Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe

Editorial Review:

After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today.
By placing the image of the Virgin Mary at the center of their churches and their lives, medieval people exalted womanhood to a level unknown in any previous society. For the first time, men began to treat women with dignity and women took up professions that had always been closed to them.
The communion bread, believed to be the body of Jesus, encouraged the formulation of new questions in philosophy: Could reality be so fluid that one substance could be transformed into another? Could ordinary bread become a holy reality? Could mud become gold, as the alchemists believed? These new questions pushed the minds of medieval thinkers toward what would become modern science.
Artists began to ask themselves similar questions. How can we depict human anatomy so that it looks real to the viewer? How can we depict motion in a composition that never moves? How can two dimensions appear to be three? Medieval artists (and writers, too) invented the Western tradition of realism.
On visits to the great cities of Europe--monumental Rome; the intellectually explosive Paris of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas; the hotbed of scientific study that was Oxford; and the incomparable Florence of Dante and Giotto--Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world. Bursting with stunning four-color art, MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES is the ultimate Christmas gift book.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

Interesting Read:

I found this book to be very interesting. If you enjoy historical mysteries, you'll really enjoy it.

Greek matrix populated by Judeo-Christian content:

This book is greatly readable as are all of Cahill's "Hinge of History" series (this the fifth), but less satisfying to me than the others. In this entry Cahill ties together the roots of history from
--Judaism (The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History)),
--Jesus (Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus (Hinges of History))
and
--Greece (Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter)more info

Historical Detours:

I enjoyed Cahill's previous works immensely. This one is also good, taking the reader on a journey with several figures of the middle ages. THe effects of these individuals are laid out and integrated into the tale, sometimes in the languages they spoke, such as latin.
I would have appreciated more text, less illustrations, and a more cohesive structure. Similarly, Cahill injects some current politics which only serves to distract from the historical revelations.
Still a good read and a revealing... more info

Answer to ancient questions:

Thomas Cahill went to a heck of a lot of research to be able to put together centuries of history and facts and stories to get such an organized telling of what was really happening during those dark times. Along with watching 'Da Vinci Code', I started asking myself questions, and several answers were provided while listening to Cahill's soothing voice. I really enjoyed this audio CD, and anyone interested in history that doesn't come from college books or the TV, it is a fresh, sensible approach to how we... more info

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