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Title: Mysteries of the Middle Ages: And the Beginning of the Modern World (Hinges of History)
ISBN: 0385495560
Author:
Thomas Cahill
Publicate Date: 2008-03-04
Publish: 2008-03-04
List Price: $19.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $10.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: `The problem of universals'
This book manages to inform, illuminate and irritate: a good example of the process of educating. I enjoyed most aspects of the book: the information is well-presented and the language is clear and concise. Mr Cahill has provided some components of medieval history of which I was only vaguely aware, albeit with some interpretations and conclusions with which I may not fully agree. For me, the value of this particular book is the background information provided: the linking of ancient knowledge and subsequent medieval developments. The illustrations are superb (I could almost buy the book for that alone). The notes and sources provide an excellent resource for those wishing to undertake more reading.
The only aspect of the book which seemed out of place, to me, was the postlude entitled a `Dantesque Reflection'. The relevance of contemporary developments in the USA seems anachronistic in a book which is dealing with the Middle Ages and initially irritated me. However, if the objective of learning is to think, then this postlude certainly provides an opportunity for a reader to project beyond the period described in the book to consider a more contemporary set of concerns.
From my perspective the problem of universals is, essentially, that there are none. Context and understanding render truths relative and multiple rather than absolute and singular: is there a single Western civilization? I would argue against this and I am looking forward to Mr Cahill's subsequent two books in this series. I recommend this book to those interested in different perspectives of medieval Europe.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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2: Finding our way through the Dark Ages
After reading "Mysteries", Cahill's fifth in his "Hinges of History" series, I felt like he was unable to keep the components of this volume tied together as well as he had in the earlier works in the series. This seems caused by the sheer breadth of what is called the Middle Ages. Cahill may have stretched the reasonable definition of a 'hinge' of history too far to keep the focus.
However, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good introduction into the world that we call the Middle Ages. To say that this work is not as good as earlier books in Cahill's hinges of history series is not to say that this book is not a good read. Cahill set the bar pretty high with "How the Irish Saved Civilization". "Mysteries", unlike the earlier volumes, may require a second read to get it all tied together, but without that, this is still a solid series of essays on the Middle Ages. Cahill's instinct in bringing out the mind and heart of the historical characters in their world makes this an excellent introduction to the period and how it worked.
Someone once said that to try to imagine the mind of an everyday person standing on a hillside looking out over a Middle Age landscape is comparable to trying to imagine the mind of a Martian. The whole frame of reference and beliefs that are (often unconsciously) the basis for how humans see the world has changed so radically in the past 800-1000 years. This seems true in many ways, but Cahill can make you feel like you're standing on that hillside as well as any historian I've read.
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3: Tendentious
Cahill writes entertaining prose but what I read in this book makes me feel the need to read more widely in order to get a balanced picture of some of the historical figures mentioned. For instance:
Bernard of Clairvaux was "terrified of real women."
Pope Boniface VIII "was one of the vilest men ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter..."
Despite a Jesuit education, Cahill's understanding of Catholicism seems shaky in spots. He repeatedly refers to Catholic "worship" of the Virgin Mary, seeming to not understand the idea of veneration or at least not caring to make the all-important distinction. He says Thomas Aquinas' writings were "finally accepted by Pope Leo XIII as the official teaching of the Catholic Church" in 1879 while failing to note Aquinas' being proclaimed a Doctor of the Universal Church by Pius V in 1567.
Most unwelcome are Cahill's off-topic diatribes against President Bush and particularly the modern Catholic Church which are out of place here. He thinks "the only hope" for the church "is for an uprising of laypeople who refuse to be disenfranchised serfs any longer," led by radical dissident groups Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful. Inserting this polemical stuff in a book about the Middle Ages amounts to false advertising.
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4: Charming
I agree with most of the comments by the reviewers so far. I was, in fact, surprised when I read those comments: it is not very often that reviewers express as similar opinions as they have when describing this book. For such reason, I will not go into details about the subjects covered and how they are presented. That has already been done. I will only confirm that the book is not perfect, it has flows and can be at times irritating. For example, its purpose is not always clear, it does not limit itself to the description of people and events during the Middle Ages (as one would expect from the title), it does not always show continuity, the last chapter regarding "the sins" of the catholic church today is unnecessary (the reader almost has the impression that the author has something personal against its representatives). One additional flaw that the reviewers did not recognize: many of the quotations in foreign languages have more spelling mistakes than one would expect to see in a published book.
And yet, we cannot deny that the book - in addition to providing much information that is not generally available all in one place and that is conveyed in a (usually) easy to read manner - has an interesting charm, a charm that is, at least in part , due to the illustrations. These are not limited to pictures of the individuals discussed in the text, of cathedrals, paintings and other works of art, as traditionally done in similar books. It also includes period maps (or more likely, maps that are made to look as originated in the Middle Ages), as well as many medieval illuminations which do not add much information to the text, yet help transport the readers into the times about which they are learning.
Of the four stars above, two are for the text, two are for the illustrations.
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5: Disappointing
I was bothered to find his personal and political views throughout the book. If I was looking for that I would read Michael Moore.
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