A distant mirror the calamitous 14th century

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In this revelatory work, Barbara W. Tuchman examines not only the great rhythms of history but the grain and texture of domestic life: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes, and war dominated the lives of serf, noble, and clergy alike. What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. No one has ever done this better. Tuchman at the top of her powers. She has done nothing finer.

A distant mirror the calamitous 14th century

Knopf in It won a U. National Book Award in History. The main title, A Distant Mirror , conveys Tuchman's thesis that the death and suffering of the 14th century reflect those of the 20th century, particularly the horrors of World War I. The book's focus is the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages which caused widespread suffering in Europe in the 14th century. Drawing heavily on Froissart's Chronicles , Tuchman recounts the histories of the Hundred Years' War , the Black Plague , the Papal Schism , pillaging mercenaries , anti-Semitism , popular revolts including the Jacquerie in France, the liberation of Switzerland , the Battle of the Golden Spurs , and various peasant uprisings. However, Tuchman's scope is not limited to political and religious events. She begins with a discussion of the Little Ice Age , a change in climate that reduced average temperatures in Europe well into the midth century, and describes the lives of all social classes, including nobility, clergy, and peasantry. Much of the narrative is woven around the life of the French nobleman Enguerrand de Coucy. Tuchman chose him as a central figure partly because his life spanned much of the 14th century, from to A Distant Mirror received much popular acclaim. A reviewer in History Today described it as an enthralling work full of "vivid pen-portraits". However, scholarly reaction was muted.

There was a Papal Schism, with three men simultaneously claiming that tall white hat. It creates its own energy; that is, is got me revved about a subject I never really cared about. And yet, somehow, people managed to survive during those tumultuous times, albeit with short average lifespans.

Look Inside. In this revelatory work, Barbara W. Tuchman examines not only the great rhythms of history but the grain and texture of domestic life: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes, and war dominated the lives of serf, noble, and clergy alike. What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. No one has ever done this better.

The fourteenth century was a time of fabled crusades and chivalry, glittering cathedrals and grand castles. It was also a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague. Here, Barbara Tuchman masterfully reveals the two contradictory images of the age, examining the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes and war dominated the lives of serf, noble and clergy alike. Granting her subjects their loyalties, treacheries and guilty passions, Tuchman recreates the lives of proud cardinals, university scholars, grocers and clerks, saints and mystics, lawyers and mercenaries, and, above all, knights. The result is an astonishing reflection of medieval Europe, a historical tour de force. Account Options Ieiet. Barbara Tuchman. Penguin UK , Saturs Maps and Illustrations.

A distant mirror the calamitous 14th century

Knopf in It won a U. National Book Award in History. The main title, A Distant Mirror , conveys Tuchman's thesis that the death and suffering of the 14th century reflect those of the 20th century, particularly the horrors of World War I.

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You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. He's pretty irrelevant, and unnecessary. For a while now, I've had a boyish fascination with the Middle Ages, intensified by a couple of years spent studying Old English in grad school, and nursed along since then with occasional books about the Black Death, the Crusades, castle building, and whatever else seemed interesting to me. It is a colourful romp through history, rather than serious scholarship. Really, this should be a book I rave about. The Prince of Wales took Jean back to England along with other captured nobles and the enormous booty he had seized. One way to get a grip on some history is to take on the personalities of the day. And yet, somehow, people managed to survive during those tumultuous times, albeit with short average lifespans. The [Papal] schism shook the foundations of the central institution, spreading a deep and pervasive uneasiness. There's an entire chapter on the Holy Roman Emperor's visit--the dinners, plays, etc. Queens of the Conquest Alison Weir. This isn't a strict biography though, and Tuchman wanders wherever her interests take her. The history grips like a vice.

Account Options Ieiet. Barbara W.

Tehran Times. Where did he live? Look Inside. Eloquence isn't everything, and plenty of important books have been the work of rough hands. Dante pictured Bertrand in Hell, carrying his severed head before him as a lantern. I also liked the book because I know so little about France and am trying to rectify that lack. The religious aspect of 14th century life is particularly interesting: the Catholic Church played an enormous role in politics and everyday life, but was so corrupt and political that it had little moral authority. A classic. Aaron Welborn. Tools Tools. In my twenties, after childhood and teen years absorbing too many of what I thought were social norms from books, films, and the media, I slowly discovered, sometimes via difficult experiences, how different these could be from what was actually acceptable and likeable behaviour in the real world.