Customer Reviews

The Story of the Middle Ages (Yesterday's Classics)

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Tapestry of Grace curriculum uses this book and The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History (Oxford U. Press) for middle school. Story of the Middle Ages is a good overview. It is dated in certain aspects, but its critiques of most cultures and events are balanced and should be helpful to the young student of this period. It pairs well with the OUP title.

This is one of the books listed in the TOG curriculum for my 10 year old this year. Since I wasn't familiar with it, I decided to read a few chapters and get a feel for the book. What I concluded is that we will be reading it together. That's because I found things like this:

"When missionaries went among them, however, they became Christians. This shows one of the greatest qualities which they possessed. They were willing and able to learn from other people... Other races, like the American Indians, who did not learn so readily, have declined and died away when they have been brought in contact with a higher civilization... " Ch. 1, pg. 11

Ok, so I think most people this day in age know that the American Indian culture didn't "decline and die away", and that many did convert to Christianity and learned things from other cultures. There are many groups of "American Indians" today who maintain their old traditions. I think this is a racist comment; and depending on your doctrinal beliefs, you may also think that the conversion of the "Germans" (the author calls the people of present day Germany, Germans, even though Germany didn't exist in the Middle Ages, confusing...), wasn't due to their own good works, or willingness "to learn from other people."

I think this book offers a humanist perspective. The Middle Ages wasn't just a time of preparation or "growing time." It was a time when the church grew and prospered, influencing the people and culture around in positive ways, as well as negative - like any other period in history, worth studying for its own contributions and events and not just as a prelude to the Renaissance and Modernity.

I purchased this book to be used with Tapestry of Grace. Apparently there are several editions, and this one does not line up with the assignments given in the curriculum. As for the book, I have no complaints. Just a word of warning.