The information it covers spans centuries. What I gained instead was a personalized glimpse into the social stratum across Europe, political movements, religious turmoil, the growth of civilization rising from the ashes of Rome, and the intricacies of renaissances that spanned architecture, literature, art, education, and government. When I got this book I was expecting a detailed analysis of castle construction, knight fighting strategies, and stories of outlaws protecting the poor from the wealthy nobles. Too much Hollywood and romanticized novels of the time period have skewed my perception of the Middle Ages. When I think of Medieval History, the first things that come to my mind are castles ringed with motes and flanked with dark forests, knights in shining armor, and armies organized by banners and flags waiting for their trebuchets to break down the defenses of the castle they need to storm to rescue a damsel in distress. Norman, respect for tackling this subject and sticking with it so we of lesser patience can learn from your detailed research and analysis. I envision a couple lifetimes transpiring before such a book would be finished. Having written a short sixty-eight page historical thesis, I have no idea how someone sets out to complete a project such as the information detailed in Norman Cantor’s “Civilization of the Middle Ages”.
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