The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe
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- Create Date：2021-05-16 08:55:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael Pye
- ISBN：168177206X
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Summary
Saints and spies， pirates and philosophers， artists and intellectuals: they all criss-crossed the grey North Sea in the so-called "dark ages，" the years between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of Europe's mastery over the oceans。 Now the critically acclaimed Michael Pye reveals the cultural transformation sparked by those men and women: the ideas， technology， science， law， and moral codes that helped create our modern world。
This is the magnificent lost history of a thousand years。 It was on the shores of the North Sea where experimental science was born， where women first had the right to choose whom they married; there was the beginning of contemporary business transactions and the advent of the printed book。 In The Edge of the World， Michael Pye draws on an astounding breadth of original source material to illuminate this fascinating region during a pivotal era in world history。
This is the magnificent lost history of a thousand years。 It was on the shores of the North Sea where experimental science was born， where women first had the right to choose whom they married; there was the beginning of contemporary business transactions and the advent of the printed book。 In The Edge of the World， Michael Pye draws on an astounding breadth of original source material to illuminate this fascinating region during a pivotal era in world history。
Reviews
Gert De Ceukelaire
，
The book doesn't live up to its expectations。 The premise is highly interesting for anyone living around the North Sea （with a high degree of attention for the Low Countries， which is not always the case）， but not really thought-provoking as no new insights are proposed as to the historical siginificance of the region。 Also the narrative is far too discursive and the writing style finds itself somewhere between a （not very good） novel and popular historiography， making the reading surprisingly e The book doesn't live up to its expectations。 The premise is highly interesting for anyone living around the North Sea （with a high degree of attention for the Low Countries， which is not always the case）， but not really thought-provoking as no new insights are proposed as to the historical siginificance of the region。 Also the narrative is far too discursive and the writing style finds itself somewhere between a （not very good） novel and popular historiography， making the reading surprisingly enough a tad fastidious at times。Not a bad buy if you're interestred in but not too familiar with the history of the region （I for myself learned quite a bit about the Vikings）。 。。。more
Merili
，
Pye arvab， et just varakeskaegse Põhjamere ümbrusele ning ühendustele， mis tänu merele inimeste vahel tekkisid， peame olema tänu võlgu paljude ideede eest， mis lõid modernse maailma。 See oli aeg， kus kujunevatel riikidel oli maal võimu märksa enam kui merel， mistõttu levis mere kaudu kergemini "pool-teadmine， et asju võib teha teisiti， mis hakkas sügavalt muutma inimeste mõttemaailma"。 Vaba tõlge raamatust: "Kaubitsejad tõid münte ja raha ning ühes sellega abstraktse idee väärtusest， mis tegi võ Pye arvab， et just varakeskaegse Põhjamere ümbrusele ning ühendustele， mis tänu merele inimeste vahel tekkisid， peame olema tänu võlgu paljude ideede eest， mis lõid modernse maailma。 See oli aeg， kus kujunevatel riikidel oli maal võimu märksa enam kui merel， mistõttu levis mere kaudu kergemini "pool-teadmine， et asju võib teha teisiti， mis hakkas sügavalt muutma inimeste mõttemaailma"。 Vaba tõlge raamatust: "Kaubitsejad tõid münte ja raha ning ühes sellega abstraktse idee väärtusest， mis tegi võimalikuks matemaatika ja modernse teaduse。 Viikingid ehitasid sama palju linnu nagu nad maha põletasid ning linnad ilma piiskopite ja lordideta võisid alustada uut sorti kaubandust。 See lõi äri ajavate inimeste kogukonna， kes olid piisavalt tugevad ja eseteadlikud， et minna sõtta monarhide ja poliitilise jõududega: meie maailma pinge raha ja iga teise jõu vahel。"Maastiku muutmine （kuidas hollandlased merelt maad võtsid）; reisimisega levinud moevoolud; naiste valikud ehk lastesaamise edasilükkamine ja suurem iseseisvus majandustegevuses; tavade asemel õigusteaduse sünd， mille järel tahtsid ka arstid， et neid tunnustataks ametina ehk hiljem kodanluse ja keskklassi sünd; katk ehk suurenev reguleerimine， vajadus dokumentide järele， millest on vaid mõned sammud edasi rahvuse sünniks; varajane kapitalism。 Pye arvab， et kõik see leidis aset Rooma langemise ja 17。 sajandi Amsterdami hiilguse vahel， mida tavaliselt nimetatakse säilinud allikate vähesuse tõttu pimedaks ajaks ja hiljem keskajaks。Sellest jõuame ka esimese probleemini: Pye käsitleb väga vähe antiiktsivilisatsioone， ainult vastandes Rooma õigust tavaõigusele。 Puhtalt eelmise lõigu kokkuvõtet vaadates aga tahaksin ma küsida， et kas Kreekas-Roomas ei olnudki ärimehi， moodi või paberimajandust？ Peab siiski autoriga nõustuma， et meelelahutuses näidatav pilt keskajast on kindlused， lossid， rüütlid， ristisõdalased ja kaunid daamid。。。 mitte modernse ajaarvamise ehk Kristuse sünnist loetava kalendri teke。 Samuti ei moodustu tema väidetest üks terviklik lugu。 Pye toob näiteid siit-sealt， loomata mingit kronoloogilis-kausaalset tervikut。 Narratiivis on suured tühimikud， mida täida ise。 Näiteks esimestes peatükkides räägib ta palju viikingitest， kelle siis üle maailma serva kukutab ja kunagi nende juurde tagasi ei tule。 Hansa Liiga astub raamatusse juba väljakujunenud tugevate kaubalinnade võrgustikuna。 Kristlusest räägitakse vähe， kuigi ükski Euroopa kultuurilise ajaloo raamat ei peaks sellest üle ega ümber saama。 Kes tahab ajalooraamatuid lugeda üksikasjade pärast， siis Pye on selleks hea valik。 Ta pillub igal lehel kõnekaid detaile， mis maalivad märksa mitmekesisemat pilti， kui ajalooõpikutes mahti on。 Sümpaatne oli ka tema kirjutamisstiil， mis on pisut vestlev-jutustatav， aga ei jätnud muljet， et autor üritab kõigest väest teravmeelne olla。Kokkuvõttes mulle meeldis， aga mitte päris sellistel alustel， mida autor oleks tahtnud。 Pye ei kirjutanud raamatut sellest， kuidas Põhjameri tegi meid selleks， kes me oleme。 Küll aga paotab ta ust maailma， kus inimesed teevad oma valikud （mõnikord surve all， aga ei ole ainult passiivsed subjektid） ning mis on märksa värvikam kui võiks arvata。 Hobiajaloolastele põnev， akadeemikud võivad urgitseda。 。。。more
Rik Demeyer
，
Saaie boel， oninteressant gebadineer vol nutteloze weetjes zonder samenhang。 Nul vaart。 Tenenkrullende stijl。 Als dit een bestseller is， dan moeten de betrokken recensenten recta naar de Goelag。 Enkele reis。
Mathijs Breedveld
，
Een interessant boek。 Geeft geen compleet beeld， maar dat is niet nodig。 Toch had de auteur beter kunnen kiezen voor meer casestudies of een breder perspectief。 Nu hangt het er tussen in en daardoor mist er structuur。 De conclusie is ook zeer summier voor een boek。 Wat de structuur ook niet ten goede komt。
Caro
，
It was a long and hard read。 It is not that it was uninteresting but the style was not one that I like。 I found it very repetitious。 I don't object to giving examples but not every statement needs several examples。 The saving grace or the reason for three stars is the chapter about the plague laws。This chapter is so relevant to the current situation that I tolerated the repetitions。Fascinating to see that the use of a epidemic/pandemic triggers the same behaviour/abuse from those in power and le It was a long and hard read。 It is not that it was uninteresting but the style was not one that I like。 I found it very repetitious。 I don't object to giving examples but not every statement needs several examples。 The saving grace or the reason for three stars is the chapter about the plague laws。This chapter is so relevant to the current situation that I tolerated the repetitions。Fascinating to see that the use of a epidemic/pandemic triggers the same behaviour/abuse from those in power and leaves the poorer and weaker pay the heaviest price。 How come do we seem so unable to learn from past experience？ Time and time again， history repeats itself。 。。。more
Alf Holten
，
I flipped between 3 and 4 stars， but in the end the book has given me so much that it is worth 4 stars。Cons: It was difficult to follow at times - the book contains a lot of different persons， topics and time periods。 This in itself is not bad but concentration is needed all the way through the book。Pros: This is excellent materiel for inspiration on further reading。 If I didn’t already have a stack of unread books I would immediately have followed up on diving deeper into some of the things men I flipped between 3 and 4 stars， but in the end the book has given me so much that it is worth 4 stars。Cons: It was difficult to follow at times - the book contains a lot of different persons， topics and time periods。 This in itself is not bad but concentration is needed all the way through the book。Pros: This is excellent materiel for inspiration on further reading。 If I didn’t already have a stack of unread books I would immediately have followed up on diving deeper into some of the things mentioned in the book。As part of the North I am happy to get the North more onto the scene in the development of the Western world ;）BTW: A lot of reviews of this book claims that “the vikings suddenly disappear”。。。 Well， it is the nature of this book。 It is not a deep-diving book about specific periods， events etc。。。 。。。more
Milva
，
2。75
Rishabh Sinha
，
Bloody boring
Andy Pandy
，
Not an essential history by any means， unless the North Sea lens is especially meaningful for you。 Wish I could give 3。5。
Alisha G
，
Pye has a very distinct literary voice， which starts out amusing but becomes tedious halfway through。
Shannon
，
Not at all what I thought it would be。 The title and description made me think it would be more about the North Sea and less about random things that happened in the countries around the sea。 Also， it goes much later than I thought it would based on the description。
Matthew Dorkings
，
I simply did not understand what the premise of this book was。 In my own error， I had thought it would be more focussed on trade in the region in the middle ages， and there is some good stuff about the Hanseatic League in there。 But generally there's absolutely no overriding theme。The author claims it's an account of how the societies on the North Sea helped shape the modern world as much as the southern regions。 Was this even in dispute？ There's plenty of more focused works on the region。 Eithe I simply did not understand what the premise of this book was。 In my own error， I had thought it would be more focussed on trade in the region in the middle ages， and there is some good stuff about the Hanseatic League in there。 But generally there's absolutely no overriding theme。The author claims it's an account of how the societies on the North Sea helped shape the modern world as much as the southern regions。 Was this even in dispute？ There's plenty of more focused works on the region。 Either way， chapters dart about from theme to theme and region to region。 Even within a single chapter it's difficult to follow what the topic is or where the setting falls。 Chronology is completely alien to the work， which would be fine if it was at least thematically structured but it isn't。 Within a page we can fly from prostitution in Flanders to the plague in Scandinavia。 I frequently kept rereading sections as I thought I'd missed something， but no。 There's some genuinely interesting stuff about the Vikings in there and the author is clearly a good writer （there's no sensationalism or dubiousness in there） it just feels so scattered and unfocused， it's difficult to gain much from it 。。。more
Graham Cammock
，
This is a wonderful book， very interesting and riveting from start to finish。 The subtitle （how the North Sea made us who we are） had me a little confused， I thought it just meant people around the North Sea， I had no idea it meant the entire world！ That should give you an idea。 The ending of this book is the best as Michael Pye really takes it up a notch and conveniently recaps on what you’ve learned into a passionate crescendo。 A real eye opener and well worth a read！
Joseph S。
，
A well-researched and engagingly written book。 Its primary argument， however， locates the origins of "modernity" （the "transformation" heralded in the title） in the early forms of capitalism developed as a corollary to the scientific and economic developments of the denizens living around the North Sea。 It seems as though ignoring the impact of literature， history-writing， philosophical developments and the nascent nationalism that would become so dangerous in the ensuing centuries leaves out a A well-researched and engagingly written book。 Its primary argument， however， locates the origins of "modernity" （the "transformation" heralded in the title） in the early forms of capitalism developed as a corollary to the scientific and economic developments of the denizens living around the North Sea。 It seems as though ignoring the impact of literature， history-writing， philosophical developments and the nascent nationalism that would become so dangerous in the ensuing centuries leaves out a massive of amount of potential material that could be levied in order to write a more holistic "cultural history。" Pye provides wonderful anecdotes from the histories and legal documents throughout， which become the spoonful of sugar makes his ideological argument （which really begins to ramp up in the latter half of the book， when Pye reaches the discussion of early modernity） slightly easier to swallow。 But again， the book seems to present a rather narrow definition of "culture。" 。。。more
Magpie
，
Half way through
Stephen Wood
，
I did like this book。 It’s history in a readable form， academic without being fusty， an explanation of a time in our history that seems to be otherwise under-reported – the period between the departure of the Romans and the Reformation， what we loosely call the Dark Ages and Middle Ages。 There was a lot going on in Europe at that time， and this book tells its story。 The chapters are arranged in nicely distinct subjects and the author uses anecdote， contemporary observation and references to good I did like this book。 It’s history in a readable form， academic without being fusty， an explanation of a time in our history that seems to be otherwise under-reported – the period between the departure of the Romans and the Reformation， what we loosely call the Dark Ages and Middle Ages。 There was a lot going on in Europe at that time， and this book tells its story。 The chapters are arranged in nicely distinct subjects and the author uses anecdote， contemporary observation and references to good effect。 He even manages some wry humour and a smattering of thinly disguised cynicism to lighten the， sometimes， drier elements of the subject。However， like other reviewers I do have some criticisms。 The timelines are confusing and jump about too much to keep track of the narrative。 The first part of the book is true to its sub-title “How The North Sea Made Us Who We Are”， telling us about trade， money， incursion， social interaction and the constant battle of coastal communities against the naturally changing seascape。 It then wanders off that target， drawing a more general picture of north west Europe。 The author tries to pull it all back together in his closing paragraphs， but it’s a bit late by then。 Nevertheless， one does leave this book with a sense of having learned a huge amount。The author’s eccentric syntax tripped me up from time to time。 I have never come across such enthusiastic use of semi-colons as separators， which took a bit of getting used to， but on the whole this is an entertaining and informative book。 。。。more
Rik Maene
，
De structuur van het boek was mij niet steeds duidelijk。 Maar dit is natuurlijk eigen aan het leven。 Veel verhalen laten zich niet vatten in één specifieke map。 Desalniettemin vond ik de aangebrachte praktische verhalen zeer verhelderend en aangenaam om te lezen。 Voor wie geïnteresseerd is in geschiedenis: niet twijfelen。 Een aanrader。
Louise
，
Unless you are heading to that part of the world。。。。take a pass
David Szatkowski
，
This was quite interesting。 Much of the history I tend to read focuses more on Southern Europe， so this was a good balance to knowledge and perspective。 Many things we take for granted （punctuation， silver coinage， merchant unions） are things we inherited from Northern Europe。 This is an easy read， much like listening to a history professor tell stories about the history of everyday items and concepts。
Frederick
，
This book about the countries around the North Sea during the Middle Ages fell somewhat short of my expectations。 It received a lot of attention and praise， but it failed to convince me。 Maybe the scope of the book is juist too wide: as the author himself states， it is a book "that covers thousand years and hundred kingdoms"。 So you get to know something about the Vikings， something about the Irish monks and something about Flemish painters， but it's not more than bits and pieces。 This book about the countries around the North Sea during the Middle Ages fell somewhat short of my expectations。 It received a lot of attention and praise， but it failed to convince me。 Maybe the scope of the book is juist too wide: as the author himself states， it is a book "that covers thousand years and hundred kingdoms"。 So you get to know something about the Vikings， something about the Irish monks and something about Flemish painters， but it's not more than bits and pieces。 。。。more
Gultekin Irengun
，
Really enjoyed this book and the way it was dealing with the historical facts in an informal manner without boring with dates and details but still touching corners of life and all types of advancements that made the northern europe。 From brutal barbarian realities of vikings to oppressive and not so peaceful coming of christianity and its power grabbing， traders and merchants that defies the kings to emerging laws and mathematics for the sailors and traders。。。 it is the birth of capitalism main Really enjoyed this book and the way it was dealing with the historical facts in an informal manner without boring with dates and details but still touching corners of life and all types of advancements that made the northern europe。 From brutal barbarian realities of vikings to oppressive and not so peaceful coming of christianity and its power grabbing， traders and merchants that defies the kings to emerging laws and mathematics for the sailors and traders。。。 it is the birth of capitalism mainly around today's Netherlands。。。 the good thing is the book attracts the attention and creates intrigue and if you want to know more there is a huge list of references。 。。。more
Yeongbae Kim
，
I expected to learn more about the impact that the North Sea had。 The book was a lamentable hodgepodge of odd subjects put together。
Els
，
Great book， I was not disappointed and enjoy reading this。 I do agree on the ‘gaps’ other reviewers write about。 Specially when the content and the title of the chapter were not alliend。 I missed a great part on the science-part。 Nevertheless， it was adictively reading。
Matthew
，
Wonderfull historical work about the north sea and how it has connected people over the centuries。
Robin Sloan
，
Interesting， much tangential research from contemporary records to illustrate how the North Sea connected communities and how ideas and trade developed。 Fascinating how Frisians and fish ‘invented money’， how influential Viking trade was， and how extensive the Hanseatic league was。 The Flemish and Renaissance artistic connection surprising。 A very good read。
Annm
，
Interesting thesis， not particularly well-argued。 It’s not that it didn’t seem believable， but that the author doesn’t ever provide an alternate explanation。
Kieran
，
A fascinating look at the medieval and early modern history of the seas around Northern Europe。 A motley collection of Frisian traders， Viking raiders and settlers， monastic thinkers and proto-scientists， Hanseatic traders and Low Countries artisans。 I’m not sure I buy Pye’s central thesis， that these people represent the modern world in embryonic form， but he still reveals an interconnected history that does not get the attention it perhaps deserves。
Lars
，
Liked it very muchI loved the myriads of tiny stories that MP weaves together。Esp the stories about the special status women had， stroke a chord， as did the way the plague became the foundation of the social contract between citizen and state especially in the Nordic countries。Consider this book as a ton of bricks - and the bricks can help you build an understanding of the factors that shaped Europe。
Simon
，
Goed geschreven boek over de maatschappelijke， economische en handelsontwikkelingen in de landen rond de Noordzee in de （vroege） middeleeuwen。
Max
，