The Middle Ages

_The Middle Ages_ by Morris Bishop is an enjoyable and witty overview of the history, culture, and society of Medieval Europe. The first chapter, "The Long Dark," looks at the beginning of the medieval period, the author arguing that the Middle Ages should be seen as both a continuation of the language, institutions, and artistry of not only old Rome but also of cultures independent of it, such as that of the Franks and Saxons and a formation, the beginning of our modern world, the end of pagan classical civilization. Charlemagne is a major figure in this chapter; his coronation as the first Roman emperor in the West in more than 300 years (in the year 800) marked a major shift in power, from the East to the West, the development of a culture that was not a satellite of Byzantium but rather firmly European, and the very birth of European civilization. Chapter two focused on the history of the High Middle Ages, focusing in large part on the year 1000 as a major turning point, that despite Viking threats "one could point to certain gains, to certain justifications for hope," as the West was in generally a better shape and the broad outline of the major modern states had begun to take form. Technology continued to advance, with the advent of the spinning wheel, mechanical weight-driven clock, compass, and fixed rudder. Notable in the chapter is King Henry II (who laid the foundations of English common law and the institution of limited monarchy). The next chapter focused on knights and the crusades. Bishop noted that the crusades were "the first wars fought for an ideal" and that they were promoted with all the tools of the propagandist, among them atrocity stories, lies, and inflammatory speeches. Also interesting was his coverage of Saladin (the "pet enemy" of the West), the description of crusade battles (Richard the Lion-Hearted took Acre in 1191 with the help of a catapult known as Bad Neighbor), and why the crusades ultimately failed (they did not correspond to any temporal aim, as Europe had no need for Jerusalem or Syria, and Europe would have benefited more from a stronger Byzantine Empire though the crusades achieved in fact quite the opposite). Chapter four focused on the life of the noble, on what in fact feudalism really was, the bloody nature of the family feuds of the nobles, the "bundle of paradoxes" that was the noble (he could be both gallant and bloodthirsty, charitable and immoral), and many of the elements of their daily lives. We learn for instance that window glass was rare for centuries and for long time was treated with great care, as Bishop tells of some nobles who removed and wrapped window glass before long journeys. Throughout much of the Middle Ages pockets were unknown, blonde hair was much prized in Italy (ladies spent a great deal of time bleaching it), hard soap was a luxury item and did not appear until the 12th century, and dinner guests were provided with spoons but had to bring their own knives (forks were a rarity). Chapter five looked at Christianity, arguing that the church, in many senses, was more than merely the patron of medieval culture, that it was medieval culture. He argued that the pope's involvement in political affairs blunted church authority, laying the papacy open to "mockery and shame" by overuse of crusades and excommunication for temporal gains. The coverage of the cult of relics was fascinating (so morbid was this that Saint Romuald of Ravenna, visiting France, heard people propose he was more valuable dead than alive and barely escaped). The life of the monastery was well covered, as well as St. Francis and the Franciscans, Dominic of Caleruega and the Dominicans, the Waldenses (early evangelical, almost Protestant, Christians), and the Cathari (dualistic heretics). Chapter six looked at towns and trade. Interesting tidbits include the fact that the last name Walker comes from the cloth trade (walkers stamped on cloth to shrink and compact it), that bankers first appeared in medieval trade fairs (money changers or "bankers" got the name from the banks or benches that they laid out their coins), artisans kept virtually no stock in stores (they worked only on orders), and our hook-and-ladder companies comes from the hooks supplied in medieval cities to pull burning thatch from roofs to the street. Chapter seven looked at the life of labor. Bishop looked at how the manorial system functioned, the daily life of the peasant, leprosy, and the state of medieval medicine. The eighth chapter focused on the life of thought, the author examining how schools worked and what it was like to have been a student, the origins of medieval science and secular scholarship (as scholars realized that the physical world was "no mere ugly training camp for the soul" but worthy of study in its own right), and famous medieval writers like Dante and Boccaccio. Chapter nine dealt with medieval art, architecture, and music. Fascinating coverage of the evolution of building styles, the construction of cathedrals, the use of stained glass (which told the stories of the Christian faith through "colored sunshine", though Bishop felt the term stained glass was incorrect, as it was not stained with color but rather infused with it), the work and role of artisans in society, and the origins of musical notation (developed during the eleventh century into our recognizably modern form, which was also when our notes were named - ut, re, mi, fa, so, la - from the opening syllables of the successive lines of a familiar hymn). The final chapter dealt with the end of the Middle Ages. Major topics include papal conflicts such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism, the challenges posed by John Wycliffe and John Hus, the "greatest calamity" to befall the Western world (the Black Death), the Hundred Years War (a "futile war,...it achieved little except destruction, misery, and death"), and Joan of Arc.

