This is a fascinating three-dimensional picture of the politics society and religion of medieval Europe the age that had as its great theme the unity of Christendom. Maurice Keen examines tribal wars the Crusades the growth of trade and the shifting patterns of community life as villages grew into towns and towns into sizeable cities. He explores how Papal victories by blurring the distinction between temporal and spiritual matters eventually undermined the spiritual authority of the Church. And he discusses how the Hundred Years War escalated from a feudal dispute into a full-scale national conflict until by the mid-fifteenth century changing economic and social conditions had transformed the unity of Christendom into merely a pious phrase.
In just over 300 very readable pages the author provides an excellent overview of Medieval Europe with plenty of leads for a deeper inquiry. Well worth the time.
An excellent beginning to Medieval studies.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
I thought that Mr. Keen's book was an excellent read for the student of Medieval history. His accounts and insights of medieval religious and political thought were throughly explained. The author spends a great deal of time on the complex relationships of the Papacy, England, France, Germany, and Italy with each other. The one negative about the book is that the author spends practically no time on medieval Spain. The bibliography was good, though it should be updated. Overall a good short work for someone to get a good basic understanding of Medieval history.
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