Western Civilization to 1500

by Walther Kirchner

Prepared for students by renowned professors and noted experts, here are the most extensive and proven study aids available, covering all the major areas of study in college curriculums. Each guide up-to-date scholarship; an easy-to-follow narrative outline form; specially designed and formatted pages; and much more.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Western Civilization centers in Europe but begins over 8000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Egypt and seems like a daunting task to cover in less than 300 pages even if one only goes to the end of the Middle Ages. Western Civilization to 1500 by Walther Kirchner is a survey of the rise of society from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt through the Greeks and Romans, the Middle Ages, and the beginning of the European Renaissance.

Kirchner spends less than 30 pages covering the Fertile Crescent and Egypt through 3500 years of historical development before beginning over 110 pages on Greco-Roman history and the last 130 pages are focused on the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. This division clearly denotes Kirchner’s focus on Europe in this Western Civilization survey, though one cannot fault him for this as even now knowledge of the first three and half millennia of the historical record is nothing compared to the Greco-Roman sources, yet Kirchner never even mentioned the Bronze Age collapse and possible reasons for its occurrence. The highlight of the survey is a detailed historical events of Greece and Roman, especially the decline of the Republic which was only given broad strokes in my own Western Civ and World History classes in high school and college. Yet, Kirchner’s wording seems to hint that he leaned towards the Marxist theory of history, but other wording seemed to contradict it. Because this was a study aid for college students in the early 1960s, this competing terminology is a bit jarring though understandable. While the overall survey is fantastic, Kirchner errors in some basic facts (calling Harold Godwinson a Dane instead of an Anglo-Saxon, using the term British during the Hundred Year’s War, etc.) in well-known eras for general history readers making one question some of the details in eras the reader doesn’t know much about. And Kirchner’s disparaging of “Oriental” culture through not only the word Oriental but also the use of “effeminate” gives a rather dated view of the book.

