The Middle Ages: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #404

by Miri Rubin

The Middle Ages is a term coined around 1450 to describe a thousand years of European History. In this Very Short Introduction, Miri Rubin provides an exploration of the variety, change, dynamism, and sheer complexity that the period covers. From the provinces of the Roman Empire, which became Barbarian kingdoms after c.450-650, to the northern and eastern regions that became increasingly integrated into Europe, Rubin explores the emergence of a truly global system of communication, conquest, and trade by the end of the era.
Presenting an insight into the challenges of life in Europe between 500-1500 -- at all levels of society -- Rubin looks at kingship and family, agriculture and trade, groups and individuals. Conveying the variety of European experiences, while providing a sense of the communication, cooperation, and shared values of the pervasive Christian culture, Rubin looks at the legacies they left behind.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Academic

139 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2014

About the author

Miri Rubin (born 1956) is a medieval historian who is Professor of Early Modern History at Queen Mary University of London. She was educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Cambridge, where she gained her doctorate and was later awarded a research fellowship and a post-doctoral research fellowship at Girton College. Rubin studies the social and religious history of Europe between 1100 and 1500, concentrating on the interactions between public rituals, power, and community life.

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was chatting to my daughter and her husband the other day and mentioned something about the Middle Ages – mostly the idea that we now think that there were a time when nothing changed – or if it did change, it went backwards – but that this really couldn’t be further from the truth. I gave some examples – and my daughter said she would love to read more. So, I tracked down this book and then read it quickly before giving it to her. Look, I love this series of books – an expert in the field getting you up to speed on a topic like lightning. Just a complete joy. I’ve no idea why I haven’t read more of them. They have them on just about every topic I can think of. Delightful in every way.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you try to embark on summarising a thousand-year period of history, you can only start by wondering why it is that it is considered a period of history in its own right, and why it got its name. The 'middle ages' get their name because they are in the middle between the Renaissance and modernity on the one hand, and antiquity on the other. But as most medievalists point out, it is only custom and prejudice that leads us to see big dividing lines between them at all. Or, as this author puts it, there is nothing 'middle' about the middles ages.

Unfortunately, though Professor Rubin argues the case for re-considering the middle ages pretty convincingly, this book is not particularly well-written. The style lurches from one fact to another, and a few trite aphorisms break up paragraphs of unimaginative prose. It is clear that she is not accustomed to writing for a popular audience - the main problem is that she makes general points, before illustrating them with specific points of interest, rather than using specific vignettes to introduce general points. The same information is conveyed; the latter technique is rather more memorable.

Oh, and by the way, if anyone is interested, the 31st of March is International Hug A Medievalist Day. So make sure you find a medieval historian so you can show your affection. Bless 'em.

Chapter 1: The 'Middle' Ages?
Chapter 2: People and their lifestyles
Chapter 3: The big idea: Christian salvation
Chapter 4: Kingship, lordship, and government
Chapter 5: Exchange, envrionments, and resources
Chapter 6: The 'Middle Ages' of 'others'
Chapter 7: The 'Middle Ages' in our daily lives

[Isabella Roh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise and useful overview of the Middle Ages. There are a few places where I wish it gave a bit more context, but I suppose, to be fair, it is an introduction, so it's not meant to be deep. Still, this overview is quite helpful, especially from a lesson-planning perspective!

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectations and the book's content did not align. My interest was more in a chronological overview of the period with political divisions, important peoples, and information on the lives of everyday persons. While the book began to address some of the latter toward the book's conclusion, the text mainly looked at broad themes from the period rather than providing the information I wanted to acquaint myself before moving to other books dealing with specific aspects. Others may enjoy it more than I did, but I was disappointed.

[Michael Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Middle Ages sounds like a time nothing much interesting happens. The fall of Rome @476 is viewed by Gibbon as a decline. But it’s actually a transformation. Much happened afterwards and left legacies for more modern times. Christianity spread north and northwest. Germanic settlers in England drove Celtic north. Raids by Norsemen started in 789. Population and food grew c. 1000, more people live in cities and learning increased (called 12th. century Renaissance). More classics appeared through Arabic translation. As economy grew, lords maintained roads and bridges for tolls. Common interests lead to joint governance. Emperor granted imperial cities with local rule by council of usually great merchants. There is explosion of financials. Horizontal organization grew: guilds in cities and leagues across larger territories (eg., Hansa) Rulers have love hate relationship with leagues. Among the legacies are universities (even the name of “Bachelor of Art” is medieval), printed books, Dante and Chaucer.

