Read Online The History of Medieval Europe eBook Lynn Thorndike

Product details File Size 2636 KB Print Length 640 pages Simultaneous Device Usage Unlimited Publisher Landgrave Books (March 3, 2019) Publication Date March 3, 2019 Language English ASIN B07PBWHT2K

The History of Medieval Europe eBook Lynn Thorndike Reviews

• I am a history buff, and I bought this book after reading others' reviews. I was not disappointed.
  
  This book is quite long, but the author provides a very detailed overview of the entire Middle Ages in Europe, from the fall of the Roman Empire until the early sixteenth century. The author does use language that was common in his day, as when he refers to Muslims and Islam as "Mohammedans" and "Mohammedism," but if you overlook these occasional terms, the book is well worth reading. This book helped me to gain a more coherent understanding of the Middle Ages; for example, I have a better handle on who the different kings and popes were. The one drawback of this book is that the subject is so broad, covering over 1000 years of history, that some topics do not get as much space as they might merit, but in a book of this scope, that probably cannot be helped. If you want to get a well-written and insightful overview of the Middle Ages, this book is well worth the time and effort to read!
• I am giving four stars only on the basis if the effort that must have taken to put this much information together. The book is too long at 738 pages and covers much more time than my conception of the middle age era. It starts with the Ancient Greek time, about 500 B.C., prior to the Roman Empire era and covers the history of monarchs and regions and wars until the beginning of the sixteenth century. It was hard, tiresome and boring reading. Geographic regions are frequently included but many of their actual locations are not familiar to me. A few maps would have been helpful. In my opinion, the book would only be useful for a college student or professor of history, not the casual reader like myself.
• Detailed without losing sight of how the different parts fit into the whole tapestry of that period. Fascinating incidents and stories about people great and small keep the reader interested, while giving him/her a vivid sense of how society worked in a very different era from this. Insightful all the way through, the writing crystal-clear. An excellent resource for both specialist and a person simply interested in the middle ages.
• A superb handling of a great swathe of human history, showcasing not only the vanity and futility of the great actors of their times, but the insidious all encompassing lust for power of the so called religious arm of governance that rolled over the commoners and serfs from west to east. The good and great of their times, were never much good, and great only in terms of their venal lust for power and control
• I read this book from cover to cover as part of a course I did on Medieval Church History - this book is about history in general, but I guess that it deals with a time period where the church was so ubiquitous that there is little need to deal 'separately' with church matters. Indeed, Davis gives entire chapters on things like the rise of the Papacy and the First Two Crusades. His book deals with a massive expanse of history and geography. He delves into matters concerning Russia, the Mongols, the Sassanids etc. etc. when needed, but his focus is overwhelmingly continental Europe - as the title leads us to expect.
  
  The book is actually organised thematically, which is quite amazing. Of course the chapters come in a kind of chronological sequence, but what Davis seeks to do, daringly, is to highlight the major issues of this period of time (such as Feudalism, or the Investiture Controversy, for instance), and tell history that way. Only a master of the field would attempt such as thing, and Davis pulls it off remarkably. Nonetheless, the result is kind of... potted. It's just too easy to lose a sense of flow as he shifts gears to move from one theme to another. You come out of the book appreciating medieval history, and understanding certain things (such as Justinian's conquests and the Fall of Rome, for example) really well. What's lacking sometimes is a sense of how these things fit together and what the overall sequence of events actually was.
  
  Don't get me wrong - this is a brilliant book. The timelines at the beginning of each chapter and the appendices at the end are excellent frames for what is a lucid and incredibly informative text. For all I know, this is the best book there is dealing with this expanse of history, and I feel so enriched to really understand the 'whys and wherefores' of so many crucial turning-points in history such as the rise of monasteries and the sickening Fourth Crusade. I do definitely recommend this book, but it gets 4 stars from me because I found it just a bit too potted.
  
  (The most bizarre thing of all is that the introduction to the second half of the book is all about architecture - but at no other point does Davis say anything about architecture other than in that 'introductory' section. Weird! I guess things like this give 'character' to a book.)
  
  [Footnote Just so people know, Davis was a brilliant medieval scholar who wrote this book about 60 years ago for an introductory course he taught on medieval history - it was a compulsory background unit for students of modern history! Now, another scholar named Moore has revised the text a little, updated the 'Further Reading' sections and added Appendicies dealing with major debates and research that have occurred since the book was published. As I've said, these updates and new sections are good. What's most astonishing, however, is the way that Davis seems to have 'anticipated' a great deal of the scholarly work that would be done later - his analysis of Feudalism is a great example of this.]
• A very old book but a great overview of this time period. It sticks to the facts and does a good job of tying all of the Western European countries together in a cohesive way. Despite its age, it does not appear outdated in any way. I actually find older books are superior when the subject does not need additional refinement and I think that is the case here. Contemporary writers can muddy standard subjects by trying to present them in a novel way, presumably feeling the need to differentiate their work. If you’re looking for a broad overview of Medieval Europe but with significant depth, I think you’ll find it here.
• The best is the comprehension of all the way from the barbarian invasions and the fall of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Modern Age
• As with any long histories it is sometimes hard to keep the track of all the various kings and kingdoms that evolved over many centuries. It was very educational to me and a worthwhile read.