Customer Reviews

Medieval Europe: A Short Sourcebook

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We used this book for an upper level history class. It is an excellent resource for the best primary sources. I really enjoyed using it.

What can I say? I ordered the book at a price I could afford, and I received it promptly, in excellent condition. I am very pleased with this purchase. Thank you, everyone involved.

This is an excellent and comprehensive collection of sources from the Middle Ages in Europe. Divided into thirds (a section each on the Early, High and Late middle ages), it has a solid representation of source materials on religious and political life. Its only shortcoming (and the reason why I could only give it 4 stars) is its lack of materials about (or by) women - given the attitudes, expectations and limited opportunities this is not surprising; still, I wish there was at least some attention given them.

I just don't understand the pricing scheme here. The diff between the 3rd and 4th editions is over $50.00...are you kidding me? Now go on and tell me the 4th edition has within its golden covers newly discovered medieval sources..This book does not merit the price, I'm sorry..

Medieval Europe: A Short Sourcebook, 4th Edition is a useful companion book to Medieval Europe: A Short History as it provides complementary information that fleshes out the private writings and the people who made history by providing the back story to everything that is reported as having taken place in the Middle Ages. Contained within these writings is the arc of development of the Catholic church for both its supplicants and leaders, as well as the elements of man's attitude towards the women in their lives and what they considered proper behavior, what they feared, and what they subsequently attempted to control.

The book begins with writings detailing the transition from a Roman World and ends, fittingly, with the Age of Contradictions. One is privileged to read of Hypatia, the female philosopher who was martyred by being stoned to death for being an intelligent and outspoken female philosopher. Another female who was subjected to tyranny by her husband but nonetheless was able to read and leave written instructions for her son is Dhuoda. She is mentioned in passing in Medieval Europe: A Short History, but it is in A Short Sourcebook that one is able to fully understand not only Dhuoda's plight but also her faith and her suffering. And these tales of faith are only some of many that tell of how faith affects the lives of the common people as well as the more religious as evidenced by letters between the faithful. While this book does not provide all the answers necessary to fully comprehend Medieval Europe, it is useful as a supplement to the primary textbook, and even takes some of the literature one step farther as well as providing seemingly mundane regulations that provided guidance during a time of great expansion.

As noted in the Sourcebook, Medieval Europe was "a cycle of faith, fervor, and fortune" that "reinforced medieval piety and strengthened the medieval economy" and helped "inaugurate Europe's first great age of expansion" (173). The information provided in such passages as "The Customs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne" and the "Regulations for the May Fair at Provins" allow the reader to uncover how an expanding continent was attempting to maintain control over day-to-day business. In addition, historical documents such as "The Magna Charta" and "The Strasbourg Oaths" are included which the editors utilize to flesh out and complete the historical picture contained in the A Short History. There are other historical aspects that are a treat to read such as "The Greenland Saga", which documents a small portion of Viking history. This particular saga and that of "The Russian Primary Chronicle" illustrate the impact other countries had on Medieval Europe, information that is only briefly discussed in A Short History.

The role of women in medieval society, particularly in Carolingian Europe, was not one of equality, even if those women were in leadership positions in the church. Their presence, brought about through necessity, was abused by neglect at the hands of their husbands, and even some of the church leaders. What one will find in this book is that through the writings provided by a varying group of women one is offered a similar yet diverse view of how women were treated. And by studying these writings, one will find that it is the women who willingly locked themselves up in an abbey who were in a much better position to maintain their own freedom than the women who were locked up by their husbands or caretakers. And one can see this through the excellent examples of letters from the women in the abbeys, through those of educated women such as Dhuoda, to a morality play provided by a nun, Rosswitha, and on to a piece entitled Memories, by Dona Leonor Lopez de Cordoba who has the talent to both infuriate as well as make one feel sorry for her. And with regards to writings about the church, one can see the direction in which the Catholic Church was proceeding by reading the "Charges of Heresy Against Jan Hus," plus several charges of heresy against others, as well as their treatment of Joan of Arc.

Taken either together with A Short History, or on its own, A Short Sourcebook is a valuable piece of information that will help any student become more familiar with the mindset of Europeans living in the Middle Ages, as well as completing the historical picture of how society went about its business, whether it be merchants, the government, or the Catholic church.

Julie Pruss and Dr. Carl Edwin Lindgren

American Military University