Medieval Christianity

A People's History of Christianity #4

by Daniel Ethan Bornstein (Editor)

The fourth volume in A People's History of Christianity series accents the astounding range of cultural and religious experience within medieval Christianity and the ways in which religious life structured all aspects of the daily lives of ordinary Christians. With ranking scholars from the U.S. and the Continent, this volume explores rituals of birth and death, daily parish life, lay-clerical relations, and relations with Jews and Muslims through a thousand years and many lands. Includes 50 illustrations, maps, and an 8-page color gallery

Genres: History, Religion, Medieval

420 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2007

Reviews

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume, the 5th in A People’s History of Christianity, contains essays which provide a look at life in Medieval Europe from many angles. This is a valuable anthology of history not just for scholars of religion, but for all history buffs.

[Margie Dorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book almost as well as the first book in the series. It got me thinking about Medieval Christianity in a new way, especially as it affected the general populace. Missing is any discussion of specifically mystical prayer and practice and how this may have affected ordinary people. My favorite chapter was the one on Medieval "Revivalism"--I'd thought that was a relatively new phenomenon, but can see how it may be rooted a lot deeper, even though the related practices and effects changed through the centuries. However, I might add that the last chapter on Purgatory and Indulgences, and moreover the whole collection of essays on this period do little to change my mind about the overall negative effects of Medieval theologies.