Western Europe in the Middle Ages, 300-1475

This book is written in textbook-style (because it is a textbook) and gives the reader a perspective of the 'big picture' of the time-period covered. It does this well. My only criticism is the bookcover, which though aesthetically appealing, is flimsy.

Hello. I have used this book as a textbook for two courses at the University of California. It proved to be the most 'edutaining' of texts I've so far read. Tierney and his co-author do a brilliant job of retelling Medieval history as it happened in Western Europe. The first chapter of the book delivers a romantic summary of Europe under the hegemony of Greece and Rome up until Late Antiquity. The authors then take the reader through early Medieval France, Germany, northern Italy, and England. The chapters can be read by themselves and are not organized chronologically, but by themes and places. The only issue I have with the book is that it focuses sharply on Franco-English history. Germany is center but not part of the core in the book, so the reader is not submerged in the same depth as France and England run. Tierney devotes some subchapters to the periphery of Western Europe, but what is lacking is the same in-depth coverage as France and England. If the reader wants to find only introductory knowledge to Byzantium, Spain, Central, and Eastern Europe he/she will be satisfied with the light coverage Tierney gives: the important details of people and places. The periphary of Europe has not heavily influenced Western civilization, but should never be overlooked; Spain is only mentioned during the Inquisition and Moorish conquest. It is more worthy of note than what Tierney says of it. The book is still a pleasure to read and understand even with its emphasis on France and Britain.

Salutations all. I have used this book as a text for two courses covering the Early and Late Middle Ages while as a student at UC Riverside. Tierney and his co-author do a laudable job of presenting Western Medieval Europe to readers. The book is organized thematically and in each theme the material is presented chonologically. The reader may choose any chapter and read with little prior knowledege. That said, it starts by summarizing Classical Antiquity and moves onto Frankish history. Indeed, Franco-British history is the core of the book and that makes reading somewhat frustrating: gobs of legal and parliamentary history are scattered throughout the pages. However, dry as it is, Tierney makes the history and conception of the Western nation-state interesting and provocative with his theories of English parliament and monarchial constitution. And the papal monarchy illustrates the shrewdness and Machiavellian politics of the period: Medieval Europeans were highly civilized and intelligent as the Papacy shows. Those bonuses come at the expense of he periphery of Europe: Byzantium, Spain, and the Frontier East. To be sure, Tierney does not neglect them, but the pages he devotes serve as springboards for the reader to investigate by him/herself. And for its even-handedness, the book is worth reading for pleasure or academic learning.

This was a great, if at times slightly overwhelming read. It served as a central textbook for a medieval history class at my school and I found it acessible, enjoyable and orderly. At times approached chronologically, other times thematically, I found it to be a useful and insightful tool.