The Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Medieval History Paperback – June 3, 1994

“Certain systems of thought within the Greek and Roman world had an enormous impact upon the medieval consciousness. Until the seventeenth century almost all western systems of thought tended to operate within the framework of Platonism, Aristotelianism, or Stoicism. These systems had an omnivorous hold upon western intellectual history, and when they finally were abandoned or rejected, it was not because they were replaced by more satisfactory systems (in fact, we are still searching for replacements), but because modern science and technology had provided new experiences or revealed aspects of human and physical nature on which these ancient systems could shed no light.’’This slice highlights Cantor’s focus. He’s presenting ‘intellectual history’ more than political or cultural description, although these included. He continues . . .“A system of thought is a group of ideas or theories with some integrating principle or basic attitude that can be worked out in every aspect of thought or life to provide a unified, integrated worldview. The modern system that best fits this definition is Marxism, which may explain its wide appeal until recently.’’Why was Marxism so successful in capturing twentieth century thought?“Marxism is a subtle, adaptable system with a broad and comprehensive view of history, of society, or of human nature—in fact, of reality. It can absorb new ideas and data and keep going, and adaptability is essential to the success of any intellectual system. Attempts have been made in this century to make Freudianism into such a worldview, but they have not as yet been successful. Liberalism never developed a sufficiently wide and adaptable philosophy. It was effective in politics and in certain ethical problems, but it never really came to terms with industrial civilization and failed to develop an esthetic.’’Notice in this short paragraph, breaks down Marxism, Freudianism, and Liberalism. Neat!I enjoy Cantor’s concise, clear explanations. Not sure I always agree, but, he offers good reasons and plausible conclusions.Another example . . .“The reigns of crazy emperors and the murders of emperors were not reassuring. Apathy, fear, and disillusionment with public life encouraged the concentration on private life, which is a recurrent pole in human history. At the other extreme are the periods of millennial, apocalyptic fervor, times when people believe they can create a great society and make everyone happy and that they must sacrifice everything to improve society. From the time of the decline of the Athenian polis, around 430 B.C., the political life of the ancient world was corrupt and despotic or violent and unstable, and those who could retreat were glad to do so.’’Well . . . these two modes of life, private withdrawal and public sacrifice, both with us today. Cantor regularly connects past lessons to present problems.I include this detailed table of contents, since provides excellent overview.ONEThe Heritage of the Ancient WorldI. POLITICS AND SOCIETYII. PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIONTWOThe Foundations of the Middle AgeI. FROM JUDAISM TO CHRISTIANITYII. DECLINE AND FALLIII. THE ROMAN DESTINYIV. PATRISTIC CULTURETHREEThe Age of the Barbarian InvasionsI. THE GERMANSII. THE FIRST CENTURY OF THE INVASIONSIII. THE OSTROGOTHIC AND FRANKISH KINGDOMSFOURJustinian and MohammedTHE NEMESIS OF BYZANTINE POWERTHE IMPACT OF ISLAM ON EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPEFIVEThe Advance of Ecclesiastical LeadershipI THE RISE OF MONASTICISMII. GREGORY THE GREAT AND THE EARLY MEDIEVAL PAPACYSIXThe Making of Carolingian KingshipI ANGLO-IRISH CULTURE AND THE COLONIAL PHENOMENONII. THE CAROLINGIAN ENIGMAIII. MONARCHY AND PAPACYSEVENCulture and Society in the First EuropeI THE CAROLINGIAN WORLDII. THE FEUDAL ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETYEIGHTEcclesia and MundusI THE NATURE OF THE EARLY MEDIEVAL EQUILIBRIUMII. THE NORMAN FEUDAL STATEIII. THE OTTONIAN EMPIREIV. THE CLUNIAC IDEALNINEByzantium, Islam, and the WestI THE LIMITATIONS OF BYZANTINE AND ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONSII. THE RISE OF EUROPETENEurope in 1050ELEVENThe Gregorian World RevolutionI THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE GREGORIAN REFORMII. THE DEBATE ON THE ESSENTIALS OF A CHRISTIAN SOCIETYIII. THE GERMAN INVESTITURE CONTROVERSYTWELVEThe Anglo-Norman Monarchy and the Emergence of the Bureaucratic StateI THE TRIUMPH OF WILLIAM THE BASTARDII. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ENGLISH INVESTITURE CONTROVERSYTHIRTEENThe First Crusade and AfterI ORIGINS OF THE CRUSADING IDEALII. CRUSADING MEMORIESFOURTEENThe Intellectual Expansion of EuropeI THE ACCELERATION OF CULTURAL CHANGEII. THE LEGAL CONSTITUENTS OF HIGH MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATIONIII. A GREAT GENERATION: FIVE LEADERS OF TWELFTH-CENTURY THOUGHT AND FEELINGFIFTEENMoslem and Jewish Thought: The Aristotelian ChallengeI THE PROBLEM OF LEARNINGII. REASON AND REVELATION IN MOSLEM AND JEWISH THOUGHTSIXTEENVarieties of Religious ExperienceI MONKS AND SOCIETYII. THE DIMENSIONS OF POPULAR HERESYSEVENTEENThe Entrenchment of Secular LeadershipI POWER AND CHARISMAII. THE CAPETIAN ASCENDANCYEIGHTEEN The Peace of Innocent IIII THE REAFFIRMATION OF PAPAL LEADERSHIPII. THE DOMINICAN AND FRANCISCAN IDEALSNINETEENThe New Consensus and Its LimitationsI THE CATHEDRAL OF INTELLECTII. THE MORAL AUTHORITY OF THE STATEIII. THE INTERESTS OF SOCIETYTWENTYThe Search for OrderI AN OLD LANDII. THE CRISIS OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGESIII. PAPACY AND CLERGYIV. THE EUROPEAN STATESTWENTY-ONELate Medieval and Renaissance CultureI THE HARVEST OF MEDIEVAL THOUGHTII. THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCEIII. MEDIEVALISM AND THE MIDDLE AGESThe Middle Ages on FilmSince ‘science’ now dominates modernity, Cantor’s comments are interesting . . .“Whatever may be regarded as the proper definition of the nature of science, the work of Robert Grosseteste (1170–1253), bishop of Lincoln and protector of the English Franciscans, and the Oxford friar Roger Bacon (died 1292) may be said to apply. In both cases there was a gain of new knowledge through observation in such fields as optics and astronomy, where little equipment was needed, and some understanding of the value of the inductive, as well as the deductive method. Grosseteste further asserted the need to express natural phenomena in terms of mathematical propositions. The penetration of Arabic mathematics into western Europe was for the first time opening up to European thinkers the mathematical dimension in human thought.’’Others scholars also credit Grosseteste beginning ‘science’. His student Roger Bacon . . .“Bacon’s writings are furthermore distinguished by a tone of intellectual aggressiveness and independence that may be associated with the general attitude of the modern scientist. The most important question that rises from the work of these two men is why the first steps to modern science should have come from the Franciscan movement and not from Thomism.’’Yep, I’ve wondered about that question for years.“The answer lies partly in the nature of Aristotelianism and partly in the tendencies of the Franciscan intellectual movement. The Aristotelian science was the best yet known in the world, and that is why Thomas thought it was necessary to integrate it with Christian revelation. But since it was based on a system of deductive reasoning from certain premises, it was fundamentally an intellectual cul-de-sac, as Bacon was the first to see clearly. By his integration of Aristotelian science with revelation, Thomas in any case made it into a closed system that could not move in new directions.’’This commitment to Aristotle hindered the church, not the Bible.“The Franciscan movement, with its emotional religiosity, might seem an odd starting point for modern science, but it had certain characteristics that proved fruitful in this regard. It was Plato who had claimed that the cosmos operated in terms of ideal mathematically proportioned forms, and the early Platonic cast of the Franciscan philosophy, as expressed in Bonaventura’s work, led Grosseteste to his theory of the quantification of nature. Bacon, writing a little later, was already under the influence of the general Franciscan revolt against Aristotelianism that threatened to break apart the scholastic cathedral of intellect in the late decades of the thirteenth century.’’The Franciscan’s emotional basis (individual conscience) was much better suited to evaluate evidence, reach new conclusions and find deeper truth. Integrity more important than education.Cantor’s text is tasty, sometimes even delicious; some a little dry, some spicy, some sweet, all easy to digest. Good for both beginners and experienced readers.RecommendedIncludes —List of 160 titles for further readingList of 10 films about Middle Ages.Detailed index (not linked)No photographsNo maps

Remarkable amount of insight and information about the period for those, such as myself, who know little about it and want to fill in their knowledge. The author goes into just about the right amount of detail to explain the main trends of the times, without going into too much detail, which would greatly expand the length of the book.Much of the insights are relevant to our current situation.

I am on my second reading of this book and I can say that I am still learning a great deal. This book I would say is somwhere between an overview and a high level introduction. There are many themes introduced such as the philosophical ubnderpinning of the ideas of the Church and latter Roman Empire that might be hard to grasp if you are not fimilliar with the topoc.I am sure those with a more indepth or specialized knowlege of some of the ideas and themes in this book can critque but I have noticed that several theories are often presented to expalin certian movements or evens of the middle ages.Depeninding on your reading comfort it can read like a novle or it can be tedious. I have noticed a great deal of high level vocabulary and it may be a roblem if you are not accustomed to it. For those who read scholarly works it should be an enjoyable read.Because I have read the book twice after many years I can see that after comming back to the book after having had more expreince and lerning I find that the book has a great deal to offer. If you have an interest in history or of the time period this book can explaing an shead light on an ages we consider to be dark.

I am liking this book!I discovered it while searching for the audio readings of Frederick Davidson after being highly entertained by his performances ofP. G. Wodehouse’s novels, “The Girl on the Boat”and “The Inimitable Jeeves.” Both husband and son remark that this work on Manhattan is well worth reading. It is.

One of the few reliable, comprehensive, readable and enjoyable single-volume histories of the Middle Ages (Cantor covers 300-1500). It represents a career of teaching Medieval history to undergrads in New York, distilled down to what Cantor believes "most people want to know" about the Middle Ages. It focuses on those events, people, things and ideas which were truly unique in moving Western history forward - there is not much war-reportage, and a lot of intellectual history (intellectual history in the Middle Ages = Christianity), but he does get the important battles (Milvian Bridge, Bouvines, 100 years, etc..) It is a smooth narrative with a sort of BBC "Connections" flow from topic to topic, putting things into historical context and showing how one thing led to another and part of larger themes. It is a survey, Cantor does not present a new theory but uses best practices and state of the art of Medieval scholarship ca. 1990 (for the updated edition). It is a high-level map of the terrain. Each page was filled with insight and "ah-ha!" moments.

Book is another historical period by same author, Norman Cantor. As the book jacket says "splendid and accessible portrait of the cultures or the Ancient and now Medieval world. Very readable and creates an overview of history that forms a foundation for exploring further detail in other references, etc.

Everything arrived on time and as advertised

Outstanding book. The author has total command of this period. It is comprehensive but also explains why people and events were significant. Delivers real insight. And he's eloquent.I read alot of history and philosophy and Cantor humbled me with new insights and perspectives I never got from other books and classes on the exact same material. Impressive work. Someone I wish I had at dinner.