The Civilization of the Middle Ages

In The Civilization of the Middle Ages, Norman Cantor discusses Western Europe from 300 AD to 1500 AD. He concentrates on intellectual and cultural history. For example, the chapters on the 11th and 12th centuries spend more time on legal, theological, and literary developments than on the Crusades and the Norman conquest of England.

Consequently, much of the book involves Christianity, which dominated medieval life. As an atheist who was brought up Jewish, I wasn’t that interested in subtleties such as Papal policies, monastic orders, or the integration of Aristotelian thought into Christianity. Still, you need to grasp those subjects if you want to appreciate the Middle Ages.

The rest of the book seemed more relevant. There’s a decent overview of the rise and decline of the various powers, though Cantor doesn’t go into as much detail as I’d like. He did a good job of portraying the various national powers: their internal structures, strengths & weaknesses, and how they evolved over time.

Other reviews characterize the book as the best single-volume treatment of the Middle Ages, and I’d go along with that. Its writing style and coherence are definitely a notch above most of the history books I’ve come across. Next, to fill in some gaps, I’ll search for books about the Middle Ages with a more narrow focus, geographically and chronologically.