Medieval Lives
Eight Charismatic Men and Women of the Middle Ages
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Norman F. Cantor, award-winning author of In the Wake of the Plague and Antiquity, continues his exploration of the Middle Ages with Medieval Lives. Eight notable figures are profiled, from Helena Augusta in the fourth century to John, Duke of Bedford a thousand years later.
From St. Augustine’s embrace of Neoplatonic thought to Hildegard of Bingen’s mystic contemplations; from Eleanor of Aquitaine, who married the kings of both France and England to Humbert of Lorraine, a force behind the schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, Cantor paints a vivid portrait of these extraordinary people and the world in which they lived. Approachable and entertaining, Medieval Lives highlights the many philosophical, religious and artistic advances that took place in Europe during this remarkable era.
Norman F. Cantor (1929 - 2004) was professor emeritus of history, sociology, and comparative literature at New York University. His many books include the New York Times bestseller In the Wake of the Plague, Antiquity, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, Medieval Lives, and Inventing the Middle Ages, which was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award.
“Medieval Lives is a tour de force ... I simply cannot imagine a more effective or compelling introduction to medieval civilization.” — Arthur H. Williamson, Professor of History, California State University, Sacramento
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cantor ( Inventing the Middle Ages ), a professor of history, sociology and comparative literature at New York University, here presents lively and engaging portraits of five men and three women whose idealism exerted great influence during the medieval era, beginning with Helena Augusta (c.255-329), the mother of Constantine the Great, and ending with John Duke of Bedford (c.1389-1435), who was regent of France for Henry VI. Cantor creates vignettes in which his subjects engage in discourse with their contemporaries. He imagines Helena Augusta, for instance, stopping at an inn along the Palestinian coast and discussing theological matters with the innkeeper, his assistant and a Roman Catholic bishop. This approach reveals not only the subjects' characters, but also the religious and political ideas that informed their lives, as well as other significant aspects of medieval society and culture. Although the author uses fictionalized conversations, his reconstructions rest on solid research and result in compelling depictions of important medieval thinkers, including Hildegard of Bingen, Alcuin of York and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
