The History of Medieval Europe

by Lynn Thorndike

THIS book aims to trace the development of Europe and its civilization, from the decline of the Roman Empire to the opening of the sixteenth century, for the benefit of the college student and the general reader. It is almost needless to say that such a work makes little claim to originality in method and still less in subject-matter, which it has shamelessly borrowed from numerous sources. Indeed, in a book of this sort it is more fitting to apologize for anything new that one says than for following in old and beaten tracks. The author, of course, hopes that without making too radical departures he has introduced some improvement in selection and presentation of material, and that he has made few mistakes of fact and interpretation...

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction

491 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Lynn Thorndike was an American historian of medieval science and alchemy.

He was the brother of the psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike and of scholar Ashley Horace Thorndike.

Reviews

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full information. It was published in 1917. So, Europe was still at war. The author talks about the German Hapsburg dynasty as if it is going to go on forever. That was about to change of course. The biggest problem I have with the book is the blatant racism. According to Professor Thorndike, persons from Africa are ignorant and any non Christian is a heathen. I think that Prof. Thorndike would have been happy if the Muslims had been eradicated in the Crusades. If you do read this book, please be mindful of these facts.

[George Polansky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive review of the history of medieval Europe. Very readable and informative.

[Todd Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of information but not always one the mark when it comes to narration.

A little choppy at times and a plethora of data thrown at you.

Read the Kindle version and didn't see any maps or diagrams, photos, etc.

Overall though I liked it as I am studying many books on the topic and this will come in handy when tracking down certain things.

[Gamella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many would say it's an outdated book, but Lynn Thorndike's The History of Medieval Europe is a gem of information and profound analysis of historical facts. Admittedly, some of its vocabulary is now outdated, but we can, if only for a moment, overlook this in favour of the historical masterpiece that this book truly is.

[Donald M. Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent .. the author has done a great job of adding story telling to history .. at times I laughed and other times my eyes flooded as I read about the challenging times the dutch people and especially Anya were living through.

[Linnea Hartsuyker]

First published in 1917 and a bit dated at this point.

[Calvin Schnurr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated but still a great read.