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Spain in the Middle Ages: From Frontier to Empire, 1000-1500
* from USA. Will take 25-35 days
245 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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59 people want to read
About the author
Angus MacKay
46 books1 followerAngus MacKay was Professor of Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh. His publications include Spain in the Middle Ages: From Frontier to Empire, 1000-1500 (1977).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 17, 2013
Medieval Spain is kinda weird in relation to the rest of Europe: it's perfectly possible to study medieval history for years, and almost entirely ignore the Iberian peninsula. It's peripheral, off doing pretty much it's own thing for centuries, and different in its culture and structures. It makes it very fun to read about for someone like me: it's like tossing medieval history and an American Western in a blender.
MacKay's book is really solid if you're looking for a broad overview of Spain during the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period. General histories tend to get bogged down in names, dates, and endless political machinations that mean very little when you're first approaching a country and its history, and MacKay avoids that nicely: his book deals with the political, of course, but it's also intertwined with cultural, economic, and social strands. This means that everything remains fairly superficial, but that's not the worst sin in a book like this. It's the perfect sort of book to give you a nice foundation and point you in the direction you'd like to go next.
Spain in the Middle Ages is fixated on the concepts of continuity and frontiers. It looks at how Spain's (really, Castile's and Aragon's) relationship to the frontier evolved from the early, 11th-century days of romantic border heroes like El Cid to consolidation under Ferdinand III and James I and eventually to absolute monarchy in Castile under John II and a distinctive form of constitutional monarchy in Aragon. Religious interaction ranged from peaceful cultural exchange to violent outbursts of intolerance, though MacKay tends to favor an emphasis on the former. He then turns to look at the 14th and 15th centuries when Castile and Aragon, despite long stretches of civil war and perpetual internal unrest, managed to take their frontier mentality to the big screen, and eventually emerge as an imperial power.
There are points when the narrative gets bogged down in details, particularly in the socio-economic sections which assume a fairly intricate knowledge of medieval fiscal terminology. It is not the most inspiring prose or vivid storytelling, but it's also not an unpleasant read: MacKay's emphasis on frontier mentalities does give his work a nice sense of cohesion. On the whole, a solid introduction to medieval Spain.
MacKay's book is really solid if you're looking for a broad overview of Spain during the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period. General histories tend to get bogged down in names, dates, and endless political machinations that mean very little when you're first approaching a country and its history, and MacKay avoids that nicely: his book deals with the political, of course, but it's also intertwined with cultural, economic, and social strands. This means that everything remains fairly superficial, but that's not the worst sin in a book like this. It's the perfect sort of book to give you a nice foundation and point you in the direction you'd like to go next.
Spain in the Middle Ages is fixated on the concepts of continuity and frontiers. It looks at how Spain's (really, Castile's and Aragon's) relationship to the frontier evolved from the early, 11th-century days of romantic border heroes like El Cid to consolidation under Ferdinand III and James I and eventually to absolute monarchy in Castile under John II and a distinctive form of constitutional monarchy in Aragon. Religious interaction ranged from peaceful cultural exchange to violent outbursts of intolerance, though MacKay tends to favor an emphasis on the former. He then turns to look at the 14th and 15th centuries when Castile and Aragon, despite long stretches of civil war and perpetual internal unrest, managed to take their frontier mentality to the big screen, and eventually emerge as an imperial power.
There are points when the narrative gets bogged down in details, particularly in the socio-economic sections which assume a fairly intricate knowledge of medieval fiscal terminology. It is not the most inspiring prose or vivid storytelling, but it's also not an unpleasant read: MacKay's emphasis on frontier mentalities does give his work a nice sense of cohesion. On the whole, a solid introduction to medieval Spain.
January 10, 2022
Como manual breve es una maravilla: un repaso absoluto de los 500 años de la historia de la península ibérica. Se centra prioritariamente en Castilla y León, aunque también aporta datos fundamentales sobre la Corona de Aragón. La elección tiene su cabida en el papel puntero que tomaron los castellanos en la configuración del estado moderno.
Claramente es una obra que tiene sus limitaciones, sin embargo solo responden a su falta de extensión (apenas 250 páginas para 500 años). Aún así se mueve en todos los aspectos posibles priorizando lo esencial: político, económico, social y cultural. Tiene la calidad de relacionarlos holisticamente, dando la sensación de una historia viva y no compartimentada.
En ocasiones puede parecer tediosa debido a su detenimiento en conceptos técnicos y a su preocupación por explicar la teoría económica o la política del momento (véase el semifeudalismo de la Corona de Castilla y León). No obstante, también es cierto que dicha cuestión era el objetivo del libro desde un principio. Por lo tanto no se puede penalizar por ello, ya que solo ejerce su función como manual básico que pretende tocar todos los puntos y no solo los más atractivos.
Claramente es una obra que tiene sus limitaciones, sin embargo solo responden a su falta de extensión (apenas 250 páginas para 500 años). Aún así se mueve en todos los aspectos posibles priorizando lo esencial: político, económico, social y cultural. Tiene la calidad de relacionarlos holisticamente, dando la sensación de una historia viva y no compartimentada.
En ocasiones puede parecer tediosa debido a su detenimiento en conceptos técnicos y a su preocupación por explicar la teoría económica o la política del momento (véase el semifeudalismo de la Corona de Castilla y León). No obstante, también es cierto que dicha cuestión era el objetivo del libro desde un principio. Por lo tanto no se puede penalizar por ello, ya que solo ejerce su función como manual básico que pretende tocar todos los puntos y no solo los más atractivos.
July 3, 2009
A good book for the student of history--not a "story," but more like a textbook. Excellent discussion of the stages of the Christian conquest of Muslim al-Andalus ("Spain") and its complex ecomonic, political and social aspects. Very helpful for its discussion of the rise of absolutist monarchy in Castille and for its explanation of the historical context for Columbus.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews