The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade

Susan Wise Bauer

Feb 2010 · W. W. Norton & Company

About this ebook

A masterful narrative of the Middle Ages, when religion became a weapon for kings all over the world.

In her earlier work, The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer wrote of the rise of kingship based on might. But in the years between the fourth and twelfth centuries, rulers had to find new justification for their power, and they turned to divine truth or grace to justify political and military action. Right began to replace might as the engine of empire.

Not just Christianity and Islam but also the religions of the Persians, the Germans, and the Mayas were pressed into the service of the state. Even Buddhism and Confucianism became tools for nation building. This phenomenon—stretching from the Americas all the way to Japan—changed religion, but it also changed the state.

The History of the Medieval World is a true world history, linking the great conflicts of Europe to the titanic struggles for power in India and Asia. In its pages, El Cid and Guanggaeto, Julian the Apostate and the Brilliant Emperor, Charles the Hammer and Krum the Bulgarian stand side by side. From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the Song Dynasty, from the mission of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, from the sacred wars of India to the establishment of the Knights Templar, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled.

Ratings and reviews

This is the perfect history book for someone who wants a global picture. It's also really great for someone who has a hard time focusing on the same topic for hundreds of pages because each chapter bounces around from one area of the globe to the next and back again. You don't get an immense amount of depth at any one point, but you shouldn't expect that from a book with this scope.

Wonderful book, however, couple of minor details regarding the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty of China are not 100% correct.

Very well done and informative. Enjoyed each chapter

About the author

Susan Wise Bauer is an educator and academic who has worked with parents and students for more than twenty years. She taught at the College of William and Mary in Virginia for fifteen years. Her previous best-selling titles for Norton include The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had, Rethinking School, The Story of Western Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory, and the History of the World series