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The Edge of the World
Saints and spies, pirates and philosophers, artists and intellectuals: they all criss-crossed the grey North Sea in the so-called "dark ages," the years between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of Europe's mastery over the oceans. Now the critically acclaimed Michael Pye reveals the cultural transformation sparked by those men and women: the ideas, technology, science, law, and moral codes that helped create our modern world.
This is the magnificent lost history of a thousand years. It was on the shores of the North Sea where experimental science was born, where women first had the right to choose whom they married; there was the beginning of contemporary business transactions and the advent of the printed book. In The Edge of the World, Michael Pye draws on an astounding breadth of original source material to illuminate this fascinating region during a pivotal era in world history.
This is the magnificent lost history of a thousand years. It was on the shores of the North Sea where experimental science was born, where women first had the right to choose whom they married; there was the beginning of contemporary business transactions and the advent of the printed book. In The Edge of the World, Michael Pye draws on an astounding breadth of original source material to illuminate this fascinating region during a pivotal era in world history.
394 pages, Hardcover
First published November 6, 2014
631 people are currently reading
5458 people want to read
About the author
Michael Pye
69 books66 followersMichael Pye (b. 1946) is a writer who reported on business for The Sunday Times of London in the 1960s and 1970s. He has also authored many books, two of which are about the entertainment industry: The Movie Brats: How the Film Generation Took Over Hollywood (with Lynda Myles, 1979), and Moguls: Inside the Business of Show Business (1980).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 419 reviews
June 21, 2022
“Erik the Red left Norway for frontier Iceland ‘on account of some killings’ and after a while he had to leave Iceland on account of some more killings; he needed a fresh start after his first fresh start.”
Michael Pye’s The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe grabs your attention right away, but unfortunately it lets go and leaves you to wander through interesting first-hand accounts that don’t always seem connected. Pye’s thesis, that the North Sea region deserves attention not just for its Viking history but for how its culture (trade, business practices, record-keeping etc.) transformed the rest of Europe seems reasonable, but the argument isn't really there. Besides gaps in the argument (possibly caused by the scarcity of primary documents), it felt like Pye was trying too hard to stretch the importance of specific accounts. 3.5 stars, rounded down because as compelling as the first 50 pages and individual chapters, the narrative was disjointed and I was ready for the end.
Michael Pye’s The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe grabs your attention right away, but unfortunately it lets go and leaves you to wander through interesting first-hand accounts that don’t always seem connected. Pye’s thesis, that the North Sea region deserves attention not just for its Viking history but for how its culture (trade, business practices, record-keeping etc.) transformed the rest of Europe seems reasonable, but the argument isn't really there. Besides gaps in the argument (possibly caused by the scarcity of primary documents), it felt like Pye was trying too hard to stretch the importance of specific accounts. 3.5 stars, rounded down because as compelling as the first 50 pages and individual chapters, the narrative was disjointed and I was ready for the end.
May 9, 2015
Entertaining read for medieval and Renaissance history buffs, but too many gaps in the narrative. The book did not meet the author's mission of showing Northern European influence on modernity, nor did it give a coherent history of early Northern Europe. Also, what the heck happened to the Vikings? The first two-three chapters addressed their exploits and contributions in great detail...then, in the next chapter, not a word. Scandinavia, somehow, became nations under single kings, and Norway became beholden to the Hanseatic League. Also, no coverage of how Christian missionaries had to adapt Christianity to local cultural customs, or how Northern Europe, once pagan, became models of Christian piety. Also, how did Sweden maintain or lose its waterways to Byzantium through Russia, thus having earliest access to Arab and Asian resources that other European countries only dreamed of having? Again, no mention. Pye talks a lot about the British Isles and Ireland, as well as the cities that currently make up Belgium and the Netherlands, and northern France, and the trade routes that connected them. If it were not for the Vikings, Saxons, and Frisians, those would not exist.
September 21, 2022
This is a delightful mess of a book, one I might not have approached were I not in Iceland. Pye practices a nominal cultural history, not a long view a la Braudel and his institutional approach is much more about people than the cold gray ocean: I can attest that the North Sea is captivating but it would take a poet to exact justice. Not that I’m dismissing the journalist author here but that he appears at pains to connect dots in lieu of a world systems application. This did inspire a curiosity in the Low Countries but other than the sections relating to Iceland I was only pleasantly distracted. There is a curious biographical sketch of the Venerable Bede which points to the possibility of a very different book and serial observation on the Viking Effect across the North Sea basin and beyond. Pye appears to share Braudel’s idea that the Norse raiders were unintentional Marxists with their plunder being an agent of wealth redistribution. I was hopeful that matters would drift about before arriving at the plangent observation of Auden or Heaney but alas Pye’s estimation proved closer to the EU or the US war on terror, particularly with respect to post-plague policy regarding freedom of movement.
January 28, 2015
This is a rich book but nevertheless somewhat disappointing. The overarching ideas in the book, summarised in the final pages are highly relevant and very interesting, but they are hidden in a deluge of small facts, people and ideas. In one chapter fashion, money and monks are coming along. Some topics could have been left out (fashion) and others elaborated more upon (Hansen cities), I would have liked that better.
February 6, 2017
Like many others I was very disappointed with this book. Aside from failing to convincingly prove his thesis, the writing is deadly. Pye states the obvious repeatedly just as that professor of history whose course you would have dropped after the first lecture if it was not required.
The gaps in the narrative leave the reader wondering if the Vikings actually did sail off the edge of the earth because they simply disappear.
I cannot recommend this book to anyone.
The gaps in the narrative leave the reader wondering if the Vikings actually did sail off the edge of the earth because they simply disappear.
I cannot recommend this book to anyone.
May 14, 2016
If it weren't for the subject matter I would give this book a single star.
Pye begins with a promising premise and ultimately falls short of it, majorly. He attempts to tell the tale of Northern Europe where "identity became a matter of where you were and where you last came from, not some abstract notion of race; peoples were not separated sharply as they were by nineteenth-century frontiers, venturing out only to conquer or be conquered. Indeed, quite often they ventured out to change sides. Instead of dark mistakes about pure blood, racial identity, homogenous nations with their own soul and spirit and distinct nature, we have something far more exciting: the story of people making choices, not always freely, sometimes under fearsome pressure, but still choosing and inventing and making lives for themselves." He preaches history as a danger to nationalism.
Unfortunately, his book is poorly organized, and disjointed. He meanders through a patchwork of stories, commentary, and details that don't appear to be threaded together by any central thesis. He jumps from one century to another, from one historical figure to the next and ends a chapter without connecting it to his ultimate premise. The reader is left wondering, how the hell did this end up shaping modern Europe? He doesn't connect the dots and doesn't make a convincing case. Did the peoples of the North Seas impact history? Certainly, but no case is made for exactly how the fashion, politics, money, law, science, and views on marriage directly created Modern Europe.
He spewed all sorts of trivia, small scenes, and vague summaries about the medieval period. He gives his readers little structure upon which to hang and organize all these bits of information. I wanted so badly to care and be interested. Instead, he took a subject I care a lot about and turned it into flotsam and jetsom--how does one make Vikings and the wanderers of Northern Europe uninteresting?