It filled in a missing part of my view of post Roman history to Renaissance. It also revealed that human nature does not change only morphs through time.

This is a book that started out strong, but I found myself having to push a bit to get to the end. The author started out well, giving context to the feudal way of life and explaining the important role the Crusades played in them. I particularly appreciated that he covered life in not just England, but France and Germany, as well.Once he'd supplied the historical context, he covered the lifestyles of various segments of feudal society in a manner that I found most enjoyable. I certainly didn't know that the word mortuary, for instance, comes from the vassal's obligation to the church following the death of the head of the family, or that in the days when most people weren't literate, witnesses to the signing of a legal document were frequently beaten to help them better remember the event they'd just seen. Most of all, I believe I appreciated that the author presented his material without a great deal of editorial comment, leaving me to determine how I felt about the period for myself.Unfortunately, the last couple chapters, which focused on the culture of the period, struck me as rather hurried and not up to the rest of the book. Where up to that point Bishop had provided many interesting details, at the end he seemed to rush from topic to topic, giving a paragraph or two to each subject that he felt needed to be covered. I'm not sure if he was on a deadline to finish up or had grown tired of the subject, but I found it a disappointing end to what had otherwise been a truly enjoyable book.

This book takes on the task quite successfully of explaining the lengthy space of time in the journey of human history in Europe known as the Middle Ages, that led to The Reformation. As a non-historian, but a poet and writer who is drawn to the narrative of these turns involved in this fascinating journey, I learned, was intrigued, entertained,and captivated with the ways in which our species continues to be motivated in all eras by the same drives of survival first, and all too often greed, power, and wealth. The details are plentiful and illustrate ways and evolution of various periods of life and war and disease, When one is want to lament the world of today, it is uplifting to read of the good old days of The Middle Ages. MORRIS Bishop has a energetic style that moves the reader into the scenes and among the known and unknown names and beings that that did their impressive bit--be it positive or negative for the cause of the journey. I enjoyed his portrayals of many of the big and dynamic events of history that came about by chance.

In the absence of a central authority life must still go on. The Romans shone their light on everyone and everything in their time their subjects , friends and their enemies. But when they were gone there were still mouths to feed , wars to fight life must go on after all. Leaders came forward or were pushed from behind to take charge. Some were good , some were bad and a few were brilliant. Most of them will remain obscure, We know they were successful because we exist in the here and now. There are so many questions we will probably never have answers to. This book gives a good overview of how civilization struggled on without the Romans to spur us on. It shines a little light on the Dark ages.

The book is enjoyable yet full of mistakes, cannot treat it as a serious historical work, rather a kind of impression from beyond the pond. I shall quote few goods about my country as they were immediately noticeable for me. It says the Teutonic Order settled on the Baltic shore to fight heathen Slavs. In 1225 when they settled Slavs were Christians for longer than USA exist (Poland since 966, other Slavic countries 100-200 earlier). It says due to the Black Death there were terrible pogroms of Jews in Poland. Poland was the only country completely spared from the plague, among others because cats did not have negative connotations and were in abundance preventing rats. Jews on the other side were welcomed in Poland that had special laws protecting them and thousands settled fleeing persecution in Western Europe (this is why we had so many Jews till WWII). It says Polish cavalry in the WWII charged German tanks with lances. Indeed on Goebbels propaganda films, to the same extent as Braveheart was born in Sidney, not in Scotland. They were mostly mounted infantry with antitank rifles to be precise and indeed destroyed proportionally more tanks than France in 1940. It says a condotierre means a conductor. No, it means a contractor. It considers Tamerlane to be a Tartar leader that conquered Muscovy, well, he was not and even remotely approached Muscovite lands. While the book does a decent job on general feel of Middle Ages, it is terribly lacking in details.

A good book that kept me interested all the way through. Not a lot of depth to it however but then again one shouldn’t expect it as the time span is rather wide and it covers virtually all of Europe. A very readable book that is enough to whet the appetite for something more substantive. Don’t be misled though as I garnered a considerable amount of new information. My only critique was that it needed some expansive detail in quite a few places.

Not exactly a page-turner, but that's not what you'd expect. The author does a pretty good job of covering a very large tract of history (half a millennium) of a significant part of the world (Europe). Quite a tall order. Some interesting facts, some of which other reviewers have disputed. What I found particularly odd were the credits at the end - all sorts of academic hangers-on from the author's institution wanting a look-in. I've heard jokes about the political machinations of history departments, but didn't realise it was so very real.

A fine overview of Western Europe in the years 500-1500 AD. Not a heavy tome but a light but scholarly tour d'horizon of all the factors that went to make up the experience of the various classes of people during the years from the Fall of Rome to the Renaissance.

A good overview of this historical era for those who know little about it. It is to be hoped that some readers will go on to read more detailed histories of specific times or themes due to Mr Bishop's excellent book.