Between the Fall of Rome and the Renaissance were the Middle Ages. Once seen as a thousand years of warfare, religious infighting, and cultural stagnation, they are now understood to be the vital connection between the past and the present. Along with the battles that helped shape the modern world are a rich heritage of architecture, arts, and literature, of empire and its dissolution. It was the … the era of the Crusades and the Norman Conquest, the Black Death and the fall of Constantinople. It is a landscape both familiar and foreign, dark and foreboding at times, but also filled with the promise and potential of the future.
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A collection of articles. Some are good, so not so good.
As someone who is intensely interested in history, this book is truly enlightening. Each chapter treats/discusses/informs (about) the issues and events of a particular period, and does so without being pedantic. I highly recommend it to anyone who desires enlightenment about this era. History does, indeed, repeat itself, and we would be well behooved to pay closer attention to it.
This is great reading if you like History of the Middle Ages. With new relavent facts the author turns old ideas on its head. Good for understanding that the Middle Ages were not as dark as many believe.
Reveals that this period was not merely dark but was in the course of great change relevant to our times.
Research material like The Middle Ages by Edwin S. Grosvenor are difficult to review. Works like this incorporate several writings by several writers on a wide range of subjects. While some tend to gloss over the subject matter, they each tend to explore a particular situation or incident within the scope of the piece in greater detail.
This book begins with the barbarians, who weren’t really savages but ethnic groups outside the definition of a Roman citizen. From the Avars to the Magyars, they each bring more than war, offering new skills and knowledge to a dying empire.
The book transitions into the age of Charlemagne and the birth of the feudal system. The book touches upon all areas of Europe including the East and Slavs.
There are chapters on Spain and the influence of Islam, as well as the troubles that haunted the Outremer.
I probably enjoyed the section on troubadours and jongleurs the most.
As many medieval books often do, the final book concludes with the Black Plague, a subject I have read far too much about.
This is a good read. There is nothing overwhelming. It’s a casual, easy to absorb book about the Middle Ages.
Good general history of the Middle Ages. Interesting and enlightening!
Very informative on day to day life in the Middle Ages, as well as innovations and social dynamics. Worth reading!!
The essays here vary in quality… and accuracy. The first essay by Richard Winston (whose little book on Charlemagne was fairly good) is curious in its description of the Vandals as having an “undeservedly bad rap.” While he says they did not cause much trouble for Rome, the facts are otherwise and well-known. Genseric the Vandal was brutal and ended up sacking and plundering Rome before the Vandals lost a war to Justinian subsequently. So that did not start things off on the right track for me. Some of the other essays that I read appear to be more solid, and some of the authors are well known historians. All had ties to America Heritage magazine which is the reason they appear in this addition. At a sales price it’s okay– but be watch out for erata. I would not pay a full price for this book
A great non-scholarly (as in not boring or steeped in statistics) summary of the Middle Ages – I got out of it just what I wanted: history without a snoozefest!
Great historical read
Very interesting approach to this vast subject.By using individual scholar articles according to a determined period,the book conveys a global view of the Middle Ages.
Just ok. Was expecting something a little different. Not an easy read because of all the details that I didn’t find interesting.
Only for those interested in the Middle Ages. Very dry for the most part, but it did give a new perspective on the Saracen Rule in Spain.
Too much like a textbook
A fresh look at this period of time. Learned many small details. Very readable.
I picked it up because it covered a time in history with which I wasn’t particularly familiar. While informative on one level, it none-the-less just skimmed the surface of the Middle Ages. perhaps a good primer to get started but by no means is it a definitive read.
Also, since the book is a collection of articles the writing is very uneven.
Although not a very long book, there is quite a bit of information packed in its pages. There is a lot of history that I was not aware of. Using the highlight feature of my kindle allowed me to learn more about the people and events that were described.
Very informative and historical
It is actually a collection of essays organized chronologically, so it gives some continuity. It is a great book for anyone trying to get a general sense of major themes during the middle ages.