The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature
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- Author：C.S. Lewis
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Summary
C。S。 Lewis' The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view， as historical and cultural background to the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance。 It describes the "image" discarded by later ages as "the medieval synthesis itself， the whole organization of their theology， science and history into a single， complex， harmonious mental model of the universe。" This， Lewis' last book， was hailed as "the final memorial to the work of a great scholar and teacher and a wise and noble mind。"
Reviews
Nick Roark
，
Better Every Time
Preston Blakeley
，
Lewis the scholar is most prevalent here， reminding us that chronological snobbery is rubbish and there is much to learn from the Medievals。 My understanding of the “Middle Ages” was heretofore limited to what is often naively imagined of the “Dark Ages，” an epoch assumed to exist under a shadowy canopy of ignorance。 But this could not be further from the truth， for we moderns are certainly at fault for the very ignorance we assume on those who come before us。
Richie Robertson
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My brain hurts。
Skrivena stranica
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Lewis， my friend， you didn't disappoint。 I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to have Lewis teach you about medieval literature。 Lewis， my friend， you didn't disappoint。 I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to have Lewis teach you about medieval literature。 。。。more
Davis Smith
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Why do I own and read so much Lewis when I have repeatedly expressed my opinion that he is not among the century’s best theologians and fictioneers？ Good question。 Though I will always recommend “Screwtape” as an inspirational/devotional classic of high quality and “The Abolition of Man” as one of my very favorite essays， he is always best when he is writing academically， not “popularly，” and this book offers a solid and engrossing aesthetic and historical sojourn that serves as an excellent int Why do I own and read so much Lewis when I have repeatedly expressed my opinion that he is not among the century’s best theologians and fictioneers？ Good question。 Though I will always recommend “Screwtape” as an inspirational/devotional classic of high quality and “The Abolition of Man” as one of my very favorite essays， he is always best when he is writing academically， not “popularly，” and this book offers a solid and engrossing aesthetic and historical sojourn that serves as an excellent introduction to the most misunderstood of all historical periods - that is， if you are familiar enough with some key texts and philosophies in order to follow Lewis’s discourse。 It’s not so much a “literary guide” than a broad overview and interpretation of medieval thought （and there’s practically nothing about the Renaissance） but it’s a very worthy library/reference piece and a nice last tribute to what could be， at its prime， a uniquely holistic mind。 。。。more
Pola Michalek
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school read
Apple Sweetass
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c。s。 lewis is so erudite that even books on arcane subjects meant for a wider audience go over my head。this survey is "light" reading， but still demands focus。 don't read with background noise。 i will return to it because I want to be medieval。 not millenial c。s。 lewis is so erudite that even books on arcane subjects meant for a wider audience go over my head。this survey is "light" reading， but still demands focus。 don't read with background noise。 i will return to it because I want to be medieval。 not millenial 。。。more
Robert
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I don't think Lewis got the point of the view from above in the Dream of Scipio。 https://donaldrobertson。name/2013/01/。。。The point， at least according to Donald Robertson， is that glory is fleeting， and the empire will be destroyed， but virtue lasts。 I'm beginning to see why Lewis blames the Stoics for an allergy for untoward desire despite Plato's clearly stating in the Republic that desires the root of all evil。 The Stoics still drew heavily from Plato。 I am skeptical of Lewis's interpretation I don't think Lewis got the point of the view from above in the Dream of Scipio。 https://donaldrobertson。name/2013/01/。。。The point， at least according to Donald Robertson， is that glory is fleeting， and the empire will be destroyed， but virtue lasts。 I'm beginning to see why Lewis blames the Stoics for an allergy for untoward desire despite Plato's clearly stating in the Republic that desires the root of all evil。 The Stoics still drew heavily from Plato。 I am skeptical of Lewis's interpretation of a heaven for statesmen。 If Cicero believes that souls can return to heaven， where does he say that common people cannot ascend there as well？ Does Pompey or Scipio say in the dream that are none in heaven but statesmen， or are no common people portrayed in the dream？ Cicero may well have believed that there were common people in heaven but not shown them in the dream。 Or does Cicero explicitly say that there are no common people in heaven？ Perhaps Lewis is merely exaggerating， which he has a tendency to do when talking about the Stoics。I heard one lecture that Lewis was saying that medieval people were in a constant devotional mood because of the way that they viewed the stars and the planets。 This may be why Lewis said that he was not going to mention theologians too much， such as Aquinas， because they did not explicitly mention the medieval model of the cosmos in their theological writings。 But I'm just guessing because I haven't read much of Aquinas。 Francis Schaeffer says that artists are the ones who catch on to philosophical shifts before everyone else。 This could be seen as seeing the future。I find it interesting that in Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy C S Lewis is quoted at length in an explanatory footnote by the editor of a translation on page 157， for Lewis's version of the differentiation between the intellect and reason in The Discarded Image。 Francis Schaeffer said that in the medieval period the people in paintings had so few features that they were more symbolic than real and defined， but as soon as people could tell that a particular person was used as a model for Mary， things got different， and the lower story of nature ate up the upper story of grace。 Milton wrote a poem on the melancholic man https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Il_Pens。。。 and the sanguine man https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/L%27All。。。， so I wrote a dialogue based on it but I made C。 S。 Lewis the sanguine man and Solomon the melancholic man。 。。。more
Hayden Lukas
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C。S。 Lewis's scholarly work here is a great achievement。 There is a lot of misinformation about the Medieval period， what it looked like， what people believed， how they approached the world， etc。 We like to look back at these people like they are a bunch of backwards Luddites who thought the earth was flat and believed we were the "center of the universe"--whatever that might mean。 Lewis's approach shows that the Medieval period was never like the caricature we paint of them。 Our popular view of C。S。 Lewis's scholarly work here is a great achievement。 There is a lot of misinformation about the Medieval period， what it looked like， what people believed， how they approached the world， etc。 We like to look back at these people like they are a bunch of backwards Luddites who thought the earth was flat and believed we were the "center of the universe"--whatever that might mean。 Lewis's approach shows that the Medieval period was never like the caricature we paint of them。 Our popular view of the era is， simply put， arrogant without cause--"privileged" in all of its bad connotations today。The thing the Medieval's succeeded at was building a Grand System--quite unlike the one we are familiar with。 It was not simply a strictly "scientific" explanation of what the world was like past， present， and future， but delineated what it meant to live in this world， how to do it well， the reasons why one should continue along in this world， and most importantly， the Grand System provided the foundations upon which one could lead a reasonable and faithful life。 If it were not so technical and children were given more exposure to the classics of Western History， I think this book would have proved much more valuable than even Mere Christianity to the high schooler struggling with his faith。 It most clearly offers an alternative to our nihilistic worldview--or rather， it pulls back the curtain to the day before yesterday， when our culture really did believe there was an objective meaning tied to our subjective search for meaning。 And most importantly， this was not tied too tightly to any specific model of the universe， the ancient past， or the prospect of the future。 Unfortunately， this seems a bit too advanced for a high schooler， but the lessons it teaches would do well to correct the pretensions of our age。 Even if you've never read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Chaucer's Tales， Aquinas' Summa， or Dante's Comedy--which proficiency in would make this book even more pleasurable--I would say this book is required reading for anyone who wants to speak a word about the day before yesterday。A few fun things I learned from the book:The reason for Plato and Aristotle's influence in the Middle Ages was because the Middle Ages were basically about Auctors （authors）--the learned people。 Commentators didn't take the Auctors at face value--they had their criticisms--but they trusted their heritage。Medieval and Renaissance folks never explicitly tied their search for meaning explicitly to a model of how the physical world worked。 Even though they believed much of what we believe about the universe today （as far as physical science goes）， they found meaning beyond the physical science。Lewis explains why we misread "flat earth" maps from the era and why maps were drawn the way they were in the Medieval period。The distinction between the faeries （Longaevi） and the gods was primarily that of marginality/centrality。Fortuna， Mars， Pan， Dionysus， et al。 still have administration over our world。 。。。more
