History

The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe

The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe

  • Downloads：1305
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-12 11:20:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Matthew Gabriele
  • ISBN：B096CCRX3C
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Bruce Holsinger ，

"A lively， searing， and transformative reimagining of the medieval world， The Bright Ages is brilliant in every way， both lucid in its arguments and sparkling in its prose。 A gripping and compulsive read。"[my endorsement for the publisher] "A lively， searing， and transformative reimagining of the medieval world， The Bright Ages is brilliant in every way， both lucid in its arguments and sparkling in its prose。 A gripping and compulsive read。"[my endorsement for the publisher] 。。。more

Jenn ，

The Bright Ages is a lively and engaging history about a commonly misunderstood period。 Beginning with a persuasive argument that Rome never fell but was instead transformed over a long period， Gabriele and Perry challenge the common conception of medieval life as "nasty， brutish， and short，" as Thomas Hobbes put it。 The medieval world was not a stagnant， fragmented， and unchanging one， but rather was "always in flux， with permeable borders， and signs of movement and cultural intermixing everywh The Bright Ages is a lively and engaging history about a commonly misunderstood period。 Beginning with a persuasive argument that Rome never fell but was instead transformed over a long period， Gabriele and Perry challenge the common conception of medieval life as "nasty， brutish， and short，" as Thomas Hobbes put it。 The medieval world was not a stagnant， fragmented， and unchanging one， but rather was "always in flux， with permeable borders， and signs of movement and cultural intermixing everywhere you look。" Like most good histories， The Bright Ages listens to its sources carefully for what they have to tell us about medieval events， personalities， and worldviews in order to upend assumptions， biases， and agendas that have shaped how we read them。 The book takes as its central metaphor light， convincingly dispelling any notion that the medieval period was a "dark age" of any kind。 Light was essential to medieval theology， literature， architecture， art， and more， speaking to a world in which innovation， creativity， and hope for the future could co-exist comfortably with instability and conflict。 It's incredibly nuanced for a wide survey， and it is beautifully written。 I recommend this book with my whole heart。 。。。more

Rosann ，

Though the idea of The Dark Ages being in inaccurate descriptor of the Medieval period， authors Gabriele and Perry bring together solid research and analysis combined with good writing to comprehensively examine this time。 They bring to vivid life this historic period so often overlooked and labelled savage， unsophisticated， grim and culturally lacking。

Marcy Graybill ，

A look at old evidence with new eyes。 The authors' premise is that Rome did not fall， it just was redesigned， and the dark ages were not so dark。 They focused mostly on Christianity and left out many of the scientific discoveries of the times。 I enjoyed the writing style it's definitely accessible to the average reader。 Covering nearly a thousand years and ranging from Western Europe to Africa and Asia， there's no possible way it can go into historical details， leaving out quite a bit of informa A look at old evidence with new eyes。 The authors' premise is that Rome did not fall， it just was redesigned， and the dark ages were not so dark。 They focused mostly on Christianity and left out many of the scientific discoveries of the times。 I enjoyed the writing style it's definitely accessible to the average reader。 Covering nearly a thousand years and ranging from Western Europe to Africa and Asia， there's no possible way it can go into historical details， leaving out quite a bit of information。 For someone who is interested in history this would be a great overview of what really happened during the Middle Ages。 。。。more

Steve ，

I was hoping that the book would convince me that the Dark Ages were not all that dark。 Unfortunately， it did not convince me in the least that these were not dark ages。 At best， the book shows that the Dark Ages might not have been as bad as I thought。 The book did a barely adequate job of discussing medieval history， and even then， I felt that the book was strongly oriented toward a too-detailed discussion of Christianity。 Indeed， there was little discussion of inventions and science of mediev I was hoping that the book would convince me that the Dark Ages were not all that dark。 Unfortunately， it did not convince me in the least that these were not dark ages。 At best， the book shows that the Dark Ages might not have been as bad as I thought。 The book did a barely adequate job of discussing medieval history， and even then， I felt that the book was strongly oriented toward a too-detailed discussion of Christianity。 Indeed， there was little discussion of inventions and science of medieval times， in particular， astronomy。 The only reason I finished the book is because of the authors’ great conversational tone and writing style。 Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Canada for the advance reader copy。 。。。more