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The Middle Ages: Facts and Fictions
This book is the first to present fictions about the medieval world to serious students of history. Instead of merely listing myths and stating they are wrong, this volume promotes critical historical analysis of those myths and how they came to be. Each of the ten chapters outlines a pervasive modern myth about medieval European history, describing "What People Think Happened" and "What Really Happened," and illustrating both trends with primary source documents. The book demonstrates that historical fictions also have a history, and that while we need to replace those fictions with facts about the medieval past, we can also benefit from understanding how a fiction about the Middle Ages developed and what that says about our modern perspectives on the past. Through this innovative presentation, readers are introduced to a wide range of sources, from Roman imperial perspectives on the "Fall of Rome" to songs of chivalry and chronicles of the Crusades, scientific treatises on the shape of the Earth and the creation of the universe and early modern stories and textbooks that developed or perpetuated historical myths.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2019
Those of us who study the Middle Ages wish this book was not necessary, but unfortunately it is. Just a few weeks ago, astrophysicist and science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson posted to his 13.4 million Twitter followers about the Chinese observations of the supernova that formed the Crab Nebula in 1054 AD. But he decided to add a sneering aside that no Europeans observed this remarkable event because they were "steeped in the Dark Ages". Of course, if deGrasse Tyson had bothered to actually study the history he comments on, he would know that just 48 years earlier, another supernova - SN1006 -
was
observed by medieval European scholars at the monastery of St Gallen and at least two other places in western Europe. So any lack or record of an observation of SN1054 is not because medieval Europeans were mired in some ignorant "Dark Age" but because records often don't survive from 1000 years ago. Unfortunately deGrasse Tyson is a repeat offender in perpetuating myths about the Middle Ages - a few years ago he was repeating the myth that the idea the earth was round was "lost in the Dark Ages". In both cases he ignored people who corrected him.
Winston Black gives plenty of similar examples of non-specialists peddling similar nonsense, often in best-selling works and even in school and university textbooks. So, contra deGrasse Tyson, he has a chapter on the "medieval flat earth myth" as well as one on the myth that the medieval Church "suppressed science". Other myths he tackles are ones perpetuated by movies, popular culture and, unfortunately, poorly researched but widely-read books: that medieval people were flithy and rarely washed or bathed, that they ate rotting meat covered with spices, that their medicine was total irrational nonsense and superstition and several more.
In each chapter Winston details the myth in question and gives examples of its recent propagation by writers and film and TV, gives extracts from works that repeat the myth, explains how the myth arose and then details why and how it is wrong, with more readings and examples from primary sources showing the real state of affairs.
This is an excellent book, and should be easily absorbed by its most obvious audiences - older high school students and university undergraduates. Unfortunately some of the people who most need to read it, like Neil deGrasse Tyson and his ilk, almost certainly never will.
Winston Black gives plenty of similar examples of non-specialists peddling similar nonsense, often in best-selling works and even in school and university textbooks. So, contra deGrasse Tyson, he has a chapter on the "medieval flat earth myth" as well as one on the myth that the medieval Church "suppressed science". Other myths he tackles are ones perpetuated by movies, popular culture and, unfortunately, poorly researched but widely-read books: that medieval people were flithy and rarely washed or bathed, that they ate rotting meat covered with spices, that their medicine was total irrational nonsense and superstition and several more.
In each chapter Winston details the myth in question and gives examples of its recent propagation by writers and film and TV, gives extracts from works that repeat the myth, explains how the myth arose and then details why and how it is wrong, with more readings and examples from primary sources showing the real state of affairs.
This is an excellent book, and should be easily absorbed by its most obvious audiences - older high school students and university undergraduates. Unfortunately some of the people who most need to read it, like Neil deGrasse Tyson and his ilk, almost certainly never will.
June 22, 2023
Black has written a concise exploration of 11 misconceptions about the Middle Ages. Each chapter is dedicated to a myth, and follows a clear structure of outlining the erroneous claim, how it came about and then providing a correction.
Each chapter contains original sources, relating to how the myth came about and why it is factually wrong. These are generally readable and good translations. Through reading these, and Black’s commentary, the reader is able to appreciate the social and historical context in which the myths developed and the ideologies that produced them.
Of note, is how writers during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries wished to distance themselves from the period through stereotyping and caricaturing it. In addition, these writers also felt an affinity to the Roman Empire and saw the Middle Ages as a sociocultural decline. However, It was also interesting reading how early Christians viewed the “Barbarians” as a threat to their Roman culture.
Black is a scholar and professor of medieval history, and for the most part the narrative is clear and objective. However, at times his frustration at some of the ludicrous claims becomes evident. I think this reasonable, given how embedded these myths are in popular understanding of the medieval period. Further, Black explains why they are harmful and require correction.
It should be noted that the eleven myths discussed have been abandoned within academia, yet they persist among non-specialist writers, children’s education and in film and TV. They are attractive, simplistic and are congruent with popular perceptions. Further, it could be argued that the tendency to define ourselves by making salient specific differences, is what drives the idea of the middle ages as a time of backwardness, superstition and violence.
Overall, this is a very good book in terms of its writing and objective. It delineates fact from fiction, and provides a plethora of sources. It’s written with a North American undergraduate audience in mind and is sufficiently detailed. However, those who hold such myths as fact may not have any interest in reading it and the myths outlined will probably continue to percolate.
Each chapter contains original sources, relating to how the myth came about and why it is factually wrong. These are generally readable and good translations. Through reading these, and Black’s commentary, the reader is able to appreciate the social and historical context in which the myths developed and the ideologies that produced them.
Of note, is how writers during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries wished to distance themselves from the period through stereotyping and caricaturing it. In addition, these writers also felt an affinity to the Roman Empire and saw the Middle Ages as a sociocultural decline. However, It was also interesting reading how early Christians viewed the “Barbarians” as a threat to their Roman culture.
Black is a scholar and professor of medieval history, and for the most part the narrative is clear and objective. However, at times his frustration at some of the ludicrous claims becomes evident. I think this reasonable, given how embedded these myths are in popular understanding of the medieval period. Further, Black explains why they are harmful and require correction.
It should be noted that the eleven myths discussed have been abandoned within academia, yet they persist among non-specialist writers, children’s education and in film and TV. They are attractive, simplistic and are congruent with popular perceptions. Further, it could be argued that the tendency to define ourselves by making salient specific differences, is what drives the idea of the middle ages as a time of backwardness, superstition and violence.
Overall, this is a very good book in terms of its writing and objective. It delineates fact from fiction, and provides a plethora of sources. It’s written with a North American undergraduate audience in mind and is sufficiently detailed. However, those who hold such myths as fact may not have any interest in reading it and the myths outlined will probably continue to percolate.
April 11, 2021
Slim, quite readable book exploding many of the myths that have grown up around the medieval period. It makes up for its slightness by including a great deal of material from original sources. I'd recommend it to young people or anyone else interested in that part of history.
Apparently part of a 'Facts and Fictions' series dedicated to different eras, which ought to be interesting to explore.
Apparently part of a 'Facts and Fictions' series dedicated to different eras, which ought to be interesting to explore.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews