A distant mirror the calamitous 14th century

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Look Inside. In this revelatory work, Barbara W. Tuchman examines not only the great rhythms of history but the grain and texture of domestic life: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes, and war dominated the lives of serf, noble, and clergy alike. What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. No one has ever done this better.

A distant mirror the calamitous 14th century

In this revelatory work, Barbara W. Tuchman examines not only the great rhythms of history but the grain and texture of domestic life: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes, and war dominated the lives of serf, noble, and clergy alike. What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. No one has ever done this better. Tuchman at the top of her powers. She has done nothing finer. Barbara W. Tuchman — achieved prominence as a historian with The Zimmermann Telegram and international fame with The Guns of August —a huge bestseller and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Happy February! Diane's is a great place to celebrate birthdays-a book makes a perfect gift.

Author 3 books 5, followers. Though I've never seen anything solidly refute this theory, and academic political sociology that connects "youth bulges" in modern populations with popular unrest and revolution, e. The jessica kylie battle against the Turks was emblematic of the entire period, hubris and the vanity of the so-called nobility is shattered on the battlefield.

Knopf in It won a U. National Book Award in History. The main title, A Distant Mirror , conveys Tuchman's thesis that the death and suffering of the 14th century reflect those of the 20th century, particularly the horrors of World War I. The book's focus is the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages which caused widespread suffering in Europe in the 14th century.

Jump to ratings and reviews. Want to read. Buy on Amazon. Rate this book. Barbara W. The 14th century gives us back two contradictory images: a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague. Barbara Tuchman anatomizes the century, revealing both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived. Genres History.

A distant mirror the calamitous 14th century

Jump to ratings and reviews. Want to read. Rate this book. Barbara W. The 14th century gives us back two contradictory images: a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague.

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You observe his actions. Like twentieth-century history textbooks, whose limited coverage in effect projected the Iron Curtain hundreds of years into the past. At first, it felt like one of those books where the author seems to run out of steam or interest or resources, and just wraps up halfway through. Edward claimed to be the rightful French King but his real goal was to add mainland provinces to his domain. Whilst Tuchman condemns the cruelty, she also says "adults' play requires constant new excesses" - which sounds very s, seen from the perspective of the late s and early s when many educated young people are questioning the mores of the sexual revolution, which held sway for going the previous half century. Community Reviews. Join the discussion. All this takes place in just two chapters out of In the years after Charles V death in , France was struck by yet another series of violent revolts led by the merchant class and supported by the peasants sick of high taxes and declining incomes while the rich got richer. It was just a matter of who got to do the looting and exploiting. Like Edward E. I began the book engaged, but by the end felt I was pushing through for the sake of being done.

The fourteenth century was a time of fabled crusades and chivalry, glittering cathedrals and grand castles. It was also a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague. Here, Barbara Tuchman masterfully reveals the two contradictory images of the age, examining the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes and war dominated the lives of serf, noble and clergy alike.

Whilst Tuchman condemns the cruelty, she also says "adults' play requires constant new excesses" - which sounds very s, seen from the perspective of the late s and early s when many educated young people are questioning the mores of the sexual revolution, which held sway for going the previous half century. Philip felt the many Church fees collected in France were rightfully his. Thus began the Papal Schism which lasted until dividing the Christian world. Consciousness of wickedness made behavior worse. Search review text. It is not for the squeamish or those afraid of the dark. A totally convincing contemporaneous account of her emotions is given, tallying with modern understanding of PTSD from rape. France entered anarchy. The writing of it in A Distant Mirror is magnificent. One must take in score after score of kings, nobles, popes, prelates and others and their complex relationships as well as Middle Ages political geography.