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Mediaeval History: Europe from the Second to the Sixteenth Century
Mediaeval Europe from the Second to the Sixteenth Century [Dec 01, 1962] Carl Stephenson and Bryce Lyon …
- GenresHistory
639 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1935
About the author
Carl Stephenson
48 books3 followersCarl^Stephenson
Carl Stephenson, American historian (1886-1954), not to be confused with the Austrian-German author and publisher Carl Stephenson (1893-1960ies)
Carl Stephenson, American historian (1886-1954), not to be confused with the Austrian-German author and publisher Carl Stephenson (1893-1960ies)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 21, 2020
Pedestrian, nonchronological and little dated. A decent introduction to a millenia.
The later edition, from 1943, has much of the traditional charm of early 20th century to recommend it; however, it also has much of the style of early 20th century history writing to discommend it too.
The book, at 700 pages, includes encyclopedic information on nearly every aspect of the Middle Ages; however, again it contains encyclopedia knowledge on nearly every aspect of the Middle Ages. Nothing groundbreaking or necessarily insightful. The narrative is disjointed at best and it only roughly follows a chronological order. For example, the chapter on Islam ends with the Alhambra (p. 224) circa 1200 AD, but the following chapter (on Feudalism, p. 229) begins with the death of the last Carolingian, 911 AD, an incredible back-slide of 300 years...the equivalent of comparing today to the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great.
Additionally, the footnotes are mostly reserved for bouncing around the text to other chapters dealing with the same subject. I would hazard a guess that 90% of footnotes are phrased either "see above page...." or "see below page..." This, along with the 19 maps, 35 figures, 16 plates and 8 tables scattered throughout the text makes it a bit of a scavanger hunt.
As to the Medieval period itself Professor Stephenson is usually generous. The book is dedicated to Charles Homer Haskins and rarely moved beyond his monumental research in The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century or The Rise of Universities and The Cambridge Medieval History, Vols 1-5.
The book is a little tilted towards the earlier period, with a protracted recap on the Roman Empire. The Byzantine world is peripheral to the study and likewise Stephenson is frequently overly generous to the contributions of the Islamic world to the Middle Ages, crediting the Islamic world and Byzantines with every and any advance in Medieval Christendom, irrespective of the evidence. Only in the concluding chapter are indigenous advances recognized. Otherwise, science, technology, art and architecture in the Middle Ages are imports from the Classical world or 'the orient' through the Byzantines or Arabs.
Additionally, the sketch of daily life in the age is largely done in such broad strokes to make it little above generalisations. And Professor Stevenson shows no interest in Medieval thought beyond the political implications of the thought. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to the politics of the Papacy, Franks, Merovingians, Carolingians, Visigoths, Byzantines, Ummayyads, Capetians, Norman-Lancasterians, Franconians, Guelphs, Hohestaufen, Valois and finally Habsburgs.
The book is divided too neatly into 26 chapters each containing 3 subsections. I racked my brain to figure out why, and then came to the insight that the average University term is roughly 13 weeks with 3 hours of class a week. Over the course of the year, this equals 26 weeks at 3 hours per week. Exactly the (forced) format of the book as intended as a textbook for an introduction to the Middle Ages.
