Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (Penguin Classics)

Henry Adams' MONT SAINT MICHEL AND CHARTRES (MSMC) is simply a great book. Adams' lucid writing style and his insights are impressive, and this book should be read by every supposedly "educated" individual. Adams deals with complex topics such as Gothic Architecture, Medieval poetry and mysticsim, and Scholastic Philosophy with clarity and ease.The early sections of MSMC compare the church of Mont Saint Michel with the Catholic view of St. Michel who was militant and was the perfect example of the Medieval hero defending the Catholic Church against all enemies. The comparison with this church with that of Chartres which was the examplar of God's mercy via St. Mary is insighful and facinating reading.Such embellishment of St. Mary or Notre Dame(Our Lady)is further investigated in Adams book by Adams' careful treatment of Medieval Poetry. Adams's translations of Medieval French and Latin are good and give those who are not familiar with these languages a better understanding of both the poetry and the Medieval devotion to St. Mary.Much of this peotry was mystical, and Adams demonstrates the attempt of St. Francis and the Franciscans to use such mystical thought in their missionary efforts to help the very poor. St. Francis' mysticism is revealed in Adams' translation of St. Francis' poem titled BROTHER SUN AND SISTER MOON.Henry Adams then compares and contrasts Medieveal mysticism, which bordered on Pantheism, with Scholastic Philosophy. Adams gives the reader an insight to scholastic debate when he summarizes the debate between William of Champaux and Peter Abelard(1079-1142). Here Adams demonstrates his understanding of how students and masters argued and learned. He also shows the careful balence the Catholic authorities tried to impose between reasoned debate and heresy.The last section of the book deals with the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). Adams careful treatment of Aquinas' thought is worth the price of the book. Adams gives the Angelic Doctor high praise for both his clear thinking and liberality. Adams also effectively deals with the liberality of the Medieval Catholic authorities who canonized so many men whose views were apparently contradcitory.Henry Adams' MONT SAINT MICHEL AND CHARTRES is intellectual history at its best. The book deals with complex ideas and views in an attractive literary style which holds the readers' interest. This reviewer has read this book numerous times since he first read it in 1968 and has never found the book to be boring. Readers should also read Thomas Woods HOW THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BUILT WESTERN CIVILIZATION and compare Woods sections on the High Middle Ages with Adams' book.

To fully appreciate Adams's book the reader is required to know the general parameters of the author's life. While Adams's autobiography, "The Education of Henry Adams" , was written after this volume it is nevertheless necessary to read it first and to also acquaint oneself with the details ofAdams's marriage to Clover Hooper and her suicide which are not mentioned at all in the book. "Mont Saint Michel and Chartres" is personalized history. If you want a more objective history look elsewhere. Some people are put off by its subjectivity. But in my view that subjectivity is exactly what makes the book so great. It's about the tremulous, perilous striving of an age, of religion, of faith, and finally of one's personal life. It's about the stress between unity and multiplicity. The book is profound in its exploration of these themes. It's learned, it's funny, it's ironic, and, in the end, profoundly moving. Reading these two books will provide any reader wiling to put in the effort with some of the wisest and most trenchant observations in all literature all put forth in some of the most elegant prose ever written.

I read this book in college and after and then lost it, so after watching the tour de france this year [one of the stages ended there] and viewing mt st Michel from on high, I had to buy another one. it's an adventure deep into two magnificent and fascinating structures. i'm buying another for a gift.

As a history major in college with an emphasis on the Medieval period I was blessedly introduced to Henry Adams. It's been forty some years since I first read Mont Saint Michel and Chartres and this is still the best. It is a spiritual journey into the heart of the Middle Ages, both secular and sacred. Simply put: It's a classic.

Should have read it in college (almost 60 years ago), but suspect I have a better appreciation of it now. A thoughtful man's very personal and illuminating take on what Medieval France was all about. It's not just the architecture that soars.

Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres is not a "fun" read as advertised. (The Education of Henry Adams was.) I used my imagination as suggested in the intro but still, Chartres reads more like a very intense, detailed short course in architecture, history, philosophy, and religion. Good if that is what the reader is looking for.

This book is a classic, and I hate to write a bad review, but this edition features print that is so small it's virtually unreadable and you'll end up sending it back as I did. Buy a different edition. The return was a snap.

I would avoid the kindle version of the Penguin Classics edition of this book. It has a lot of typos, most annoyingly when it splices texts together in a jumble. Get a physical book instead.

Adam's shows his huge wealth of knowledge of Norman & Gothic religious architecture - set against French history of the early 2nd millennium.