A history of the Middle Ages

Originally published in 1969 as A Popular History of the Middle Ages, this book was reissued under the Barnes and Noble publishing imprint in 1995 as A History of the Middle Ages. Given the subject matter, much is packed into its' 393 pages. The Middle Ages are widely acknowledged to have begun at the demise of Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor to rule from Rome, in 476 AD. Thus, any history of this period must encompass roughly 1,000 years. Big on overview and scant on detail, what results is pure summary presented in a straightforward manner. One shouldn't look here for in depth information on Charlemagne, the Hundred Years' War, the Norman Conquest, Mongol invasions, Papal schisms, the Crusades, etc., but should one want a primer that presents the overall weave in which these events occurred, one could do far worse. A History of the Middle Ages is a quick read with a jaunty pace that rarely, if ever, bogs down. No revisionist theory, no scholarly pontification, it is unequivocal narrative history through and through. Enjoyable and recommended, I rate it 4+ stars.

Some things have to be said up front about this book:(1) It was originally published in 1968. (2) It was written with the average reader in mind. So, it provides a general outline of the period.(3) It is regular history. It is very much who, what, where and when, and maybe a few why's and how's brought in here and there. Greater Economics, Religion, Folk-movements, Language and archeological discoveries do not play big roles except where they are thought of as or interact with what is commonly thought of as normal regular history. (4) It very much concentrates on Europe, and even then more so on Western Europe (England, France, Germany the low countries and Italy).All that said I like it because it provides a good introduction to the history of the middle ages. I have given this book as a gift to friends and family who was interested in the history of the middle ages. No controversies are taken up in this book. The religious movements of the time (i.e. Cathari, Albigensian, Waldensian, Lollard, etc. that provide so much of the foundation for the later Protestant movements of Luther, Calvin and others), so important to a deep understanding of the period, are at best briefly mentioned, but even then more or less ignored. Of course, much of this is because later readers saw discussions of religions that weren't their own to be offensive, and American Protestants have often liked to think of the whole Protestant movement as original and new. The idea that "there is no new thing understand the sun", why often espoused by people is rarely believed. One thing I do find very respectable about this book is it discusses the affects both the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and Islam had upon Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Too often, the period is thought to be very closed off and insulated from the rest of the world, when in fact the Eastern Empire and the Middle East had great affects on the culture and peoples at the time. Often the affects where from reactionaries, but not always. This book understands that. All that said, I still like and recommend this book. If only because these are the basic facts that people need to know before they move on for deeper understandings.