The contents are as follows:
I. The Roman World
1. Government and Law
2. Graeco-Roman Culture
3. Material Conditions of Life
II. The Decline of the Roman Empire
1. From the Principate to Absolute Monarchy
2. Social Deterioration
3. The New Religions
III. The Barbarianization of the West
1. The Barbarians before the Invasions
2. The Imperial Collapse
3. The Germans in the Empire
IV. The Church After Constantine
1. Ecclesiastical Government
2. Monasticism
3. Education and Learning
V. The Empire in the Sixth Century
1. Justinian and the Roman World
2. The Empire under Justinian's Successors
3. Byzantine Culture
VI. The Rise of Islam
1. Arabia and the Arabs
2. Mohammed and Mohammedianism
3. The Caliphate and the Arab Empire
VII. The Papacy and the Barbarian West
1. Gregory the Great
2. The Dark Age of Latin Learning
3. The Revival of the Frankish Monarchy
VIII. The Carolingian Empire
1. Charlemagne and His Government
2. Society and Culture
3. The Ruin of the Carolingian System
IX. The Greek and Moslem Worlds
1. The Byzantine Empire and Its Cultural Influence
2. The Literature and Learning of Islam
3. Material Civilization in the East
X. The Development of Feudalism
1. Beginnings of Political Reconstruction
2. Feudal Institutions
3. The Spread of Feudal Custom
XI. Agrarian and Military Society
1. The Manorial System
2. Life in Castle and Village
3. The Feudal Epic
XII. The Empire, the Papacy, and the Crusade
1. The Holy Roman Empire
2. The Restoration of the Papal Authority
3. The First Crusade
XIII. The Growth of the Towns
1. The Revival of Commerce
2. Elementary Bourgeois Libertines
3. The Communes
XIV. The Development of Universal Education
1. From Gerbert to Abelard
2. Scholasticism and the New Learning
3. The Beginnings of the Universities
XV. Developments in Literature
1. Mediaeval Latin
2. The Vernacular Lyric and Mediaeval Music
3. The Romance and Other Literary Forms
XVI. Developments in the Structural and Decorative Arts
1. Romanesque Art
2. Gothic Art
3. Industrial Arts and Crafts
XVII. The Latin World after the First Crusade
1. France and the British Isles
2. Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe
3. Spain, Italy, and Syria
XVIII. The Triumph of the Papacy
1. Europe in the Later Twelfth Century
2. Innocent III
3. The Third and Fourth Crusades
XIX. Heresy, the Friars, and the Universities
1. The Problem of Ecclesiastical Reform
2. The Mendicant Orders and the Inquisition
3. The Progress of Scholasticism
XX. Church and State After Innocent III
1. Frederick II
2. France and Western Europe
3. Germany and Eastern Europe
XXI. The Growth of Opposition to the Papacy
1. The Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
2. Boniface VIII and the Avignon Papacy
3. Popular Literature and Anti-Clerical Agitation
XXII. France and England During the Hundred Years' War
1. The Beginning of the War and Charles V
2. The Decline and Revival of England
3. Jeanne d'Arc and the End of the War
XXIII. The Decline of the Church
1. The Great Schism and the Spread of Heresy
2. The Councils of Constance and Basel
3. Eastern Europe and the New Moslem Offensive
XXIV. Society and Commerce in the Later Middle Ages
1. The Bourgeoisie and the Growth of Capitalism
2. The Decay of the Manorial System and of Feudalism
3. The Mediterranean, the Baltic, and the New Routes
XXV. The Advance of Secular Culture
1. Vernacular Literature
2. The New Style in Architecture and the Related Arts
3. Scholasticism, Science, and Humanism
XXVI. Europe in the Later Fifteenth Century
1. The New Despots
2. The Church and the Witchcraft craze
3. Material Conditions of Life
Conclusion: The Significance of the Mediaeval Period
The later edition, from 1943, has much of the traditional charm of early 20th century to recommend it; however, it also has much of the style of early 20th century history writing to discommend it too.
The book, at 700 pages, includes encyclopedic information on nearly every aspect of the Middle Ages; however, again it contains encyclopedia knowledge on nearly every aspect of the Middle Ages. Nothing groundbreaking or necessarily insightful. The narrative is disjointed at best and it only roughly follows a chronological order. For example, the chapter on Islam ends with the Alhambra (p. 224) circa 1200 AD, but the following chapter (on Feudalism, p. 229) begins with the death of the last Carolingian, 911 AD, an incredible back-slide of 300 years...the equivalent of comparing today to the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great.
Additionally, the footnotes are mostly reserved for bouncing around the text to other chapters dealing with the same subject. I would hazard a guess that 90% of footnotes are phrased either "see above page...." or "see below page..." This, along with the 19 maps, 35 figures, 16 plates and 8 tables scattered throughout the text makes it a bit of a scavanger hunt.
As to the Medieval period itself Professor Stephenson is usually generous. The book is dedicated to Charles Homer Haskins and rarely moved beyond his monumental research in The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century or The Rise of Universities and The Cambridge Medieval History, Vols 1-5.
The book is a little tilted towards the earlier period, with a protracted recap on the Roman Empire. The Byzantine world is peripheral to the study and likewise Stephenson is frequently overly generous to the contributions of the Islamic world to the Middle Ages, crediting the Islamic world and Byzantines with every and any advance in Medieval Christendom, irrespective of the evidence. Only in the concluding chapter are indigenous advances recognized. Otherwise, science, technology, art and architecture in the Middle Ages are imports from the Classical world or 'the orient' through the Byzantines or Arabs.
Additionally, the sketch of daily life in the age is largely done in such broad strokes to make it little above generalisations. And Professor Stevenson shows no interest in Medieval thought beyond the political implications of the thought. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to the politics of the Papacy, Franks, Merovingians, Carolingians, Visigoths, Byzantines, Ummayyads, Capetians, Norman-Lancasterians, Franconians, Guelphs, Hohestaufen, Valois and finally Habsburgs.
