Customer Reviews

The Story of Civilization: The Reformation : A History of European Civilization from Wyclif to Calvin : 1300-1564

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While this is not the most precise book on the Reformation, it is the most unique, thorough, and probably the largest. It is an epitome of the entire age in general, rather than a mere focus on particulars. One third of the book lapses before a singal mention of Martin Luther is made, but this is certainly not a flaw, Durant just shows how calls to reform happened centuries before him. Most histories simply focus on Luther, Calvin, and Henry the 8th, and fail to cover the whole age of the Reformation. This is not the case here. Durant begins with the condition of the Roman Catholic Church during the Papal Schism, moves to Wycliffe, shifts to Huss, and merges them with Zwingli, Luther,etc. Some forgivable digressions are made, but they end up serving their purpose well. Will Durant, a Catholic, judges the full scope of the Reformation with impartialty, revealing the pro's and con's of both institutions with sagacity. All in all this work is industrious and inspiring.

Reading Will Durant's History of European Civilization from Wycliff to Calvin 1300-1564 will be an illuminating experience for readers unacquainted with factual descriptions of life during those years. For having views on religion or government contrary to time or country thousands died slow deaths tied to a stake surrounded by a pile of burning wood. Those who committed less serious crimes against the church or state received the kinder, quicker death of one strong blow of a sword removing their head. Even belonging to royalty was no insurance for living to an old age. With the death of a ruling king or queen, only one member of the family could inherit the throne. Therefore it was not unusual for the quick murder of potential heirs who commonly were family members. The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is commonly taught as a wonderful event in world history. How many know that of the three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, only two returned, the largest, the Santa Maria having been destroyed in a storm. The harrowing return trip in two tiny, badly over-crowded open ships, stands as one of the miracles of ocean travel. In our observation of Columbus Day do we know the initial good will of the natives was quickly lost. On a later trip Columbus observed "The Europeans had roamed the island robbing the natives of gold and women; they had established a tropical paradise with five women to each man; they had quarreled and murdered one another, and nearly all the rest had been killed by the outraged Indians.

Later on in the Spanish conquest of Yucatan, the Aztec Empire and the socialistic civilization of the Incas Durant observes the conquered people were more civilized but not equal to the guns of the conquerors. Many knowledgeable insights such as these explain why Durant continues to hold the readers' attention throughout his lengthy books. It is understandable that reading nine hundred page books is anything but common practice in current times. Our average families find both husband and wife spending more hours at work with less time in the home. Nevertheless, for those who never got beyond grade school or high school Will Durant's historical books will build a factually informed education about the nature of government and religion in previous centuries preparing us for beginning the challenges of the 21st century. If you feel your mind being diminished by television's long commercials and the mere bits and bytes of news, start reading Will Durant's fascinating accounts of what was really going on inside the twists and turns of life in our European fatherland. You will soon find yourself building a more accurate picture of the countries from which we have come from and what our special gifts to the human race have been. This education will heighten your competence and self esteem as we wrestle with the changes within the United States and the world in the 21st century.

If we ask a question "What put an end to the Middle Ages (as the majority vizualizes them - barbarous, violent, uneducated, unsanitary... even if it is not really so)? To answer with author's words "Many causes through 3 centuries: the failure of the Crusades,...the resurrection of classic pagan culture, the expansion of commerce through great navigators, the rise of business class, the development of national states and Luther challenging the supernational authority of the Popes, printing". These 5 lines in short summarize the book. And although "we do nations injustice when we judge them from their kings, for morals are not made for sovereigns", you'll find accounts for all prominent monarchs of that period (to some, e.g. Yorks & Lancasters, Richard III, insane King Charles VI of France, only a dozen of lines is dedicated, analysis of lives and deeds of others - Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Mary Tudor and Henry VIII, Ivan the Terrible, the Burgundian kings, Fransisc I occupy chapters).

Approximately 1/4 of the book is dedicated to the conflict that actually brought the Reformation (church vs. state and individual)and afterwards, Contr-Reformation. As I'm not the specialist in this area, I've skipped some pages, but I'll definitely put myself together and read them later.

As usual, Mr Durant guides us through all bloody and terrible wars and strifes of that age, reminding us that "from barbarism to civilization requires a century, from civilization to barbarism needs but a day". No distinguished artist, philosopher, writer escapes his scrutiny (Hans Holbein, Rableis, Durer, F. Villon - to name just a few). I was particularly hooked by chapters on development of science and medicine (A. Pare, Copernicus, Columbus, Vesalius, Paracels etc), for things that are universally known now took centuries to discover and lives to prove.

After "Caesar and Christ" and "The Age of Faith", this volume makes the third "jewel" in my collection.