Aaron Schuschu
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Like most Christians， he perpetrates a lie about the genealogy of modern thought; particularly science and which concept was birthed through what other concept within science。 On the other hand， he gets what I like about the Middle Ages- being intellectual was more humble。 Interaction was more humble。
Samuel Parkison
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I felt a bit like an outsider listening in on a technical conversation: this is a discipline-specific book， and for someone like me， who is a novice in Medieval thought， it can be a bit hard to follow。 But not impossible， which I think speaks to Lewis’s skill as a teacher （I。e。， if he could communicate a high-level academic work with such clear pros that even a novice can follow， how effective he must have been when he actually did had students in view）。Lewis paints a picture of Medieval cosmolo I felt a bit like an outsider listening in on a technical conversation: this is a discipline-specific book， and for someone like me， who is a novice in Medieval thought， it can be a bit hard to follow。 But not impossible， which I think speaks to Lewis’s skill as a teacher （I。e。， if he could communicate a high-level academic work with such clear pros that even a novice can follow， how effective he must have been when he actually did had students in view）。Lewis paints a picture of Medieval cosmology in this book。 It can’t be replicated point for point， but there are many aspects of it that are most definitely superior to the drab immanent domain we late-moderns describe as “the natural universe。” There’s something soul-stirring and profoundly biblical about thinking of the cosmological structure not as empty “space，” but rather as “heavens” teaming with life and movement—seen and unseen。 。。。more
Cindy Rollins
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Lewis's treatise on Medieval Cosmology which ends on this lovely quote:"I take it to be part and parcel of the same great process of Internalisation18 which has turned genius from an attendant daemon into a quality of the mind。Always， century by century， item after item is transferred from the object’s side of the account to the subject’s。 And now， in some extreme forms of Behaviourism， the subject himself is discounted as merely subjective; we only think that we think。 Having eaten up everythin Lewis's treatise on Medieval Cosmology which ends on this lovely quote:"I take it to be part and parcel of the same great process of Internalisation18 which has turned genius from an attendant daemon into a quality of the mind。Always， century by century， item after item is transferred from the object’s side of the account to the subject’s。 And now， in some extreme forms of Behaviourism， the subject himself is discounted as merely subjective; we only think that we think。 Having eaten up everything else， he eats himself up too。 And where we ‘go from that’ is a dark question。" 。。。more
Matt
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I can't realistically give this book a star rating。 Most of it went way over my head。 C。S。 Lewis is a man of great erudition and I can only sit and learn at his feet in this book。 Even though it was an introduction to Medieval and Renaissance literature， I was still too unfamiliar with the subject matter to fully grasp what Lewis was talking about。 I would like to read this again after having some more familiarity with the middle ages and medieval literature。 I can't realistically give this book a star rating。 Most of it went way over my head。 C。S。 Lewis is a man of great erudition and I can only sit and learn at his feet in this book。 Even though it was an introduction to Medieval and Renaissance literature， I was still too unfamiliar with the subject matter to fully grasp what Lewis was talking about。 I would like to read this again after having some more familiarity with the middle ages and medieval literature。 。。。more
Bennett W。
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In The Discarded Image， C。 S。 Lewis presents the Medieval Model - i。e。 worldview - for students of medieval and renaissance literature。 The book began its life as a course of lectures given at Oxford， and its aim is to lead students "in" to the literature rather than taking them them "out" of it。 After addressing preliminary issues， Lewis discusses the classical roots of the Model and the critical transitional period （205 AD [Plotinus] to 533 AD [pseudo-Dionysus]）， "which brought the characteris In The Discarded Image， C。 S。 Lewis presents the Medieval Model - i。e。 worldview - for students of medieval and renaissance literature。 The book began its life as a course of lectures given at Oxford， and its aim is to lead students "in" to the literature rather than taking them them "out" of it。 After addressing preliminary issues， Lewis discusses the classical roots of the Model and the critical transitional period （205 AD [Plotinus] to 533 AD [pseudo-Dionysus]）， "which brought the characteristically medieval frame of mind into being。" Then he describes the Model from 'top to bottom' quite literally， beginning with the the heavens （ch。 5） and descending to the earth （ch。 7）， with a brief in between to discuss the "Longaevi" （ch。 6）， who occupy a mediating position between angels and men in the great chain of being。 Lewis concludes with a discuss on the influence of the Model on medieval lit。 Since I am not an expert in this field （medieval and renaissance lit。）， I cannot speak to its contribution to the field or offer meaningful criticism。 I came to The Discarded Image as a student of Lewis， church history， and classical philosophy， and as such， I was not disappointed。 C。 S。 Lewis was more than just a Christian apologist and fantasy writer - he was a professor。 And through The Discarded Image the reader is given a passport of sorts into his classroom。 I was particular impressed by the breadth of his reading and the command of the sources， and I was particularly delighted to see how some of themes under discussion make it into Lewis' own fiction。 Students of church history， especially medieval church history， will benefit from it as well。 Lewis argues that the Model is presented in its fulness in both the Summa of Aquinas and Dante's Divine Comedy。 Sadly， many protestant students of church history are familiar with these works in name only。 There is， however， a remedy to ignorance - knowledge。 And The Discarded Image serves as a great way "in" to those works magisterial works。 。。。more
Phil
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Having recently finished Michael Ward's Planet Narnia， this seemed like a logical next step in trying to better understand Lewis' fascination with medieval cosmology。 While I enjoyed many parts of it and highlighted almost 100 passages on my Kindle， it's also true that I did not understand large swaths of it。 Having no familiarity with Chaucer in middle-English， nor the Latin classics， nor much of any medieval writing save for Dante's Inferno， I was often out of my depth。 It was only Lewis' abil Having recently finished Michael Ward's Planet Narnia， this seemed like a logical next step in trying to better understand Lewis' fascination with medieval cosmology。 While I enjoyed many parts of it and highlighted almost 100 passages on my Kindle， it's also true that I did not understand large swaths of it。 Having no familiarity with Chaucer in middle-English， nor the Latin classics， nor much of any medieval writing save for Dante's Inferno， I was often out of my depth。 It was only Lewis' ability as a teacher to the uninitiated that made it possible for me to read and benefit from the book。 He was like the guide and poet Virgil to the stunned and faltering Dante Alighieri （me）。 Or something like that。 Apparently there is an abbreviated and simplified summary of this book in Lewis' magnum opus on 16th century literature - I am hoping I can track that down and get a better handle on the matter。 。。。more
Antje Spijker-Huiges
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I loved this the first time I read it （in college） but on re-reading I find that I understand only about 30% of the book？ That’s not Lewis’ fault obviously， he’s as brilliant as ever。 This particular book didn’t delight me as much as I remembered and expected though。
J。W。 Thompson
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One of the best introductions to the Medieval world view I've encountered。 Perhaps its greatest strength is that Lewis keeps to the primary sources that were so influential on Western culture during this period。 He was better acquainted with these texts than most modern scholars， and the ease with which he can draw connections and explore the ramifications of various works demonstrates this beautifully。 A great part of this book's appeal is also the aesthetic and imaginative delight Lewis takes One of the best introductions to the Medieval world view I've encountered。 Perhaps its greatest strength is that Lewis keeps to the primary sources that were so influential on Western culture during this period。 He was better acquainted with these texts than most modern scholars， and the ease with which he can draw connections and explore the ramifications of various works demonstrates this beautifully。 A great part of this book's appeal is also the aesthetic and imaginative delight Lewis takes in the Medieval Model itself， for all its flaws。 As usual， he has a knack for transmitting this enthusiasm to his audience。Particular attention should be paid to the recurrence of the 'Neo-Platonic triad' as it appears as a pattern throughout the book。 This philosophical concept is of great importance when contrasting Western and Eastern theology and world views。 。。。more
Tom Cicero
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What a fascinating and informative book！ Really makes you think about our modern hubris regarding the universe。
Brannigan
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A very enlightening book。 A must for medievalist or armchair historian of the medieval time period。 It reminds me of a our modern day cliff notes。 He explains how the medieval mindset and how that helps us understand primary sources from the time period better than trying to read them with our mind set。
Martin
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Very good explanation of medieval model of universe。 But much more。 I find this quotation from epilog extremely prescient。 "This revolution was certainly not brought about by the discovery of new facts。 When I was a boy I believed that ‘Darwin discovered evolution’ and that the far more general， radical， and even cosmic developmentalism which till lately dominated all popular thought was a superstructure raised on the biological theorem。 This view has been sufficiently disproved。2 The statement Very good explanation of medieval model of universe。 But much more。 I find this quotation from epilog extremely prescient。 "This revolution was certainly not brought about by the discovery of new facts。 When I was a boy I believed that ‘Darwin discovered evolution’ and that the far more general， radical， and even cosmic developmentalism which till lately dominated all popular thought was a superstructure raised on the biological theorem。 This view has been sufficiently disproved。2 The statement which I have just quoted about the Entwicklungsgrund was made by Schelling in 1812。 In him， in Keats， in Wagner’s tetralogy， in Goethe， in Herder， the change to the new point of view has already taken place。 Its growth can be traced far further back in Leibniz， Akenside， Kant， Maupertuis， Diderot。 Already in 1786 Robinet believes in an ‘active principle’ which overcomes brute matter， and la progression n’est pas finie。 For him， as for Bergson or de Chardin， the ‘gates of the future are wide open’。 The demand for a developing world—a demand obviously in harmony both with the revolutionary and the romantic temper—grows up first; when it is full grown the scientists go to work and discover the evidence on which our belief in that sort of universe would now be held to rest。 There is no question here of the old Model’s being shattered by the inrush of new phenomena。 The truth would seem to be the reverse; that when changes in the human mind produce a sufficient disrelish of the old Model and a sufficient hankering for some new one， phenomena to support that new one will obediently turn up。 I do not at all mean that these new phenomena are illusory。 Nature has all sorts of phenomena in stock and can suit many different tastes。" 。。。more
Mary Beth
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“Historically as well as cosmically， medieval man stood at the foot of the stairway; looking up， he felt delight。 The backward， like the upward， glance exhilarated him with majestic spectacle， and humility was rewarded with the pleasures of admiration。” P。185A lot of this book went way over my head， but what I could understand was massively helpful and enlightening。 My reading of the Divine Comedy is going to be greatly helped by this book。“The laugh turns not against the Middle Ages， but agains “Historically as well as cosmically， medieval man stood at the foot of the stairway; looking up， he felt delight。 The backward， like the upward， glance exhilarated him with majestic spectacle， and humility was rewarded with the pleasures of admiration。” P。185A lot of this book went way over my head， but what I could understand was massively helpful and enlightening。 My reading of the Divine Comedy is going to be greatly helped by this book。“The laugh turns not against the Middle Ages， but against ourselves。” （P。147）。 。。。more
Annette Gulick
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The preface merits five stars。
Matthew Richey
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Quite helpful in understanding the medieval world of literature。 Good for a reference as well as a read。
D。J。 Edwardson
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The Discarded Image is a more scholarly affair than most Lewis books。 The keen prose and deep insights into the medieval concept of the universe are engaging， though， and make it more palatable for modern readers less versed in the source material。One lasting impression I left the book with was the poverty of my education。 Lewis is so well-versed in his subject that I found my head spinning on more than one occasion as he effortlessly quoted from source after source。Still， his main points are cl The Discarded Image is a more scholarly affair than most Lewis books。 The keen prose and deep insights into the medieval concept of the universe are engaging， though， and make it more palatable for modern readers less versed in the source material。One lasting impression I left the book with was the poverty of my education。 Lewis is so well-versed in his subject that I found my head spinning on more than one occasion as he effortlessly quoted from source after source。Still， his main points are clear: the medieval world view has a beauty to it that is often lost on us simply because much of it was not true。 They saw the sky and starry host as fixed powers， a cosmic play of good and evil。 They saw human temperament as influenced by various humors resulting from different mixings of the four basic elements （earth， water， air， and fire）。 Science has come along to say it's all dust and atoms， synapses as genes。And yet， in the end， Lewis tells us that though he himself is enchanted by the "medieval model"， as he calls it， what he is really after is to look at all models with less interest in their supposed veracity and more in what the model tells us both about those who created and embraced it and ourselves as outside observers of it。 For， he opines， it may be that our present "scientific" concepts will give way to a new model at some point。 But if so， it will be more from the temperament of those who create it than from any brute facts。 He is not saying it will be without evidence to support it， only that the evidence will always be limited by the nature of the questions the model seeks to answer。A very helpful insight。 One of many Lewis has to offer here。 Making this book well worth the effort and one that will bear many re-readings for those seeking to understand who we are as men and moderns and why we think the way we do。 。。。more
Shaina Herrmann
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My biggest takeaway: I have so much to read。。。！
Zina
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A masterpiece of logical thought by Clive Staples Lewis。 This book is worth reading solely for its wonderful references and especially the last sentence of the last paragraph。
Mel Foster
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My 20th C。S。 Lewis book; probably the most challenging， yet very rewarding。 This book is heavily allusive; as an English major and teacher with a strong Medieval background I still found myself faced with discussions of many books I have not read。 This is， however， a great book to gain insight into the Medieval World view。 It also repeatedly demonstrates that many words and ideas we THINK we understand in Medieval literature had very different meanings to their contemporary audiences。 Words like My 20th C。S。 Lewis book; probably the most challenging， yet very rewarding。 This book is heavily allusive; as an English major and teacher with a strong Medieval background I still found myself faced with discussions of many books I have not read。 This is， however， a great book to gain insight into the Medieval World view。 It also repeatedly demonstrates that many words and ideas we THINK we understand in Medieval literature had very different meanings to their contemporary audiences。 Words like "sublunary" and "fairy" for instance have morphed significantly in meaning since used by Donne and the Gawain poet。 。。。more
Max Lybbert
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I was maybe twelve the first time I read the Chronicles of Narnia， and I love the Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters。 I knew that Lewis was a philologist， but since I never studied philology， I had no idea what this book would be like。 My best guess was a in-depth study of literature and linguistics。 While I think I could have enjoyed a book like that， I’m happy to have been wrong。The Discarded Image gives a summary of medieval thought。 It includes the intellectual lineage of many belie I was maybe twelve the first time I read the Chronicles of Narnia， and I love the Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters。 I knew that Lewis was a philologist， but since I never studied philology， I had no idea what this book would be like。 My best guess was a in-depth study of literature and linguistics。 While I think I could have enjoyed a book like that， I’m happy to have been wrong。The Discarded Image gives a summary of medieval thought。 It includes the intellectual lineage of many beliefs， tracing some to Ancient Rome。 In the epilogue， Lewis admits that he liked the medieval view of the world， even if he had to acknowledge that it was based on factual errors。 And that enthusiasm comes through。 Now that I have a better understanding of how Chaucer， Dante， Mallory， and Shakespeare （and， of course， others） viewed the world， I’m excited to read medieval literature， hopefully avoiding many misunderstandings。 。。。more
Luke
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If you want any insight into Medieval philosophy and astronomy， look no further。 We always forget that Lewis’s wheelhouse was really in Medieval scholarship。 And his vast knowledge shines through here。
Rafael Salazar
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