The book is divided too neatly into 26 chapters each containing 3 subsections. I racked my brain to figure out why, and then came to the insight that the average University term is roughly 13 weeks with 3 hours of class a week. Over the course of the year, this equals 26 weeks at 3 hours per week. Exactly the (forced) format of the book as intended as a textbook for an introduction to the Middle Ages.
The contents are as follows:
I. The Roman World
1. Government and Law
2. Graeco-Roman Culture
3. Material Conditions of Life
II. The Decline of the Roman Empire
1. From the Principate to Absolute Monarchy
2. Social Deterioration
3. The New Religions
III. The Barbarianization of the West
1. The Barbarians before the Invasions
2. The Imperial Collapse
3. The Germans in the Empire
IV. The Church After Constantine
1. Ecclesiastical Government
2. Monasticism
3. Education and Learning
V. The Empire in the Sixth Century
1. Justinian and the Roman World
2. The Empire under Justinian's Successors
3. Byzantine Culture
VI. The Rise of Islam
1. Arabia and the Arabs
2. Mohammed and Mohammedianism
3. The Caliphate and the Arab Empire
VII. The Papacy and the Barbarian West
1. Gregory the Great
2. The Dark Age of Latin Learning
3. The Revival of the Frankish Monarchy
VIII. The Carolingian Empire
1. Charlemagne and His Government
2. Society and Culture
3. The Ruin of the Carolingian System
IX. The Greek and Moslem Worlds
1. The Byzantine Empire and Its Cultural Influence
2. The Literature and Learning of Islam
3. Material Civilization in the East
X. The Development of Feudalism
1. Beginnings of Political Reconstruction
2. Feudal Institutions
3. The Spread of Feudal Custom
XI. Agrarian and Military Society
1. The Manorial System
2. Life in Castle and Village
3. The Feudal Epic
XII. The Empire, the Papacy, and the Crusade
1. The Holy Roman Empire
2. The Restoration of the Papal Authority
3. The First Crusade
XIII. The Growth of the Towns
1. The Revival of Commerce
2. Elementary Bourgeois Libertines
3. The Communes
XIV. The Development of Universal Education
1. From Gerbert to Abelard
2. Scholasticism and the New Learning
3. The Beginnings of the Universities
XV. Developments in Literature
1. Mediaeval Latin
2. The Vernacular Lyric and Mediaeval Music
3. The Romance and Other Literary Forms
XVI. Developments in the Structural and Decorative Arts
1. Romanesque Art
2. Gothic Art
3. Industrial Arts and Crafts
XVII. The Latin World after the First Crusade
1. France and the British Isles
2. Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe
3. Spain, Italy, and Syria
XVIII. The Triumph of the Papacy
1. Europe in the Later Twelfth Century
2. Innocent III
3. The Third and Fourth Crusades
XIX. Heresy, the Friars, and the Universities
1. The Problem of Ecclesiastical Reform
2. The Mendicant Orders and the Inquisition
3. The Progress of Scholasticism
XX. Church and State After Innocent III
1. Frederick II
2. France and Western Europe
3. Germany and Eastern Europe
XXI. The Growth of Opposition to the Papacy
1. The Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
2. Boniface VIII and the Avignon Papacy
3. Popular Literature and Anti-Clerical Agitation
XXII. France and England During the Hundred Years' War
1. The Beginning of the War and Charles V
2. The Decline and Revival of England
3. Jeanne d'Arc and the End of the War
XXIII. The Decline of the Church
1. The Great Schism and the Spread of Heresy
2. The Councils of Constance and Basel
3. Eastern Europe and the New Moslem Offensive
XXIV. Society and Commerce in the Later Middle Ages
1. The Bourgeoisie and the Growth of Capitalism
2. The Decay of the Manorial System and of Feudalism
3. The Mediterranean, the Baltic, and the New Routes
XXV. The Advance of Secular Culture
1. Vernacular Literature
2. The New Style in Architecture and the Related Arts
3. Scholasticism, Science, and Humanism
XXVI. Europe in the Later Fifteenth Century
1. The New Despots
2. The Church and the Witchcraft craze
3. Material Conditions of Life
Conclusion: The Significance of the Mediaeval Period
November 12, 2017
A very brief and detailed book that have surprised my father and I by the depth of information a single tome could contain covering centuries of European history and Muslim history. All in all a great read for a book published more than half a century ago and a great pity it is not available anymore.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews