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Medieval Europe: A Short History 11th (eleventh) edition
Medieval A short History 11th Edition
- GenresHistory
Paperback
Published January 1, 2011
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June 27, 2024
A good introductory overview of the entire Middle Ages starting with changes during the Roman Empire, especially under Diocletian and Constantine, and early Christianity to the Germanic barbarian invasions that formed the backbone of the decentralized early medieval kingdoms to the population and economic and intellectual boom of the central Middle Ages that brought a rise of stronger central government under monarchs and an international Christian order under the Pope to the late middle ages where Papal attempts to control secular rulers and move to Avignon led to a decline in papal prestige followed by new ideas about government, church-state relations with the rise of national churches, education, literature, and art.
Besides being comprehensive, the book does a great job of highlighting the most important thinkers, writers, and artists as well as changing social trends in education and politics. It included obvious names like St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Chaucer, etc., but also less familiar names and thinkers to me like Marsilio Ficino. I especially appreciated how the book covers changes and trends in different parts of the Middle Ages instead of just giving you one general overview of something like the medieval university. On this topic, it covers the early debates about universals and the positions of different movement in a clear and concise way, but later changes in the university that featured pushback and criticisms of Thomas Aquinas, and covers educational alternatives that arose in the 14th and 15th century like changes in education due to humanist ideals and the alternative vernacular schools.
This book is comprehensive without being overwhelming. If you pay attention you will leave with a lot of broad knowledge of all sorts of different aspects of the entire Middle Ages. There were some parts I would have liked a little deeper explanation. For example, it mentions aristocratic landlords had judicial power over their serfs and often charged fines in their manorial courts, but I would have loved a little bit of information on what types of cases a manorial court might handle, which could’ve been accomplished in a sentence or two. In the chapter about the French kings consolidating its power, particularly under Philippe Augustus, it mentions the use of bailiffs to control far flung regions and get around the aristocrats, but it would have been interesting to read a little on how the bailiffs did this and interacted with counts and dukes who presumably continued to have significant control in their territories. It also would have been nice to have a suggestions for further reading section at the back of each chapter, which are available online on the website connected to this book, but I would’ve preferred in the book. Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a solid and easy to understand comprehensive overview or as a starting point.
Besides being comprehensive, the book does a great job of highlighting the most important thinkers, writers, and artists as well as changing social trends in education and politics. It included obvious names like St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Chaucer, etc., but also less familiar names and thinkers to me like Marsilio Ficino. I especially appreciated how the book covers changes and trends in different parts of the Middle Ages instead of just giving you one general overview of something like the medieval university. On this topic, it covers the early debates about universals and the positions of different movement in a clear and concise way, but later changes in the university that featured pushback and criticisms of Thomas Aquinas, and covers educational alternatives that arose in the 14th and 15th century like changes in education due to humanist ideals and the alternative vernacular schools.
This book is comprehensive without being overwhelming. If you pay attention you will leave with a lot of broad knowledge of all sorts of different aspects of the entire Middle Ages. There were some parts I would have liked a little deeper explanation. For example, it mentions aristocratic landlords had judicial power over their serfs and often charged fines in their manorial courts, but I would have loved a little bit of information on what types of cases a manorial court might handle, which could’ve been accomplished in a sentence or two. In the chapter about the French kings consolidating its power, particularly under Philippe Augustus, it mentions the use of bailiffs to control far flung regions and get around the aristocrats, but it would have been interesting to read a little on how the bailiffs did this and interacted with counts and dukes who presumably continued to have significant control in their territories. It also would have been nice to have a suggestions for further reading section at the back of each chapter, which are available online on the website connected to this book, but I would’ve preferred in the book. Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a solid and easy to understand comprehensive overview or as a starting point.
Displaying 1 of 1 review