I am a disciplined reader who completes nearly every book I start, as a personal rule, even when I don't gather much joy from it. This book is one of those rare exceptions.
Pye begins with a promising premise and ultimately falls short of it, majorly. He attempts to tell the tale of Northern Europe where "identity became a matter of where you were and where you last came from, not some abstract notion of race; peoples were not separated sharply as they were by nineteenth-century frontiers, venturing out only to conquer or be conquered. Indeed, quite often they ventured out to change sides. Instead of dark mistakes about pure blood, racial identity, homogenous nations with their own soul and spirit and distinct nature, we have something far more exciting: the story of people making choices, not always freely, sometimes under fearsome pressure, but still choosing and inventing and making lives for themselves." He preaches history as a danger to nationalism.
Unfortunately, his book is poorly organized, and disjointed. He meanders through a patchwork of stories, commentary, and details that don't appear to be threaded together by any central thesis. He jumps from one century to another, from one historical figure to the next and ends a chapter without connecting it to his ultimate premise. The reader is left wondering, how the hell did this end up shaping modern Europe? He doesn't connect the dots and doesn't make a convincing case. Did the peoples of the North Seas impact history? Certainly, but no case is made for exactly how the fashion, politics, money, law, science, and views on marriage directly created Modern Europe.
He spewed all sorts of trivia, small scenes, and vague summaries about the medieval period. He gives his readers little structure upon which to hang and organize all these bits of information. I wanted so badly to care and be interested. Instead, he took a subject I care a lot about and turned it into flotsam and jetsom--how does one make Vikings and the wanderers of Northern Europe uninteresting?
I am a disciplined reader who completes nearly every book I start, as a personal rule, even when I don't gather much joy from it. This book is one of those rare exceptions.
May 8, 2022
I usually struggle to focus on non fiction but this kept my attention throughout. This book covers some history of the North Sea and surrounding countries, covering a variety of topics like trade, fashion, law and the Plague. It was an interesting book and would recommend it to anyone who likes to learn a little history.
February 15, 2016
My high hopes for this book were quickly dashed. A review that I read claimed Pye had written an integrated history of the North Sea, crossing national boundaries to show how the region fit together as a unit. As an English historian who knows little of other North Sea countries, that sounded amazing. In practice, however, Pye's work leaves much to be desired. His thesis is that the banks of the North Sea were responsible for the birth of modernity, spawning a number of ideas that have become integral to the modern world. Yet his argument leaves much to be desired. There seems to be a relative chronological progression across the book, but Pye's contextualization of the events he discusses is poor, so I found myself often losing track of time and place. When he did contextualize, it was clear that he was often blurring significant geographical and chronological distances in order to make his points. I was particularly frustrated with his chapter on women, which used examples from across several hundred years to claim that gender relationships were becoming more modern, but he neglects to present a point of comparison to begin with - more modern than what? Overall, I saw an unfortunate cherry-picking trend throughout his argument that served to weaken his points considerably. Pye came into this work with preconceived ideas about what was "modern," and scanned his sources (most of which were secondary works) until he found something that resembled them (however superficially) in the past.
As a medieval historian, I was also put off by Pye's premise. He claims to be redeeming the "Dark Ages" by pointing out its modern features. First of all, the term "Dark Ages," while marketable, is extremely problematic. Even more so is the period Pye uses this label for, which seems to date from the sixth or seventh century to the seventeenth. Even more unfortunate, however, is how he ends the book, implying that these "modern" elements were the only worthwhile things to come out of this wide-ranging historical period. Pye seems to see history as a progression toward the modern, an idea that went out of fashion in the early twentieth century along with imperialism and colonialism. Do the medieval and early modern periods have nothing to teach us on their own? Were their ideas and values of no merit? By dismissing this significant span of time, Pye joins a long tradition of scholarship (including that of the Italian Renaissance - the other "birth of the modern" that he pits himself against) who have rejected the Middle Ages because it did not appeal to them.
As a medieval historian, I was also put off by Pye's premise. He claims to be redeeming the "Dark Ages" by pointing out its modern features. First of all, the term "Dark Ages," while marketable, is extremely problematic. Even more so is the period Pye uses this label for, which seems to date from the sixth or seventh century to the seventeenth. Even more unfortunate, however, is how he ends the book, implying that these "modern" elements were the only worthwhile things to come out of this wide-ranging historical period. Pye seems to see history as a progression toward the modern, an idea that went out of fashion in the early twentieth century along with imperialism and colonialism. Do the medieval and early modern periods have nothing to teach us on their own? Were their ideas and values of no merit? By dismissing this significant span of time, Pye joins a long tradition of scholarship (including that of the Italian Renaissance - the other "birth of the modern" that he pits himself against) who have rejected the Middle Ages because it did not appeal to them.
May 6, 2018
felt this book had potential but lost it's way and got bogged down
April 24, 2025
At first glance, one would not think that the North Sea would necessarily make the most stimulating subject matter for a book, and I suspect that Michael Pye has not been approached by anyone seeking the movie rights. His premise is that the people living around the North Sea have made substantial contributions to European civilization, beginning in what are sometimes known as the Dark Ages. Mr. Pye would appear to come down on the side of those who believe that the Dark Ages were not as dark as their name suggests, and that there was a lot going on, much of which lead directly the institutions that have made (as we like to think) our own time a much improved era.
The author did not limit his research on medieval Europe to serfing the web; in fact he mentions feudalism only in passing. His primary focus is on trade across the North Sea and with the wider world, and to the concept of money, which made such trade possible. However, he throws in a lot of information on subjects from fashion to gender roles to avoiding the plague. On the latter, he credits the desire of people to stay alive with the growth of government as rules were made to try to stop the spread of disease. He wrote this book more than a decade ago, so he is not trying to align himself with the anti-vaxers and anti-maskers who saw COVID as an excuse for government to control their lives. He also extols the virtue of international trade without knowing that an American president would make that position controversial.
The author did not limit his research on medieval Europe to serfing the web; in fact he mentions feudalism only in passing. His primary focus is on trade across the North Sea and with the wider world, and to the concept of money, which made such trade possible. However, he throws in a lot of information on subjects from fashion to gender roles to avoiding the plague. On the latter, he credits the desire of people to stay alive with the growth of government as rules were made to try to stop the spread of disease. He wrote this book more than a decade ago, so he is not trying to align himself with the anti-vaxers and anti-maskers who saw COVID as an excuse for government to control their lives. He also extols the virtue of international trade without knowing that an American president would make that position controversial.
December 29, 2022
The Edge of the World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are was my first Covid Christmas read. It was rather too complicated for my feverish and sleep-deprived brain, so took me a little while to get into. Although the content was interesting, the structure is very episodic, with each chapter covering a loose theme. (I really wasn't in the mood for the plague one.) The most memorable element for me was detailed discussion of the Hanseatic League, which I'd heard mention of before and assumed was a nation state. In fact it was something very different and much more ambiguous, which I enjoyed learning about. There is economic, social, and cultural history in here, with plentiful intriguing details presented in an involving style. However I struggled to identify a clear thesis or theses, other than 'things were more complicated than you might think'. Chapters tended to conclude on a note like this:
I likely would have appreciated the book better if I hadn't had the covid when reading it. There is a lot of great material in it, but the assembly thereof isn't as accessible as most popular history.