This small volume is meant to be a study aid for students and a quick reference for general readers, to which it succeeds. Even while Kirchner’s terminology in historical theory and deriding of non-European cultures shows the age of the book, the overall information makes this a good reference read for any well-read general history reader.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, Western Civilization to 1500, was written by Walther Kirchner and published in 1960. It is a non-fiction history book on western civilization up to 1500 A.D. in the Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa, and nearby areas. He wrote nine books relating to history. With this book he goes into intriguing detail of life from the beginning of time, covering content like: each separate civilization’s society, culture, industry, commerce, laws, religions, art, style of learning, government, agriculture, and more. I really enjoyed his organization and consistency of how he presents the information. You could find yourself having a hard time putting the book down when you get some insight of the surprising sophistication these ancient people possessed in their time. I discovered a lot more than I was expecting from this book. This book is more from a logical standpoint than an argument. The authors opinion appeared a few times, but he is not closed off to the opinions of others and gives the reader multiple points of view to consider. The book was published in 1960, since then, many more facts about the ancient world have been recovered. At that time, the author believed the Sumerians were of an unknown origin. However, today we know they originated around the southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia which is now called Iraq and Kuwait. I like the perspective Kirchner uses when examining history. He looks at history as a science which tells us the trends explaining human life and human affairs. He is not simply stating facts, he is explaining how and why we are what we are today. History is like a handbook from the past which has shaped our future (pg. 1). Speaking of future, as someone in my late thirties, I never thought this would be when I learn about world history, better late than never they say. I came across a few words Kirchner used that were unfamiliar to me. I enjoyed taking a few minutes to look the word up to expand my vocabulary. For those of you curious about one of the words it was “sagacious”, which means “having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment”. I had never heard of it before. As I write this review, I am also attending a history class at a university that is studying western civilization up to 1500 A.D. I am pleased to see the accuracy of both the book and the class lining up side by side with facts and details. My first glimpse into his view on evolution appears on page 15. He says, “Yet, despite the multiplicity of sources, it remains difficult for the historian to gain a feeling of that evolutionary movement, that constant change, which is implied in history. Nothing “is,” and everything is in the process of “becoming.” Personally, being a creationist, I love reading about other perspectives on evolution. I am pleased to know Kirchner’s opinions are on the same page as mine. This helps build a relationship between reader and writer. My enjoyment of the book would be stronger if he added more maps of the areas he mentioned at the beginning of each chapter. As I am reading and wanting to get a visual of the area, I must search back chapters to find a map I hope matches up with what he is talking about. His first map does not appear until page 23 and throughout the whole book there are only about eight or so maps for 273 pages total. Kirchner does a great job at explaining why commerce did or did not work for certain people in certain areas. He does the same with agriculture and other means of survival for the people in those days. Christ is first mentioned by page 19, like I said before, being a creationist, I was even more determined to keep reading to see what the author’s take was on God and the creation of history. Unlike God, Mr. Kirchner is not perfect. I did find a typo on page 19. He meant to spell desert and spelled dessert instead, that is not a reason to put the book down for me though. Up to this point he did a wonderful job of covering multiple types of people, from different locations, and what they are known for. The book switched up its format around chapter 3 where chapters 3,4 and 5 are all dedicated to Greece, which also includes a helpful map. The content turns more story-like here and makes reading more pleasurable. Chapter 6 stays with the subject of the Greeks and explains the Hellenistic period, what it is and how it came to be. Chapters 7 and 8 come with a new map and goes into the rise of Rome, and the flourishing of the Roman republic. Chapter 9, tells how the Roman empire was established. I understand why he dedicated more chapters to Rome than he did with the other civilizations because Rome is so large and so much of this era’s history is directly related to the Romans. Chapter 10 is called Imperial Rome and Kirchner ended his Rome chapters with chapter 11, with The End of the Ancient World. The author wrote that though Rome is literally history now, it still lives on today because “no single view will satisfy” how Rome really fell to its end (pg. 134). He acknowledged that other researchers have different opinions about how it ended, I appreciate that. I would rather read a book that is open to the idea that there is more than one way for things to happen rather than a person being adamant that their view is the only logical view. Chapter 12’s title is Barbarians, Christians and Moslems. I questioned if Kirchner meant Muslims, so I researched it to satisfy my curiosity. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary explains that spelling variation as: formerly common but now old-fashioned, increasingly rare, and sometimes offensive variant of Muslim. I know times have changed since the book was written so I can only assume he did not intend for it to be the offensive version. The section where he wrote about the rise of Islam is not written with biased thoughts. He just gives exquisite detail about that culture.
Once again, the book challenges my memory and vocabulary as I read the word “Carolingian,” from the sentence header Formation of the Carolingian Empire. I had never heard that word before and now my interest was piqued to see if I would recall anything by reading this chapter. To my delight, there was a map included four pages into the chapter. The chapter started off by discussing the different dates people think the Middle Ages began and he gave examples. He then sided with Pirenne as he elucidated how Pirenne pointed out that “during the period from 375 to about middle of the eighth century Roman Imperial concept, classical scholarship, the spirit of early Christianity, and especially the commercial organization of the Roman empire still prevailed widely” (pg.156). The Carolingian Empire never struck a bell for me, so I learned something new about that. It started with a man called Pepin the Short. He had himself anointed king after his father died. He made a smart move by becoming allies with the church to strengthen his dynasty. The church was very powerful in those times. Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, took over for his father. Charlemagne is described as an energetic leader, a wise politician, a clear mind and enterprising though brutal and profligate ruler (pg. 158). Charlemagne gets crowned emperor by Pope Leo III and the tradition of inauguration by the powerful church is started and continued throughout the entire medieval era. The last chapters of the book really emphasize the impact art had during the Renaissance period. After recently being to Italy where art is a large part of history, I was pleased to have a basic “review” and learn more about the influence art had on history. The end of the book is constructed to help anyone who would have an exam on the book. The sections are divided by: the ancient times, Greece, Rome, medieval times, high middle ages, and the late middle ages. Then Kirchner graphs a chart sectioned by dates, rulers, and geographical locations as a quick reference guide. Then the book organized events chronologically, then by bibliography, then by index. That was very helpful for quick references. The book was easy to read and understand. It confirmed what I already knew and taught me more. I can honestly say it got me more attracted to world history. I am glad the book was non-biased and used multiple perspectives from other historians. I would not buy the book because I would prefer the most up to date version possible. Much more evidence has been recovered since 1960, when the book was published. If it were a modern version I would buy it because I like the format of his style. It was still a great read overall. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

[Thom Dunn]

copyright, 1960.