Of course, it’s not all positive progress. While Christianity grew in Europe, religious differences led to Jews being portrayed as God killers, child murders. Frequent explosions occurred, most dramatically in Spain.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suitable both as a way into its subject, and as a refresher for those who already have some basic familiarity with it, this Very Short Introduction is clear, concise, and more coherent than some of the other books in this series. Rubin keeps the reader on track with the huge changes that inevitably affected a whole continent over a thousand years of history, whilst also stressing the continuity with what came before it; and she manages to pay attention both to the diversity within her subject, as well as the unifying factors of religious, economic, intellectual, and social life. The book is packed with small illustrative details that are occasionally distracting rather than locally illuminating, but which all contribute to promote understanding of the whole. The book flows well, but the later chapters (especially the misleadingly titled last, on the art and culture of the Middle Ages) feel a little underwhelming after the richer, earlier focus on life-styles and Christianity; and the book ends rather abruptly. Another ten pages - even a five-page summary - would have been welcome.

[John Wyss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utterly chaotic and unorganized, this is one of the worst "very short introductions| I have read. There were some good information, and I think the author had an extremely difficult task; this is a huge period with lots of different geographies to cover. Writing a full length work would be very hard to cover this material, doing so in such a short format was probably impossible. I think this book might be great as a cliff notes style review of the history... if the reader was already familiar with the subject matter and needed a refresher. However, that is the opposite of what an introduction should be.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

중세(Middle Ages: 500-1500)에 대한 모호한 정리되지 않은 느낌이 이책을 읽게 한 거 같다. 약 1000년에 대한 기간 동안, 476년 로마의 멸망에서 부터 1492년 콜롬버스의 아메리카 대륙발견 까지, 그시기 사람들의 삶의 형태, 기독교의 합법화에 따른 사회의 영향력 강화가 가져오는 유럽 전체 국가에 대한 파급력과 교황의 득세, 지배자들의 자연환경과 그 자원에 대한 독점과 관리등 상업주의의 꾸준한 상승세등에 대해 언급하고, 중세의 영향으로 현시대가 물려받은 것은 무엇인가도 돌아다 본다. 중세에서 가장 뚜렷하게 눈에 뜨이는 것은 기독교가 아닌 다른 문화나 종교을 악령이나 악마로 취급하는 서양문화이다. 중세 전체를, 교구의 확장과 더불어 전 유럽이 교황 권력안에 들어가게 되고 기독교 문화만이 허락되고 숭앙되는 시기라 말 할 수 있겠다. 머슬림과 이방문화를 야만시하고 죄악시하는 문화와 태도가 근근히 현재까지 이어지고 있다는 사실이 정말 뿌리깊다는 생각에 소름돋는다.
기대한 것 보다는 교과서 적인 내용이었고, 특별히 유용한 내용도 없었지만 중세에 대한 생각을 정리할 수 있어 좋았다.

[b (tobias forge's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does what it says on the tin. Read this because my interest in medieval saints is morphing into a desire to learn more about the Middle Ages in general/succumb to a queer medieval fever dream in the style of the Greedy Peasant, and I wanted a quick orientation before pursuing more in-depth reading and more specific research.

[rixx · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing VSI book, this time around: light on substance, but heavy on the condescension. I'll list a couple of things that annoyed me (lest I start thinking I liked the book) and then some things I learnt:

## Annoyances

- “Even the word Europe is far from fixed. I shall use it to describe the westernmost part of a vast continental mass […].” – or write about *Europe*? Or call it *Western Europe*? A vast continental mass my arse. - Uses so many words to say so little. I had hoped that a VSI book would be concise, and this is anything but. “In the course of the 14th century the religion born in Judaea, the offshoot of Judaism which for several centuries did not possess a name, became a growing and ultimately defining force—Christianity” – come on, really? - Uses “barbarians” without qualification or irony (though at least not a lot).

## Notes

- Urban centres and commerce are later than I thought: England and France in the 12th century, Bohemia in the 13th and in the Baltics in the 14th century. - Rennaissance people felt too high and mighty and so coined the term "Middle Ages" (gtfo Petrarch), and then the 19th century romantics rebelled against the 18th century enlightenment by celebrating the period (though also to go on with their whole nation state thing). - In the Domesday book (1086), about 10% of the recorded population are slaves, and slaves and serfs are a established feature throughout the period, obligated to work on command and highly restricted in their ability to travel. - Marriage tracks how far Christianity managed to take over culture, and how long it took to go from the Roman contract or the Germanic family enterprise to the religious/moral construct. - Courts accepting the testimony of women give us unusual and early information on everyday worries, especially as they relate to relationships. Also, guild widows were allowed to carry on with their husband's work. - Monasteries took their wealth not only from being given estates, but also from holding on to them over the centuries without having to split them up for multiple sons over and over again. (Makes total sense, but I never thought about it that way.)

[Seth Benzell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book isn’t completely valueless - there are lots of interesting anecdotes and details scattered around - but the organization and framework is completely lacking. I wouldn’t recommend this to a newbie - there’s so much context needed to understand why these anecdotes are important - and can’t recommend it to an expert - you’d be better off collecting scattered interesting details from something like r/mideavalhistory than here. A book for no one unfortunately though I am sympathetic to the author, who is clearly trying really hard with a possibly Syssephean task.

[Jackson Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick refresher, but one that also introduces the seasoned, but amateur student of Medieval history to current developments in the field, notably the important work on trade, society and environment. Highly recommended.

[Ayesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book focuses on developments in various areas of Europe, and some parts of the Middle East and Northern Africa, during the 500-1500 CE period, outlined as the Middle Ages. The author provides snapshots of various significant developments and common themes in a series of short chapters. This is an excellent book to get a basic idea of this time period in Europe. Probably due to the limitations of the "very short introduction" readers interested in details that aren't Euro-centric or based in Christian beliefs during this time period will be disappointed...but there's probably introductory books for those historical perspectives as well, so research on!

[Jeremy Canipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Largely lives up to the series' intention. A nice, succinct introduction to the Middle Ages. Having read a decent amount on the topic makes understanding this book easier, yet I think it's understandable for the interested person without any background. The brief suggestions for further reading is helpful. Not a five star, though. Wastes time at the start on the question of how later era understood the Middle Ages, rather than getting quickly to the task at hand. A bit snide about Christianity. Doesn't really offer an ending. Still, I would recommend it.

[verbava · Rating 2 out of 5]

ще один короткий вступ, який не зовсім зрозуміло, чи вступ, бо доволі загальниковий, і якщо не мати в голові заздалегідь якихось деталей про середньовіччя, які можна було б повписувати в те, що тут розказано, то він здебільшого проходить повз. зрозуміло, що вкласти десять (плюс-мінус) століть середньовіччя в сотню сторінок без втрат неможливо, але тут, як на мене, втрачено занадто багато – сам сюжет історії.

[Stacy Bearse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a daunting challenge to cover ten centuries of history in fewer than 130 pages. But Miri Rubin does a credible job, in his contribution to the "Very Short Introduction" series published by Oxford University Press. Rubin focuses on how people lived, learned, worked and worshiped in the age between the Holy Roman Empire and the Renaissance. This is a good summary for readers unfamiliar with European history.

[Rania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad for a very small book taking about 1000 years. At times I felt it was just a list of facts and there was not the element of story in it but that is ok because the reader is getting basic information on the period.

[Mihai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is not so much a short intro on the Middle Ages, but an example of how the idea of Longue durée is represented by the followers of the French Annales School.
As I've read as a student most of the bibliographical notes, I like it as a nice refresher on the topic.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea how to rate non fiction books. It did the job.

[Melissa Barbosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only problem with this book is that it is very short, but I'd been warned...

[Murilo Silva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely one of the worst books I have ever read. Completely disorganized. Don’t waster your time. DNF.

[Keaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for school, solid overview.

[A. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as recommendation for EBL course.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much!

[julianna ☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

supplemental reading, didn’t care one way or another

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but sometimes I felt like bits of sentences were missing so as to keep within some preset word count…

[petri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Historian Miri Rubin published an introduction to Medieval Europe in 2014. Rubin writes that the area of Europe under the control of Byzantium was covered by Peter Sarris’ short introduction to Byzantium. Reading both books together would be great if a reader wants a full view of Medieval Europe. The book has a section of illustrations. The book has maps. The book has an index and a section of references. The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Rubin 130-132). The first chapter is on the concept of the European Middle Ages. The second chapter is about the lifestyle of people in Medieval Europe. The third chapter is on Medieval Europe. Chapter 4 discusses “kingship, lordship, and government” (Rubin 88-98). I found it insightful that the word feudal is only used for specific situations or is avoided altogether by historians who study Medieval Europe (Rubin 45). Chapter 5 discusses “exchange, environments, and resources” (Rubin 99-109). This chapter discusses using natural resources in “an economic system of production and exchange” in medieval Europe (Rubin 99). Chapter 6 is on religious minorities in Medieval Europe. The chapter also briefly covers the history of the Roma people in Medieval Europe (Rubin 111). The last chapter looks at the legacy of Medieval Europe in universities, printed books, “poetry, and song” (Rubin 125). Rubin also considers the literature of Medieval Europe, especially Dante’s Divine Company, Geoffrey Chaucer, and the stories of “King Arthurian legends,” among other works of Medieval European literature (Rubin 125). Rubin’s short introduction to Medieval Europe is well done.
Works Cited:
Sarris, Peter. 2015. Byzantium: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, it was okay. As a beginner to reading texts on the Middle Ages, I found it extremely hard to follow as the author frequently cited historical figures or places which I have no knowledge of. I found this particularly annoying when it was brought up in an anecdotal context as I was left wondering why I cared about the interesting fact that wasn't particularly interesting or relevant to me. There was some redeeming discussions that were particularly interesting but overall, this didn't balance out the discussions that were a grind to read. I'm going to give "A Very Short Introduction" series another chance but I would only recommend this one to someone with a background in Middle Ages literature/study.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the first one I have read of "a Very Short Introduction" series from Oxford University Press but it will not be the last. www.oup.com/vsi/

In about 120 [ages the book gives one an overview of the period from 500 AD to 1500 AD commonly referred to as the Middle Ages, between the Classical age which ended with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Modern Age which began with the Renaissance.