A seemingly simple activity, the digging of peat, changed a culture, redefined how the world thought of a people, changed the way money made things happen, remade a whole landscape and turned peasant farmers into men with international connections, at least in the eel and butter trades. There never was a truly simple change.
I likely would have appreciated the book better if I hadn't had the covid when reading it. There is a lot of great material in it, but the assembly thereof isn't as accessible as most popular history.
February 20, 2020
Different regions of Europe have had power, from the Egyptians, the Greeks and Persians and Romans. But around 1000 years ago that focus of power moved from the Mediterranean area to the small shallow sea in between Britain and Europe, the North Sea.
The region had been conquered by the Romans 2000 years ago, but after they left it became a bit of a backwater. It changed as the people who lived on the shores came to master boat building, setting off on voyages far beyond the small limits of the North Sea to discover lands across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
Some of the seafarers bought terror to some places, we all know about the Vikings and their raids on coastal villages and monasteries, but slowly peaceful trade took over. Ideas and goods began to move back and forth across the waters, populations moved and settled, they adapted to change fairly quickly and the whole region thrived.
Pye looks at the history of this region through various subjects, money, fashion, nature and science to name a few, and teases out various stories and anecdotes to demonstrate his case. Wide-ranging though it might be, it sadly didn’t live up to expectations for me. Splitting it by theme meant that you were jumping backwards and forwards and from place to place. For me, concentrating on specific historical periods would have been better as it did feel that it was jumping around too much from period to period.
The region had been conquered by the Romans 2000 years ago, but after they left it became a bit of a backwater. It changed as the people who lived on the shores came to master boat building, setting off on voyages far beyond the small limits of the North Sea to discover lands across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
Some of the seafarers bought terror to some places, we all know about the Vikings and their raids on coastal villages and monasteries, but slowly peaceful trade took over. Ideas and goods began to move back and forth across the waters, populations moved and settled, they adapted to change fairly quickly and the whole region thrived.
Pye looks at the history of this region through various subjects, money, fashion, nature and science to name a few, and teases out various stories and anecdotes to demonstrate his case. Wide-ranging though it might be, it sadly didn’t live up to expectations for me. Splitting it by theme meant that you were jumping backwards and forwards and from place to place. For me, concentrating on specific historical periods would have been better as it did feel that it was jumping around too much from period to period.
May 25, 2015
Als "boek van de week" in De Wereld Draait Door met een lovende kritiek waarbij Michael Pye zelfs wordt vergeleken met Bill Bryson en een aanbeveling door Geert Mak op de cover, mag je verwachten dat ik dit boek in een ruk zou uitlezen. Niets is minder waar.
Het belang van het middeleeuwse Noordzeegebied voor de moderne wereld was enorm, stelt Michael Pye. Hij beschrijft de ontwikkelingen die zich afspeelden rond het Noordzeegebied tussen de vroege Middeleeuwen en 1700.
Aan zijn bronnen ligt het niet. Michael Pye overspoelt ons met veel informatie en wist-u-datjes, dat het mij al snel duizelt. En dat is het grootste probleem: het boek is ongestructureerd en springt van de hak op de tak. In zijn pagina's lange introductie is met veel moeite een centrale vraagstelling te vinden, maar die wordt als snel bedolven onder een groot aantal verschillende thema's die als los zand aan elkaar hangen.
Een vergelijking met Bill Bryson of Geert Mak is dus niet te maken. Deze boeken lees ik in een ruk uit. Dit boek moest ik al na een 100-tal pagina's wegleggen: het was te taai en vooral te saai.
Het belang van het middeleeuwse Noordzeegebied voor de moderne wereld was enorm, stelt Michael Pye. Hij beschrijft de ontwikkelingen die zich afspeelden rond het Noordzeegebied tussen de vroege Middeleeuwen en 1700.
Aan zijn bronnen ligt het niet. Michael Pye overspoelt ons met veel informatie en wist-u-datjes, dat het mij al snel duizelt. En dat is het grootste probleem: het boek is ongestructureerd en springt van de hak op de tak. In zijn pagina's lange introductie is met veel moeite een centrale vraagstelling te vinden, maar die wordt als snel bedolven onder een groot aantal verschillende thema's die als los zand aan elkaar hangen.
Een vergelijking met Bill Bryson of Geert Mak is dus niet te maken. Deze boeken lees ik in een ruk uit. Dit boek moest ik al na een 100-tal pagina's wegleggen: het was te taai en vooral te saai.
July 4, 2023
Dit non-fictie werk geeft ons kennis en inzicht in de ontwikkeling binnen onze gebieden doorheen de Middeleeuwen. Pye slaagt erin een toegankelijk werk aan te bieden door enerzijds een opsplitsing per hoofdstuk aangaande specifieke thema’s, en anderzijds door concrete voorbeelden aan te halen. Hij deelt ons verleden op in o.a. de uitvinding van het geld, wetenschap, de pestwetten, handel, natuur enz.. Niet alle thema’s spraken me evenveel aan, maar het geheel was steeds interessant.
July 25, 2015
This is a fascinating book which offers a new and missing perspective on why things are the way they they are now. The best history books never lose sight of that connectionand Michael Pye consistently links his research to the present. The missing contribution he brings to light is the huge contribution made by the cultures of peoples who inhabited the edge of the map, the places marked on maps with fantastical drawings and warnings like 'Here Be Dragons'.
The Frisians, Vikings, Angles, Irish, Dutch had cultures built around use of the sea as a connection, not a barrier. They were traders often without the restrictiveness of being bound by feudal society. Pye points out how many of the elements we cherish most: freedom over our sex lives, freedom to move to a new city, the use of money instead of barter, freedom to dress how we want, freedom to move up in social standing, had strong roots in these cultures. We all learn a lot about famous Kings of France and England, a lot about Popes and Byzantium, all of which is relevant but not as dear to our daily lives as the legacy we inherit from those at the Edge of the World.
My quibbles are that the book could have benefited by a stronger editor who could have tightened it up as it was a bit rambling. Pye includes a large and valuable bibliography but relies almost completely on secondary sources rather than digging in to the first hand material himself.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes tracing the origins of our modern culture, Pye has provided a missing link.
The Frisians, Vikings, Angles, Irish, Dutch had cultures built around use of the sea as a connection, not a barrier. They were traders often without the restrictiveness of being bound by feudal society. Pye points out how many of the elements we cherish most: freedom over our sex lives, freedom to move to a new city, the use of money instead of barter, freedom to dress how we want, freedom to move up in social standing, had strong roots in these cultures. We all learn a lot about famous Kings of France and England, a lot about Popes and Byzantium, all of which is relevant but not as dear to our daily lives as the legacy we inherit from those at the Edge of the World.
My quibbles are that the book could have benefited by a stronger editor who could have tightened it up as it was a bit rambling. Pye includes a large and valuable bibliography but relies almost completely on secondary sources rather than digging in to the first hand material himself.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes tracing the origins of our modern culture, Pye has provided a missing link.
December 11, 2018
Van de lagere school herinner ik me dat de Belgische kustlijn vierenzestig kilometer lang is. Dat feit fascineerde me als elfjarige: dat ze dus wisten dat de kust geen meter korter of langer was.
Als je nu over de Noordzee begint, denk ik aan wat er ver voorbij de vierenzestig kilometer ligt. Ik heb ‘Aan de rand van de wereld’ gelezen, het boek waarin historicus Michael Pye het Noordzeegebied belicht, vanaf de vroege Middeleeuwen tot aan de Gouden Eeuw. Ik zie Vikingen richting Vinland varen. Ik zie hoe de pest zich verspreidt. Of het geloof. Ik zie in dat de Noordzee een vroege versie van Google is: een diep en woelig water waarlangs kennis werd vervoerd. Ik weet sinds kort dat ‘Fries’ eigenlijk ‘overzeese handelaar’ betekent en ik zal in Domburg bij eb nooit meer op mijn strandlaken blijven liggen. Ik zal op zoek moeten naar de geheimzinnige, verdwenen stenen.
‘Aan de rand van de wereld’ is een must, als je een beetje van de Noordzee houdt. Af en toe moet je geduld hebben met Pye, omdat hij je niet in elk hoofdstuk op elk moment bij de lurven pakt, maar het plezier dat de schrijver had bij het ontleden en rangschikken van zijn bronnen spat van elke bladzijde. En dat werkt aanstekelijk.
Voor de vertaling van ‘The Edge of the World’ (dat véél mooier dan de Nederlandse versie is uitgegeven) stonden Arthur de Smet, Pon Ruiter en Frits van der Waa in.
Als je nu over de Noordzee begint, denk ik aan wat er ver voorbij de vierenzestig kilometer ligt. Ik heb ‘Aan de rand van de wereld’ gelezen, het boek waarin historicus Michael Pye het Noordzeegebied belicht, vanaf de vroege Middeleeuwen tot aan de Gouden Eeuw. Ik zie Vikingen richting Vinland varen. Ik zie hoe de pest zich verspreidt. Of het geloof. Ik zie in dat de Noordzee een vroege versie van Google is: een diep en woelig water waarlangs kennis werd vervoerd. Ik weet sinds kort dat ‘Fries’ eigenlijk ‘overzeese handelaar’ betekent en ik zal in Domburg bij eb nooit meer op mijn strandlaken blijven liggen. Ik zal op zoek moeten naar de geheimzinnige, verdwenen stenen.
‘Aan de rand van de wereld’ is een must, als je een beetje van de Noordzee houdt. Af en toe moet je geduld hebben met Pye, omdat hij je niet in elk hoofdstuk op elk moment bij de lurven pakt, maar het plezier dat de schrijver had bij het ontleden en rangschikken van zijn bronnen spat van elke bladzijde. En dat werkt aanstekelijk.
Voor de vertaling van ‘The Edge of the World’ (dat véél mooier dan de Nederlandse versie is uitgegeven) stonden Arthur de Smet, Pon Ruiter en Frits van der Waa in.
May 1, 2016
Enlightening and fresh view on the development of the UK, the low countries, Scandinavia and a bit further, Greenland, Iceland, the first norse or viking settlements in nowadays Canada etc.
Clear, well supported with arguments and references. Not for the academic historian but at an academic level for the lay and the interested.
I liked the parts on the Vikings most. These brave people have a bad reputation, but that cannot be deserved unless one disregards their incredible contributions to trade and civilisation. It's a damned shame they turned christian and lost all the nice traits of their society, e.f. (almost) equality between men and women, a sense of belonging wherever you are and booze, booze, booze.
Clear, well supported with arguments and references. Not for the academic historian but at an academic level for the lay and the interested.
I liked the parts on the Vikings most. These brave people have a bad reputation, but that cannot be deserved unless one disregards their incredible contributions to trade and civilisation. It's a damned shame they turned christian and lost all the nice traits of their society, e.f. (almost) equality between men and women, a sense of belonging wherever you are and booze, booze, booze.
April 28, 2017
Full of information
It's an informational book, without the literary zest that makes some non-fiction absorbing. Nonetheless, the information chosen and the chronology draws my interest, and makes it above merely informational. Although I didn't want to finish it at first, it drew me in.
It's an informational book, without the literary zest that makes some non-fiction absorbing. Nonetheless, the information chosen and the chronology draws my interest, and makes it above merely informational. Although I didn't want to finish it at first, it drew me in.
January 2, 2016
The subject matter of this book really appealed to me, and I hate to sound like a dullard who wants his history books to be just "one damned fact after another," but for me this book was too much anecdote and not enough big picture overview. I think a good book like this needs both.
June 17, 2022
4 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover
Historicus Michael Pye vertelt in zijn boek over deze fascinerende geschiedenis van de Noordzee.
Er was een tijd waarin niemand zich kon voorstellen dat nog verder gaan mogelijk was: de noordelijke zee was de rand van de wereld. Het mocht dan mogelijk zijn om het tropische Middellandse Zeegebied te bevaren, het bevroren Noorden was het einde van de wereld, waar het Bijbelse zeemonster de Leviathan leefde.
Maar al vanaf de 7e eeuw vertoonden de volkeren rondom de Noordzee een geestdriftige reislust. Deze reiskoorts maakte de Noordzee tot veel meer dan slechts een water tussen duizend stranden: het was een netwerk van handelsroutes, een toevlucht, een pad naar avontuur, maar tevens ook een begraafplaats.
In Aan de rand van de wereld bespreekt hij een indrukwekkende duizend jaar geschiedenis van het Noordzeegebied, van de vroege Middeleeuwen tot de aanzet van de Gouden Eeuw.
Hiervoor heeft hij een tot nu toe onderbelichte en vaak vergeten invalshoek gekozen: de handelsroutes en kustgebieden van het Noorden. Er zijn heel wat boeken geschreven over de contacten en wederzijdse beïnvloeding in het Middellandse Zeegebied, maar we hebben nauwelijks weet van de soortgelijke kruisbestuiving in het Noorden.
De schrijver, die zich ook in dit boek weer een doorgewinterde historicus toont, laat zien hoe de Noordzee ons heeft gemaakt tot wie we zijn. De Noordzee, waarover de Vikingen voor het eerst in Westelijke richting voeren en Engeland, Ierland, De Faeröer, IJsland, Groenland en Vinland (Amerika) ontdekten en waarover ze hun manschappen vervoerden om deze landen te plunderen en zich er te vestigen.
De Noordzee, waarover niet alleen plundergoed en handelswaar werd verscheept, maar ook gewoontes en tradities, geloof, brieven, wetenschap en ideeën, en helaas ook de pest. Het was dezelfde Noordzee die onherstelbare schade aanrichtte aan de kustgebieden en de uitingen van deze religies en tradities samen met onze herinnering eraan grotendeels uitwiste. Hij weet echter, aan de hand van talloze geschreven en archeologische bronnen, opnieuw een beeld te schetsen van dit verborgen verleden.
Een indrukwekkend aantal volken doen de intrede in zijn overzicht van het Noordzeegebied. Hier woonden de Friezen, handelaren (het woord ‘Fries’ betekende in die tijd letterlijk ‘overzeese handelaar’) die zowel de Noordelijke handelsroutes als het geld opnieuw uitvonden; de Scandinaviërs, fiere krijgers, die dankzij een eenvoudig zonnekompas op zoek konden naar nieuw land en kostbaarheden; en de Duitse Hanzelieden, bedreven handelaren die op jacht waren naar winst en gunstige deals.
Er wordt beschreven hoe deze volkeren de eerste grote stappen zetten richting ons hedendaagse monetaire, justitiële en educatieve systeem. Uitgerekend aan de rand van de wereld ontstond er zo een notie van waarde uitgedrukt in geld en ontstonden er steden die hun eigen wetten, mode en scholen voortbrachten.
Hij laat in dit overzichtswerk zien hoe deze zaken tot wasdom kwamen in wat vaak de ‘duistere middeleeuwen’ worden genoemd en juist in die gebieden die meestal als de tafelrand van de wereld werden beschouwd.
De kracht van het boek schuilt in de interculturele vergelijking van verschillende thema’s (handel, natuur, mode, wetten, liefde) over een periode van 1.000 jaar. Om een overzicht te kunnen geven van deze grote periode, er zijn een ontzaglijk aantal bronnen geraadpleegd. Een aantal dat, naar mijn weten, binnen eenzelfde onderwerp, ongeëvenaard is. Dankzij deze zee aan kennis weet hij dan ook niet eerder opgemerkte verbanden te leggen.
Ironisch genoeg schuilt in het grote aantal bronnen en de enorme hoeveelheid aan informatie die door Pye wordt gepresenteerd, nu ook juist de zwakte van het boek. Omdat hij zoveel mogelijk informatie in zijn boek heeft proberen te vangen, sluiten sommigen onderwerpen niet goed op elkaar aan. Hierdoor worden er hier en daar onnatuurlijke bruggetjes geslagen of wordt er gesprongen, wat onderwerpen betreft, van de hak op de tak.
Als hij bijvoorbeeld het belang van de geschriften van Beda wilt onderstrepen, gaat hij binnen anderhalve pagina, van astronomie over op het middeleeuwse scriptorium, om vervolgens de verwarrende datering van het paasfeest uit te leggen en de verschillende middeleeuwse kalenders. Hoewel een mediëvist deze begrippen gemakkelijk in context kan plaatsen,
Een leek niet. Dat maakt dat dit boek voor mij géén 5 sterren heeft verdiend.
Maar met plezier én nieuwsgierigheid zeker graag gelezen.
Historicus Michael Pye vertelt in zijn boek over deze fascinerende geschiedenis van de Noordzee.
Er was een tijd waarin niemand zich kon voorstellen dat nog verder gaan mogelijk was: de noordelijke zee was de rand van de wereld. Het mocht dan mogelijk zijn om het tropische Middellandse Zeegebied te bevaren, het bevroren Noorden was het einde van de wereld, waar het Bijbelse zeemonster de Leviathan leefde.
Maar al vanaf de 7e eeuw vertoonden de volkeren rondom de Noordzee een geestdriftige reislust. Deze reiskoorts maakte de Noordzee tot veel meer dan slechts een water tussen duizend stranden: het was een netwerk van handelsroutes, een toevlucht, een pad naar avontuur, maar tevens ook een begraafplaats.
In Aan de rand van de wereld bespreekt hij een indrukwekkende duizend jaar geschiedenis van het Noordzeegebied, van de vroege Middeleeuwen tot de aanzet van de Gouden Eeuw.
Hiervoor heeft hij een tot nu toe onderbelichte en vaak vergeten invalshoek gekozen: de handelsroutes en kustgebieden van het Noorden. Er zijn heel wat boeken geschreven over de contacten en wederzijdse beïnvloeding in het Middellandse Zeegebied, maar we hebben nauwelijks weet van de soortgelijke kruisbestuiving in het Noorden.
De schrijver, die zich ook in dit boek weer een doorgewinterde historicus toont, laat zien hoe de Noordzee ons heeft gemaakt tot wie we zijn. De Noordzee, waarover de Vikingen voor het eerst in Westelijke richting voeren en Engeland, Ierland, De Faeröer, IJsland, Groenland en Vinland (Amerika) ontdekten en waarover ze hun manschappen vervoerden om deze landen te plunderen en zich er te vestigen.
De Noordzee, waarover niet alleen plundergoed en handelswaar werd verscheept, maar ook gewoontes en tradities, geloof, brieven, wetenschap en ideeën, en helaas ook de pest. Het was dezelfde Noordzee die onherstelbare schade aanrichtte aan de kustgebieden en de uitingen van deze religies en tradities samen met onze herinnering eraan grotendeels uitwiste. Hij weet echter, aan de hand van talloze geschreven en archeologische bronnen, opnieuw een beeld te schetsen van dit verborgen verleden.
Een indrukwekkend aantal volken doen de intrede in zijn overzicht van het Noordzeegebied. Hier woonden de Friezen, handelaren (het woord ‘Fries’ betekende in die tijd letterlijk ‘overzeese handelaar’) die zowel de Noordelijke handelsroutes als het geld opnieuw uitvonden; de Scandinaviërs, fiere krijgers, die dankzij een eenvoudig zonnekompas op zoek konden naar nieuw land en kostbaarheden; en de Duitse Hanzelieden, bedreven handelaren die op jacht waren naar winst en gunstige deals.
Er wordt beschreven hoe deze volkeren de eerste grote stappen zetten richting ons hedendaagse monetaire, justitiële en educatieve systeem. Uitgerekend aan de rand van de wereld ontstond er zo een notie van waarde uitgedrukt in geld en ontstonden er steden die hun eigen wetten, mode en scholen voortbrachten.
Hij laat in dit overzichtswerk zien hoe deze zaken tot wasdom kwamen in wat vaak de ‘duistere middeleeuwen’ worden genoemd en juist in die gebieden die meestal als de tafelrand van de wereld werden beschouwd.
De kracht van het boek schuilt in de interculturele vergelijking van verschillende thema’s (handel, natuur, mode, wetten, liefde) over een periode van 1.000 jaar. Om een overzicht te kunnen geven van deze grote periode, er zijn een ontzaglijk aantal bronnen geraadpleegd. Een aantal dat, naar mijn weten, binnen eenzelfde onderwerp, ongeëvenaard is. Dankzij deze zee aan kennis weet hij dan ook niet eerder opgemerkte verbanden te leggen.
Ironisch genoeg schuilt in het grote aantal bronnen en de enorme hoeveelheid aan informatie die door Pye wordt gepresenteerd, nu ook juist de zwakte van het boek. Omdat hij zoveel mogelijk informatie in zijn boek heeft proberen te vangen, sluiten sommigen onderwerpen niet goed op elkaar aan. Hierdoor worden er hier en daar onnatuurlijke bruggetjes geslagen of wordt er gesprongen, wat onderwerpen betreft, van de hak op de tak.
Als hij bijvoorbeeld het belang van de geschriften van Beda wilt onderstrepen, gaat hij binnen anderhalve pagina, van astronomie over op het middeleeuwse scriptorium, om vervolgens de verwarrende datering van het paasfeest uit te leggen en de verschillende middeleeuwse kalenders. Hoewel een mediëvist deze begrippen gemakkelijk in context kan plaatsen,
Een leek niet. Dat maakt dat dit boek voor mij géén 5 sterren heeft verdiend.
Maar met plezier én nieuwsgierigheid zeker graag gelezen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2015
“The Edge Of The World” is an ambitious book. Its subtitle is “A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe,” and its core thesis is that the cultural impact of the peoples bordering the North Sea has been ignored. I think that thesis is false—such cultural impact can be seen everywhere, from the current TV series “Vikings” to New York Times articles on rotting fish cuisine of the North Sea. And the book is more a series of cultural anecdotes grouped by topic than a fully-synthesized cultural history. So the book fails in its stated goal. But it succeeds in being very, very interesting.
The book’s great virtue is that it treats its subjects with respect. Instead of buying into the common but false notion that medieval Europeans were brutish and stupid, Pye richly elaborates the lives of people of the time, which were in many ways not that different from ours. His basic framework is to cover a variety of topics, from early trade and warfare after the end of the Roman Empire, to fashion, to later scientific developments, to engineering projects to control nature, and finally to the rise of law, universities and cities. Pye also attempts to weave recurring themes through these topics, notably the emergence of money and its translation into its modern forms and uses, and the role and limitations of various forms of social control. He covers three basic peoples and times: the Frisians, from 600 A.D. to 900 A.D., the Vikings, from 800 A.D. to 1200 A.D., and the Hansa (i.e., the Hanseatic League), from 1250 A.D. to 1550 A.D. Only the Vikings have any real currency today, so Pye’s book does show the impact of forgotten times and peoples.
Judging from the notes, Pye has actually done a lot of research. This is not simply a popularization summary like so many cultural histories. He seems very familiar not only with famous sources like Bede, but many other sources, including academic periodicals and truly narrow areas (e.g., “The Frisian Monopoly Of Coastal Transport In the 6th-8th Centuries,” from a collection of conference papers, which I am pretty sure is not light reading).
Pye’s book is full of fascinating facts. For example, English priests were given lists of sins to ask only lawyers in the confessional, to jog their memory in case they “forgot” sins to which lawyers were prone. We could probably use a recurrence of this practice, or could if people still went to confession. Another example is that since letters were unreliable at best, merchants sent copies of their previous letter with each fresh one. Many of Pye’s facts relate to religion, since religion was the warp of all social fabric. He discusses the “Heliand,” a Saxon transliteration of the Gospels into a set of military metaphors, used to convert Vikings who could not comprehend and had utter contempt for pacifism. So John the Baptist is a “warrior-companion for Christ” and the disciples are “a powerful force of men from many peoples, a holy army.” All these facts give a real flavor for the life of the time.
Pye does an excellent job of describing the development of modern law from a stew of canon law, private law, public law, customary law, and Church law. One interesting aspect of this development was the ordeal system of trial. Pye does not discuss its rise and fall not in the simplistic way it is usually discussed, as a sign of the stupidity and barbarism both of people and Church. Rather, he shows how in close-knit, near-pagan communities without written, universal law or central government it made a type of sense, and how the Church, with its universal law based in Roman law, always strongly disapproved and finally stamped out the ordeal system.
Pye gets into a little bit of trouble, or potential reader dissatisfaction, when he tries to shoehorn his pet ideas and themes into the narrative. For example, he talks at length about the Black Death—then repeatedly tries to analogize its impact on government and social control to that of Islamic terrorism. “Plague, like the threat of terror nowadays, was the reason for supervising people’s lives, examining, controlling and disciplining.” This is really a bridge too far. But he keeps beating it, even ending the chapter with “Plague justified the rules that kept a person in her place.” Actually, as Pye himself discusses, the rules binding people to their place were a result of the economic impact of the deaths of farm laborers, which has not much to do with terrorism or social control in the abstract at all. But Pye wants to seem relevant to today, which here is a mistake, and he wants to expand on his theme of social control. He doesn’t need the Black Death to do that, though—people have never needed a specific incentive to want to control others. Even today, or perhaps even more today, control is the theme of those who push more government, as can be seen from the many forms of control that are pushed by those with power, ranging from forced celebration of sexual deviancy to the desire to control and regulate the entire world under the guise of stopping global warming. Not that Pye talks about these things—he sticks to his own topics.
In any book like this, where thousands of facts are accumulated, one is bound to encounter head scratchers. Pye states that Viking women fought “with such military skill that their own lovers did not recognize them in armour.” He provides no cite, and that’s extremely unlikely, since Viking women were not trained to fight (though they certainly fought when necessary, along with children, cripples and others not expected to fight in the normal course). It is true, and Pye implies this but does not draw the contrast, that as with most northern European women, they had vastly more rights than those women had in southern Europe, and infinitely more rights than women in the Muslim world—a commonplace complaint of Muslims during the Crusades was that the Franks let their women tell them what to do and allowed their women to not only come into the streets by themselves, but then to publicly berate their husbands for their failings. Similarly, Pye says in passing that the Vikings knew that the “Earth itself was a sphere and not a pancake on top of a ball as learned men were supposed to think.” Again, there is no cite for this, and it’s not clear which “learned men” he’s referring to. But all European learned men knew, since the time of the Greeks (which knowledge did not disappear) that the Earth was a sphere (as did Columbus). In any case, these are small faults in a book that covers so much ground, and is well worth reading to enhance appreciation for medieval Europe, as well as to give the reader factoids to impress his (doubtless irritated) friends.
The book’s great virtue is that it treats its subjects with respect. Instead of buying into the common but false notion that medieval Europeans were brutish and stupid, Pye richly elaborates the lives of people of the time, which were in many ways not that different from ours. His basic framework is to cover a variety of topics, from early trade and warfare after the end of the Roman Empire, to fashion, to later scientific developments, to engineering projects to control nature, and finally to the rise of law, universities and cities. Pye also attempts to weave recurring themes through these topics, notably the emergence of money and its translation into its modern forms and uses, and the role and limitations of various forms of social control. He covers three basic peoples and times: the Frisians, from 600 A.D. to 900 A.D., the Vikings, from 800 A.D. to 1200 A.D., and the Hansa (i.e., the Hanseatic League), from 1250 A.D. to 1550 A.D. Only the Vikings have any real currency today, so Pye’s book does show the impact of forgotten times and peoples.
Judging from the notes, Pye has actually done a lot of research. This is not simply a popularization summary like so many cultural histories. He seems very familiar not only with famous sources like Bede, but many other sources, including academic periodicals and truly narrow areas (e.g., “The Frisian Monopoly Of Coastal Transport In the 6th-8th Centuries,” from a collection of conference papers, which I am pretty sure is not light reading).
Pye’s book is full of fascinating facts. For example, English priests were given lists of sins to ask only lawyers in the confessional, to jog their memory in case they “forgot” sins to which lawyers were prone. We could probably use a recurrence of this practice, or could if people still went to confession. Another example is that since letters were unreliable at best, merchants sent copies of their previous letter with each fresh one. Many of Pye’s facts relate to religion, since religion was the warp of all social fabric. He discusses the “Heliand,” a Saxon transliteration of the Gospels into a set of military metaphors, used to convert Vikings who could not comprehend and had utter contempt for pacifism. So John the Baptist is a “warrior-companion for Christ” and the disciples are “a powerful force of men from many peoples, a holy army.” All these facts give a real flavor for the life of the time.
Pye does an excellent job of describing the development of modern law from a stew of canon law, private law, public law, customary law, and Church law. One interesting aspect of this development was the ordeal system of trial. Pye does not discuss its rise and fall not in the simplistic way it is usually discussed, as a sign of the stupidity and barbarism both of people and Church. Rather, he shows how in close-knit, near-pagan communities without written, universal law or central government it made a type of sense, and how the Church, with its universal law based in Roman law, always strongly disapproved and finally stamped out the ordeal system.
Pye gets into a little bit of trouble, or potential reader dissatisfaction, when he tries to shoehorn his pet ideas and themes into the narrative. For example, he talks at length about the Black Death—then repeatedly tries to analogize its impact on government and social control to that of Islamic terrorism. “Plague, like the threat of terror nowadays, was the reason for supervising people’s lives, examining, controlling and disciplining.” This is really a bridge too far. But he keeps beating it, even ending the chapter with “Plague justified the rules that kept a person in her place.” Actually, as Pye himself discusses, the rules binding people to their place were a result of the economic impact of the deaths of farm laborers, which has not much to do with terrorism or social control in the abstract at all. But Pye wants to seem relevant to today, which here is a mistake, and he wants to expand on his theme of social control. He doesn’t need the Black Death to do that, though—people have never needed a specific incentive to want to control others. Even today, or perhaps even more today, control is the theme of those who push more government, as can be seen from the many forms of control that are pushed by those with power, ranging from forced celebration of sexual deviancy to the desire to control and regulate the entire world under the guise of stopping global warming. Not that Pye talks about these things—he sticks to his own topics.
In any book like this, where thousands of facts are accumulated, one is bound to encounter head scratchers. Pye states that Viking women fought “with such military skill that their own lovers did not recognize them in armour.” He provides no cite, and that’s extremely unlikely, since Viking women were not trained to fight (though they certainly fought when necessary, along with children, cripples and others not expected to fight in the normal course). It is true, and Pye implies this but does not draw the contrast, that as with most northern European women, they had vastly more rights than those women had in southern Europe, and infinitely more rights than women in the Muslim world—a commonplace complaint of Muslims during the Crusades was that the Franks let their women tell them what to do and allowed their women to not only come into the streets by themselves, but then to publicly berate their husbands for their failings. Similarly, Pye says in passing that the Vikings knew that the “Earth itself was a sphere and not a pancake on top of a ball as learned men were supposed to think.” Again, there is no cite for this, and it’s not clear which “learned men” he’s referring to. But all European learned men knew, since the time of the Greeks (which knowledge did not disappear) that the Earth was a sphere (as did Columbus). In any case, these are small faults in a book that covers so much ground, and is well worth reading to enhance appreciation for medieval Europe, as well as to give the reader factoids to impress his (doubtless irritated) friends.
February 14, 2021
Not at all what I thought it would be. The title and description made me think it would be more about the North Sea and less about random things that happened in the countries around the sea. Also, it goes much later than I thought it would based on the description.
June 15, 2023
This wasn't a bad book. Very interesting to learn about how the North Sea has been a major factor in the creation of Europe and the World. The biggest issue for me was the scatterbrained writing style that made this book difficult to follow. I understand with thematic histories, things might be repeated, but at least that have some kind of structure to them. This book felt like I was listening to a friend ramble on about the area, and have a few, "Oh yeah, I forgot about this" spots that threw me off my vibe in reading this. Good content, bad writing style.
February 23, 2015
"If you think in terms of the time it takes to get to places, then Bergen in Norway is closer [to Ipswich] than York in England... the coast of Jutland is closer, and better connected than an English Midlands city like Worcester... It was easy for Scandinavians to be in York, Frisians in Ipswich, Saxons in London, and the fact was so unremarkable that it is hardly recorded."
It is curious that UKIP's current strength lies mainly along the east coast of England. That a party whose main promise is to turn its back on Europe is strongest on that coast which has historically been our most cosmopolitan, the embarking-point for goods, ideas and genes from across the North Sea and beyond. After reading this fantastic book, my suspicion is that the Brits' idea of Europe is unduly shaped by holidays in the sun. If you are looking for a relaxing time, then it's hard to beat Spain, France and Greece. If, however, you are looking for cultural similarity and a sense that Britain is part of some broader European tradition, you probably won't find it south of the wine line.
However, if you are British and have ever encountered Swedes, Danes, Dutch, Irish or even northern Germans (!) on holiday, and shared a pint, which turns into five, and shared some dirty jokes, all the while conversing extremely fluently in English, you might already have an inkling of what this book is about. That there is a second European strand of civilisation which is often marginalised in the Roman-centric narrative of our continent. One which centres on the North Sea; one which was shaped by Frisians, Vikings, the Hansa, the Dutch and the English; one which did not undergo a 'dark age' while waiting for the Italian renaissance, but which was busy shaping the world according to its own needs; one which discovered America centuries before Columbus; one which gave rise to free trade, pensions, insurance, stock exchanges and many other ideas we now arrogantly think of as "Anglo-Saxon".
I remember our history lessons at school as being extremely Anglocentric. The Armada came out of nowhere and returned, defeated, to nowhere, without any real understanding of the continent-wide religious fervour that drove it. William of Orange was a Dutch prince who liberated the English from Stuart tyranny. Why did we ask a Dutchman to be king? Who was King Cnut, apart from having a funny name and some funny ideas about the sea? Shrug.
One small way of righting this Anglocentrism is to read Pye's description of the life of Harald Hardrada. Famous in Britain as the Viking who cause King Harold a spot of bother before William the Conqueror landed, Pye illuminates his prior history as a rejected second son, commander of the Byzantine Varangian guard, military exploits across the Middle East, daring naval escape from Constantinople, return to claim a Norwegian throne before then setting out to England for his final expedition. If that doesn't make you more curious about the other Europeans who wandered occasionally onto our national stage, I don't know what will.
More seriously, the book does a great job of positioning Britain as part of an international culture with fluid national identities. The South has always shouted louder about the idea of Europe, which has in turn fed the Euroscepticism of northerners. If people from Grimsby and Margate thought of Antwerp, Hamburg or Bergen when they thought of "Europe", they might actually feel more kinship and solidarity towards it. Unfortunately, until Scandinavia has better weather and weaker currencies, we might be stuck with it.
