in the Carolingian period gave Europe a brief glimpse of a vision of a united Christian Europe, a vision humanized in the man (and more importantly, the legend) of Charlemagne, and the High Middle Ages, which covers the schools, monasteries, courts and universities of the 100s to the 1200s Medieval Europe as well as the "disastrous 14th century". The epilogue, where we transition to the Renassaince period, sheds light the construction of both of those periods and challenges the idea that history comes into neatly contrasting little boxes.
Herzman and Cook "go back and forth" a lot in a way that challenges the structure of the book as strictly chronological. As evidenced by the quote above, history unfortunately does not come in neatly packaged chunks of time, and discussions, for example, of monasteries in the 9th century necessitates long reflections on phenomena from other centuries: still, I wish these reflections were a bit more brief or that the authors had made this chronological jumping a bit more clear. This is less of a criticism and more of a warning to other readers of history who find keeping track of timelines confusing. I recommend such readers make thorough use of the maps and timelines provided.
The book contains numerous lengthy quotations from primary sources—another Goodreads reviewer described it as “a pile of block quotes”. The block quotes, however, are not excessive as they enhance the function of the book as a road map of Medieval Europe’s intellectual legacy. Most of these blockquotes are lifted from texts of the period, genre and subject ranging from courtly poetry to theological memoir to imperial code, resulting in a sampling of what Cook and Herzman believe to be important intellectual hallmarks of the age. Because of the sweeping and introductory nature of the text (the back sports quotes from professors citing the books usefulness in introductory courses), I found myself jotting down particular subjects of interest to me of which Herzman and Cook had offered me tantalizing nuggets of information.
Overall this is a solid, if sometimes a bit dry, introductory history of the Middle Ages and I recommend it to anyone who place the Medieval motifs that float around our culture — the Crusades, tales of courtly love and chivalry, lords and vassals, and the ultimate prominence of Christianity — into a more nuanced and accurate context.
The Foundations of the Middle Ages, which covers the Classical (Greek and Roman) and Biblical heritage of the Medieval world, offering a chronological context to the Medieval period and showing how M. The Second Section, The Mediterranean world, offers a geographical context for Medieval Europe by providing a brief overview of Muslim society, Byzantium, and Europe itself in the immediate wake of the Roman Empire's collapse. Section 3, the Early Middle Ages, covers Western monasticism and the Carolingian synthesis. Monasteries were significant centers of intellectual development, making them central to Herzman and Cook’s view of the MA as intellectually productive). The Holy Roman Empire in the Carolingian period gave Europe a brief glimpse of a vision of a united Christian Europe, a vision humanized in the man (and more importantly, the legend) of Charlemagne, and the High Middle Ages, which covers the schools, monasteries, courts and universities of the 100s to the 1200s Medieval Europe as well as the "disastrous 14th century". The epilogue, where we transition to the Renassaince period, sheds light the construction of both of those periods and challenges the idea that history comes into neatly contrasting little boxes.
Herzman and Cook "go back and forth" a lot in a way that challenges the structure of the book as strictly chronological. As evidenced by the quote above, history unfortunately does not come in neatly packaged chunks of time, and discussions, for example, of monasteries in the 9th century necessitates long reflections on phenomena from other centuries: still, I wish these reflections were a bit more brief or that the authors had made this chronological jumping a bit more clear. This is less of a criticism and more of a warning to other readers of history who find keeping track of timelines confusing. I recommend such readers make thorough use of the maps and timelines provided.
The book contains numerous lengthy quotations from primary sources—another Goodreads reviewer described it as “a pile of block quotes”. The block quotes, however, are not excessive as they enhance the function of the book as a road map of Medieval Europe’s intellectual legacy. Most of these blockquotes are lifted from texts of the period, genre and subject ranging from courtly poetry to theological memoir to imperial code, resulting in a sampling of what Cook and Herzman believe to be important intellectual hallmarks of the age. Because of the sweeping and introductory nature of the text (the back sports quotes from professors citing the books usefulness in introductory courses), I found myself jotting down particular subjects of interest to me of which Herzman and Cook had offered me tantalizing nuggets of information.
