jjares reviewed England in the Middle Ages: A Captivating Guide to English History During the Medieval Period and Magna Carta on + 3278 more book reviews
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, Medieval England changed with the influx of new peoples, specifically the Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons, and later, the Danes. Another revolutionary change in the country occurred when these Germanic immigrants became Christian and created monasteries and churches. The invading Vikings, seeking riches (not lands), plundered these monasteries repeatedly.
A throw-away line in this book is very interesting: "The Viking settlers in France formed a new political entity. They were Norsemen, but, in French, this work took a slightly different form: Normans." (p. 46) What an amazing bit of (important) trivia! Both parts of this bundle are important reading; they help understand the underpinnings of our own history.
This book takes the reader through the Norman Conquest, the Black Death (that took 200 years to repopulate Europe), and the Hundred Years' War (a great explanation of 116 years of war). This book takes the reader through several British civil wars during the Middle Ages. Looking at it from our perspective (and the horror we still look upon our own Civil War), it is hard to imagine a country surviving more than one of these wars of brother-against-brother. The War of the Roses was yet another civil war.
This book briefly mentions Joan of Arc, the heroine of the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War. This book indicates that the Middle Ages ended for England with the victory of Henry VII in 1485.
In typical Captivating History style, the book starts by setting the scene (the tyrannical actions of King John), the barons' anger, and their writing the Magna Carta. Of course, John lost interest in following the Magna Carta when it cramped his style too much. This book travels along the winding tale of how the Magna Carta became one of the most important documents in Western Civilization.
In fact, this book is the story of how one charter changed over the course of history because citizens of many nations had questions about their liberties in the face of their government. And over the ages, the Magna Carta has gone by various names, including our Constitution. It still protects us in the same way it protected the barons in King John's time, protecting individuals from the abuses of government.
A throw-away line in this book is very interesting: "The Viking settlers in France formed a new political entity. They were Norsemen, but, in French, this work took a slightly different form: Normans." (p. 46) What an amazing bit of (important) trivia! Both parts of this bundle are important reading; they help understand the underpinnings of our own history.
This book takes the reader through the Norman Conquest, the Black Death (that took 200 years to repopulate Europe), and the Hundred Years' War (a great explanation of 116 years of war). This book takes the reader through several British civil wars during the Middle Ages. Looking at it from our perspective (and the horror we still look upon our own Civil War), it is hard to imagine a country surviving more than one of these wars of brother-against-brother. The War of the Roses was yet another civil war.
This book briefly mentions Joan of Arc, the heroine of the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War. This book indicates that the Middle Ages ended for England with the victory of Henry VII in 1485.
In typical Captivating History style, the book starts by setting the scene (the tyrannical actions of King John), the barons' anger, and their writing the Magna Carta. Of course, John lost interest in following the Magna Carta when it cramped his style too much. This book travels along the winding tale of how the Magna Carta became one of the most important documents in Western Civilization.
In fact, this book is the story of how one charter changed over the course of history because citizens of many nations had questions about their liberties in the face of their government. And over the ages, the Magna Carta has gone by various names, including our Constitution. It still protects us in the same way it protected the barons in King John's time, protecting individuals from the abuses of government.
