The Mind of the Middle Ages: An Historical Survey

I am not a historian, but I have a great interest in the Middle Ages. I wanted a book for reference to the topics and ideas of the times. Upon buying this book, I got much more. This book is not so much a history book in the sense that it doesn't devote its full attention to wars and etc. It is more the history of ideas in the Middle Ages. As such, I found it very readable, and at the same time extremely deep and thought provoking. I have used this book in more research projects that I can count; I practically have the MLA info memorized from it. If you own one book on the Middle Ages, this should be it.What I find especially interesting is the treatment of religion and philosophy during this period. The book shows the development of Islam, Christianity, the various Heresies, the influence of Byzantine, as well as the classical tradition. I love this book, and even though its thick I have read it twice front to back. It is useful to anyone who is interested in the history of thought in western civilization.

This particular text used to be the standard textbook 40 years ago for teachers and students of Medieval history. Does this mean that this book is outdated or no longer a good text? Not necessarily. The one thing I like about this text is the fact that Artz covers attitudes, arts and literature, as well as the atmosphere of learning that permeated the middle ages. He discusses the shifts that occurred during this period in thinking, languages, religion, etc. The book is a wonderful text for those who are interested in a detail assessment and exposition of the period known as the "Dark Ages." An age that was, in reality, not all that "dark." In the first part of the book, Artz covers the influence of the east (what he calls the "Classical Background"). In this part, Artz discusses medieval Christianity, the Influence of the Jews, Latin and Greek influence, and Islamic influence. The last part of the text covers the trends in literature, art, music, humanists, philosophy, etc. This whole text is a wonderful read for the serious and not so serious student of the history of early to late middle ages. Don't dismiss this good book just because it is no longer THE standard text. That would be a tragic loss.