Overall this is a solid, if sometimes a bit dry, introductory history of the Middle Ages and I recommend it to anyone who place the Medieval motifs that float around our culture — the Crusades, tales of courtly love and chivalry, lords and vassals, and the ultimate prominence of Christianity — into a more nuanced and accurate context.
March 13, 2016
A very good introduction to the topic, very easy to read and understand. Lots of block quotes though, some more interesting than others, some pretty long, most actually worth reading.
August 29, 2022
It's hard to say whether my rating is objective enough. Is this book actually not very good? Or is it just so rudimentary and broad that it's hard to evaluate?
As for the attempt at explaining the "worldview" of the medieval people, they were unconvincing... Seeming to prefer the history over the philosophy. In the few instances that philosophy became the focus, it proved insightful. However the general emphasis of the book was upon the historical figures from which we received writings. Liberal quotation soaked up the majority of the pages and make you ponder if you should simply read the authors themselves.
It's hard to rate this so low since it comes by recommendation, and perhaps it is really quite good for someone who's never read the authors quoted or surveyed the events covered... But for those who have. This is truly an introductory course (as the preliminary material ensures you understand). I guess my gripe is that I would have written an overview differently and focused on interpretation of the past and (medieval) present in order to accurately understand the "medieval worldview." I suppose I can't fault the authors for that... Especially dated as this book is. But I'm just annoyed enough slogging through the pages to leave the review as is. Maybe I'll feel more generous in the years ahead.
As for the attempt at explaining the "worldview" of the medieval people, they were unconvincing... Seeming to prefer the history over the philosophy. In the few instances that philosophy became the focus, it proved insightful. However the general emphasis of the book was upon the historical figures from which we received writings. Liberal quotation soaked up the majority of the pages and make you ponder if you should simply read the authors themselves.
It's hard to rate this so low since it comes by recommendation, and perhaps it is really quite good for someone who's never read the authors quoted or surveyed the events covered... But for those who have. This is truly an introductory course (as the preliminary material ensures you understand). I guess my gripe is that I would have written an overview differently and focused on interpretation of the past and (medieval) present in order to accurately understand the "medieval worldview." I suppose I can't fault the authors for that... Especially dated as this book is. But I'm just annoyed enough slogging through the pages to leave the review as is. Maybe I'll feel more generous in the years ahead.
May 19, 2020
One of the most clearly written and enjoyable books I've read this year. Highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in the evolution of thought from the end of antiquity to the renaissance, or even just anyone who's interested in better understanding the middle ages.
February 13, 2021
This book tried to be an accessible introduction to the medieval world view, & succeeded.
July 25, 2012
Absolutely fabulous introduction to medieval thought, though I may or may not be the target audience. While I'm a medievalist by trade, so I know a good deal of what Cook and Herzman don't talk about, I think they provide a pretty good overview of the politics for someone who isn't familiar at all with medieval history to be up to speed enough to absorb their discussions of philosophy and religion. I found the latter fascinating, especially as all of my courses on medieval history had focused on military, political and legal history to the exclusion of almost all else.
September 22, 2014
This is a very thorough and well-written overview of the middle ages. It focuses on the influences on medieval thought in order to understand the way that people in the middle ages saw and understood things. This allows you to get a better understanding of what the art meant in context for the average viewer and how their daily lives functioned. It's less about specific events and more about how those events would have been viewed by the people of the medieval world.
January 14, 2013
If you are looking for an insight into the Medieval Worldview this is a great place to start. I keep dipping in and out across the various chapters seeing how Christianity, combined with the other economic, political and geographic forces prevailing at the time, resulted in a way of living and thinking that is still quite beautiful and often instructive to us today.
January 8, 2009
An excellent introduction for either students, scholars, or the casual reader into the thoughts and out-look of medieval Europe.
December 18, 2009
This book is just a series of block quotes after block quotes, i recommend The Worlds of Medieval Europe by Backman
January 23, 2015
Very readable, interesting overview of the end of the Roman Empire through hundreds of years until the beginning of the Renaissance. 1000 years and these authors kept my interest!
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October 12, 2015Read most if it for the class. There were some sections that we skipped.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews