激辩中世纪：改变中世纪史叙述的九大问题

by John Aberth, 约翰·艾伯斯, 杨楠 (Translator)

九大极具争议性的问题，九次历史观念的重新解读，这本“吵得不可开交”的书将为你打开了解中世纪世界的新大门。

罗马帝国的衰亡，是外力的催化还是内因的瓦解？

维京人入侵，是野蛮的掠夺还是文明间的碰撞？

十字军东征，是上帝的旨意还是权力的游戏？

麻风病患者等少数群体和女性是如何生存于世的？

黑死病为欧洲带来了哪些致命影响？

中世纪的终点在何处？

……

这些问题的答案也许并不像你想象的那么简单。通过展示不同的历史解释，本书试图打破单一的标准叙事，探索那些被忽视的中世纪史角落。这些解释可能会引发争论，甚至彻底改变你对中世纪史的看法。

现在，请准备好颠覆你的认知，开启一段充满思考的历史之旅吧！

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

John Aberth serves as associate academic dean at Castleton State College, where he teaches history.

Reviews

[DJ Cashen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main text is an accessible and a hugely enjoyable read for someone who is very new to most of this. It makes me want to spend a few years exploring the footnotes, which are extremely thorough.

Aberth brings rigour and clarity to the debates; and he shares with us not a small amount of annoyance on some topics.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contesting the Middle Ages by John Aberth is a rich, provocative, and intellectually rigorous journey through the shifting debates that continue to redefine how we understand medieval history. Rather than presenting the Middle Ages as a fixed period, Aberth opens the door to constant reevaluation challenging readers to engage with the complexities behind the narratives of decline, faith, power, and survival.

By addressing topics such as the fall of Rome, the Crusades, the persecution of minorities, and the role of women and sexuality in medieval society, Aberth reframes the discussion of the era as one of ongoing dialogue rather than settled history. His ability to connect these medieval debates to modern cultural and ideological questions makes the book both relevant and thought-provoking.

Contesting the Middle Ages isn’t just a study of history, it’s an invitation to reimagine it. For students, educators, and enthusiasts of historiography, Aberth’s work serves as both a guide and a challenge, reminding readers that history remains a living discourse, continually shaped by our interpretations.

[Carlos Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

還蠻有意思的一本書。主要是介紹學界對中世紀的九個爭議命題的看法，資料都蠻新的，很有參考性。
第一個命題講羅馬是「衰亡」還是「轉型」，這其實我有點厭煩了。反正不管如何，五世紀以後，西歐基本上就不存在帝國，又或者是說，已經喪失了半部領土，剩下的部分，為了生存，也持續的變化。你說衰亡，轉型，基本上都是符合事實的解釋。真的沒必要在這上面多費唇舌了。
最後一個主題談黑死病究竟是不是鼠疫，作者說經過科學的驗證(古微生物學驗DNA)後，加上留下來的史料述說的症狀，基本上已經百分百肯定了。但還是有些人抵死不從，只能說是生物多樣性。

總之，對中世紀史有進一步興趣的朋友可以看看，不過本書大多數主題比較偏社會文化就是。