Just as he does in the other volumes of his "Story of Civilization," Durant bites off a huge chunk of history and manages to chew it all. "The Reformation" is encyclopedic, but he still manages to achieve penetrating depth and detail about many trends, events, and people amid the three centuries that he covers. The tone of his prose is always just this side of mirthful. You will learn of the lifelong contest between Charles V and Francis I. You will learn about a day in the life of an average Briton in Henry VIII's time (dinner at 10:00 am, "supper" about 4:00, no utensils). You will read the life of Rabelais and the French Paul Bunyan that he created. You will develop an appreciation of Hans Holbein the Younger, the painter of almost photographic portraits at Henry VIII's court. You will learn of saintly popes, greedy popes, and power-hungry popes. You will read passages from Martin Luther, whose violent intolerance (and whose attitude toward bigamy) will shock you. You will learn an enormous amount from this book, and you will enjoy doing it.

If you are interested in overall history, as I am, or merely interested in a certain era, then you cannot go wrong with Durant's wonderful series, this volume included. Covering the period of time which changed the world from what was to what we know now, Durant's wonderful style brings home fact after fact in a very readable format and text. Durant's work can read like a novel and I actually found myself learning very obscure facts all the while enjoying every page. There are many smaller works covering the Reformation, some very good ones also, but this one covers in in more depth than any I am familiar with and is much more readable than most. Like the rest of his work, this volume is well researched and like the rest of this particular series, can be read alone, no worse the wear. Don't be daunted by the 900 plus pages, they go much faster than you think. Recommend this one highly.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Though only one in a broader scope of study, Dr. Durant's volume on the reformation is perhaps the standard work on that tumultuous period of history. His work is correct in beginning not with Martin Luther but with the church in the centuries preceding Luther. In this way, he is able to draw on the corruption of the church which led to the reformation but also to the root causes of that corruption and trends in human action. The influence of the death of so many clergy in the plague giving rise to declining standards in clergy requirements are one example. As well as the declining standards in clergy feeding the desire of individual purity as a driving force toward reform among mystics and heretics.

Both orthodox and heretical teachings of teachers like Wycliff and Hus are given to ponder how and why the church reacted as it did to their influence. The flirtations with such "modern" philosophies as communism and individualism are shown in their full force as insurgents roam Europe causing nations to sit on the brink of revolution long before the age of 18th and 19th century revolutions. All of this is given in the backdrop context of the times so that we do not judge too harshly in light of hindsight. Nor are we tempted to see that time as so foreign as to be incomprehensible.

Though Dr. Durant admits in the introduction his Roman Catholic upbringing inevitably biases his understanding, none of that bias seems to become apparent. It is likely his lectures to Presbyterians that softened his bias to the point of being virtually undetectable even in this hotly debated topic.

There will likely never be another work so enjoyable to read and worthy in detail as a standard text like this one. It will never grow old.

In this, the Sixth volume in the classic series, "The Story of Civilization," Dr. Will and Ariel Durant have compiled a detailed recount of Europe's tumuluous emergence from the Middle Ages.

At over >940 pages in length, the reader will be treated to a historical narrative of: The Great Schism. The Hundred Years' War. Ferdinand and Isabella. Christopher Columbus. Martin Luther. Suleiman the Magnificent. Henry VIII. Ignatius Loyola. And much, much more including plates and maps.

Although written to stand alone, or within the series, the Durants have created a smoothly written prose of unparalleled, authoritative historical value. It is to be enjoyed by professional and layperson alike. I rate it as five stars as part of the Magnum Opus known as "The Story of Civilization."

In this thousand-page installment of Durant's eleven-volume History of Civilization the author ladles out the continuing story with characteristic detail. So detailed is the book that the reader is forced to constantly do a mental editing job -- sometimes skipping over page after page, sometime reading only the first sentence of each paragraph, sometimes just skimming -- in order to make any progress through the book at all. But at other times Durant will vividly snap your attention with incisive comment or description. Durant's "The Reformation" is a long slog. But if you haven't studied history since high school and you'd like a refresher course before you die, you could do worse than reading Durant. He gives you a most thorough grounding -- although some scholars don't necessarily agree with all his conclusions. The book is written for the common man but requires uncommon persistence. It worked for me -- finally --after months of grinding away at it. Now I move on, with trepidation, to Durant's "Age of Reason."

This book goes into great detail about the reformation but is easy to read and hard to put down. I would recommend it to anyone researching the reformation.

I have been reading the Story of Civilization beginning with volume 1 and am now on volume 7. I have really enjoyed all of the volumes, but this one motivated me to dive into several other books because Durant did such a good job piquing my interest in several subjects and authors.

I had a cursory knowledge of the reformation based on some general reading, but this is the first time I have gone into it in much depth. I knew about Luther and Calvin and Henry VIII and learned much more about them. I learned a lot about people and events that set the stage for Luther. I was so impressed with Erasmus and Rabaleis that I bought some of their works and have really enjoyed reading them.

I enjoy the way that Durant covers the history, art, literature, morals, and all aspects of history. It is also clear that he has a passion for his subject, which is contagious. Reading this was a very enlightening experience.

A great history book is one that makes the reader appreciate great people and events and makes him or her want to learn more; this book meets that criteria. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.