The Medieval Reader by Norman F. Cantor


The Medieval Reader
Title : The Medieval Reader
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0062720554
ISBN-10 : 9780062720559
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 368
Publication : First published January 1, 1994

The only book of its kind, The Medieval Reader is a fascinating, illustrated collection of almost 100 first-hand accounts of the period known as the middle ages, roughly from the fourth to the sixteenth centuries. Revealing the medieval world in all its astonishing diversity, the selections reflect the culture of the people who lived during the period, and the contributions they made to their world and our own.

Including, in the best translations, familiar texts such as The Song of Roland, St. Augustine's Confessions and Dante's Divine Comedy, the book also contains the work of many less familiar writers, including prominent medieval women such as Hildegard of Bingen, Christine de Pisan and Margery Kempe. Finally, with the inclusion of many selections illustrating medieval social history, such as The Peasants Revolt of 1381 from the Anonimalle Chronicle, The Medieval Reader brings the Middle Ages to life in a way that no narrative history could.

The Medieval Reader Reviews

  • Tracey

    It is listed as "The only book of its kind,.." and I have to agree! I love the histories and you can read some or all at a time.

  • P.

    A wonderful compilation of powerful readings selected and most importantly, organized by the famous Medieval scholar Norman F. Cantor. He has selected most of the obvious and famous cuttings (Becket's murder, Abelard's travail, the trial of the Templars, etc). But he has organized and collated all the readings into a systematic anachronistic whole. One does not have to consult the index or a chronology to find out about scutage and discover that it is in twenty different places. The organization of the work makes it a joy to use and the selection is the fruit of his life as a leading scholar in his field.

  • Steve Horton

    Not Cantor's best effort, but okay.

  • Tom Schulte

    These selections are arranged topically and not in an overtly chronological fashion. At first, I found this off-putting. However, the march from antiquity to the verge of modernity as we know it is well-laid out in the organized building blocks. The perceptive yet not overly verbose introductions to each section and piece are together an education on key evolution of philosophy, politics, theology, etc. over the time covered. I especially liked the most microscopically focused documents: letters, contracts, diaries, etc.

  • Beth

    Fascinating primary source material about the Middle Ages, collected and edited for people like me who don't have the patience or education to wade through entire texts of this stuff.

    Norman Cantor is my go-to author on the Middle Ages!

  • Heather Domin

    Re-read of a textbook from college. I'm on a medieval kick lately.

  • Shonna Froebel

    This took me months to read, and some of it was slow, but overall very interesting.