The Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Medieval History, the Life and Death of a CivilizationIn 1963, Norman F. Cantor published his breakthrough narrative history of the Middle Ages. Further editions of this immediately celebrated book appeared in 1968 and 1974. Now, a thorough revision, update and significant expansion of the book has been made with a third of the text new. The Civilization of the Middle Ages incorporates current research, recent trends in interpretation, and novel perspectives, especially on the foundations of the Middle Ages to A.D. 450 and the Later Middle Ages of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as well as a sharper focus in social history, Jewish history, and women's roles in society, and popular religion and heresy. While the first and last sections of the book are almost entirely new and many additions have been incorporated in the intervening sections, Cantor has retained the powerful narrative flow that made the earlier editions so accessible and exciting. Cantor's book was innovative in 1963 because it was the first comprehensive general history of the Middle Ages to center on medieval culture and religion rather than political history (which was, however, dealt with, but from the perspective of applied intellect and social ordering). It remains a unique book in that regard. The book also featured the highlighting of prominent medieval personalities through dozens of biographical sketches, which has been retained. Although it draws upon a century of detailed research on the medieval world and is authoritative in its learning, from first page to last, Cantor's book tells an exciting and compelling story. |
Contents
ONE The Heritage of the Ancient World | 1 |
TWO The Foundations of the Middle Ages | 29 |
THREE The Age of the Barbarian Invasions | 89 |
Copyright | |
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abbot Arabic Arian aristocratic Aristotelian army Augustine became Benedictine bishops Byzantine Capetian Carolingian Cassiodorus Charlemagne Christian church churchmen Cistercian cities civilization clergy Cluniac Constantine Constantinople court crusade culture doctrine Donation of Constantine Donatist duke early medieval ecclesiastical economic eleventh century emperor England English European feudal fifteenth century fourteenth fourth century France Frankish French German German emperor Greek Gregorian Gregorian reform Gregory Henry Hohenstaufen ideal imperial important institutions intellectual invasions investiture controversy Islam Italian Italy Jewish Jews Justinian Justinian code king kingdom knights land late Latin leaders leadership lord Mediterranean Merovingian monarchy monasteries monastic monks moral Moslem nobility Norman northern Italy Ostrogothic papacy papal peasants philosophy piety Platonic political pope princes religious Roman Empire Rome royal power ruler scholars secular sixth century social society tenth century thirteenth century throne tion tradition tury twelfth century urban vassals Visigoths wealth western Europe