It is curious that UKIP's current strength lies mainly along the east coast of England. That a party whose main promise is to turn its back on Europe is strongest on that coast which has historically been our most cosmopolitan, the embarking-point for goods, ideas and genes from across the North Sea and beyond. After reading this fantastic book, my suspicion is that the Brits' idea of Europe is unduly shaped by holidays in the sun. If you are looking for a relaxing time, then it's hard to beat Spain, France and Greece. If, however, you are looking for cultural similarity and a sense that Britain is part of some broader European tradition, you probably won't find it south of the wine line.
However, if you are British and have ever encountered Swedes, Danes, Dutch, Irish or even northern Germans (!) on holiday, and shared a pint, which turns into five, and shared some dirty jokes, all the while conversing extremely fluently in English, you might already have an inkling of what this book is about. That there is a second European strand of civilisation which is often marginalised in the Roman-centric narrative of our continent. One which centres on the North Sea; one which was shaped by Frisians, Vikings, the Hansa, the Dutch and the English; one which did not undergo a 'dark age' while waiting for the Italian renaissance, but which was busy shaping the world according to its own needs; one which discovered America centuries before Columbus; one which gave rise to free trade, pensions, insurance, stock exchanges and many other ideas we now arrogantly think of as "Anglo-Saxon".
I remember our history lessons at school as being extremely Anglocentric. The Armada came out of nowhere and returned, defeated, to nowhere, without any real understanding of the continent-wide religious fervour that drove it. William of Orange was a Dutch prince who liberated the English from Stuart tyranny. Why did we ask a Dutchman to be king? Who was King Cnut, apart from having a funny name and some funny ideas about the sea? Shrug.
One small way of righting this Anglocentrism is to read Pye's description of the life of Harald Hardrada. Famous in Britain as the Viking who cause King Harold a spot of bother before William the Conqueror landed, Pye illuminates his prior history as a rejected second son, commander of the Byzantine Varangian guard, military exploits across the Middle East, daring naval escape from Constantinople, return to claim a Norwegian throne before then setting out to England for his final expedition. If that doesn't make you more curious about the other Europeans who wandered occasionally onto our national stage, I don't know what will.
More seriously, the book does a great job of positioning Britain as part of an international culture with fluid national identities. The South has always shouted louder about the idea of Europe, which has in turn fed the Euroscepticism of northerners. If people from Grimsby and Margate thought of Antwerp, Hamburg or Bergen when they thought of "Europe", they might actually feel more kinship and solidarity towards it. Unfortunately, until Scandinavia has better weather and weaker currencies, we might be stuck with it.
March 30, 2019
A populist politician recently referred to 'the greatest civilisation the world has ever seen', proving just how much history matters.
Because history is brought down to us in such stories. Stories have continuing relevance for how we see ourselves and the world, and hence for how we think society should develop (or not).
Because of this impact it is essential that we do not limit ourselves to 'a single story', but explore those parts of history that the stories we grew up with, or that politicians bandy about, conveniently omit.
The Edge of the World presents those other stories to explain the history of North-Western Europe - Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, northern Germany (once the mere edge of the world, in Roman and Christian geography). Pye convincingly traces a range of developments (from trade to marital habits to religion) that together happened to bring about what we now call modern western civilisation - between 600AD and the sixteenth century. He does so with all the nuance that story needs, seeing the things it brought the inhabitants of these regions but without turning a blind eye to the cost.
We're all connected. We were in 600AD (and before, of course), we are now. We just like to imagine that once upon a time things were simpler. Go read some fairy tales if you like, but don't call them history.
At times the book got bogged down in details that did not clearly link to the chapter's arguments, making it harder to follow. Not an ideal read, but still full of worthwhile things. And the details are fun in themselves. For example, that in the eighth century or thereabouts a buddha statue was buried in rural Norway, or that late medieval Flanders features bathhouses where you could do a lot more than clean yourself.
Because history is brought down to us in such stories. Stories have continuing relevance for how we see ourselves and the world, and hence for how we think society should develop (or not).
Because of this impact it is essential that we do not limit ourselves to 'a single story', but explore those parts of history that the stories we grew up with, or that politicians bandy about, conveniently omit.
The Edge of the World presents those other stories to explain the history of North-Western Europe - Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, northern Germany (once the mere edge of the world, in Roman and Christian geography). Pye convincingly traces a range of developments (from trade to marital habits to religion) that together happened to bring about what we now call modern western civilisation - between 600AD and the sixteenth century. He does so with all the nuance that story needs, seeing the things it brought the inhabitants of these regions but without turning a blind eye to the cost.
We're all connected. We were in 600AD (and before, of course), we are now. We just like to imagine that once upon a time things were simpler. Go read some fairy tales if you like, but don't call them history.
At times the book got bogged down in details that did not clearly link to the chapter's arguments, making it harder to follow. Not an ideal read, but still full of worthwhile things. And the details are fun in themselves. For example, that in the eighth century or thereabouts a buddha statue was buried in rural Norway, or that late medieval Flanders features bathhouses where you could do a lot more than clean yourself.
March 1, 2021
Bloody boring
September 7, 2025
A fairly standard account of the medieval period, with a focus on the north-west of Europe and its history. The book followed a largely chronological narrative, while still focusing on particular developments in each of the chapters, e.g. travel and money.
However, I had expected more analysis on what made the north unique, perhaps through more comparison to southern Europe (given the author’s thesis is that there was a unique quality to the north which shaped the modern world). I also expected more focus on the North Sea itself, rather than just a general history of the wider region, but overall a decent book.
However, I had expected more analysis on what made the north unique, perhaps through more comparison to southern Europe (given the author’s thesis is that there was a unique quality to the north which shaped the modern world). I also expected more focus on the North Sea itself, rather than just a general history of the wider region, but overall a decent book.
May 25, 2022
Briljant boek. Vraagt enige kennis om er ten volle van te genieten, maar kan evengoed een uitnodiging zijn om je kennis te verbreden en te verdiepen. Veel nieuwe inzichten: originele perspectieven en verwaarloosde feiten. Vermoed dat het in vertaling bestaat; aan de Lage landen bij de Noordzee wordt veel aandacht besteed: Domburg, Dorestad, de Friezen, Brugge, Antwerpen en vele - ook minder bekende - personages. Een boek om in groep te lezen en te delen.
July 13, 2018
For reasons stated in other reviews this book is a very weak narrative with rambling arguments and unclear timelines. I finished it nevertheless, it did not improve. I read the Dutch version which contains bad translations and errors. Overall a disappointment.
January 31, 2022
Dat de middeleeuwen geen lege donkerte tussen het Romeinse Rijk en de renaissance waren, wisten we al langer. Maar nooit slaagde iemand erin het rijke middeleeuwse leven zo dichtbij te brengen als geschiedkundige Michael Pye.
In dit boek vertelt hij over de volkeren die rond de Noordzee wonen.
En hij is een uitmuntend verteller.
Niet een geschiedenis van oorlogen verdragen en data, maar van volkeren met hun gebruiken en gewoonten.
Zeker een aanrader.
In dit boek vertelt hij over de volkeren die rond de Noordzee wonen.
En hij is een uitmuntend verteller.
Niet een geschiedenis van oorlogen verdragen en data, maar van volkeren met hun gebruiken en gewoonten.
Zeker een aanrader.
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