{ "item_title" : "Mysteries of the Middle Ages", "item_author" : [" Thomas Cahill "], "item_description" : "From the national bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization--a fascinating look at how medieval thinkers created the origins of modern intellectual movements. Intoxicating.... Cahill's command of rich historical detail makes medieval cities and their colorful characters come to alive. --The Los Angeles TimesAfter the long period of decline known as the Dark Ages, medieval 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, from the entry of women into professions that had long been closed to them to the early investigations into alchemy that would form the basis of experimental science. 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-acclaimed historian Thomas Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers2.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/38/549/556/0385495560_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "27.00", "online_price" : "27.00", "our_price" : "27.00", "club_price" : "27.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

Overview

Customers Also Bought

Details

Mysteries of the Middle Ages

Cahill adds to his acclaimed Hinges of History series with his latest book, an examination of medieval culture and how it gave birth to many of the intellectual concepts that shaped civilization as we know it. After the Dark Ages, Europe underwent a period of intellectual flowering, experiencing growth and ferment in the areas of science, art, philosophy and literature. Social progress was also part of the expansion, as women were able to take up vocations that had long been off-limits to them. Over the course of this fascinating narrative, Cahill travels to the capitals of Europe, including Paris, Rome, Florence and London, to retrace the development of medieval progress and explain its effects on society. Sharing anecdotes and revisiting important chapters in history, he demonstrates that many fundamental ideas related to art and science that we now take for granted were seeded in the medieval era. The Hinges of History sequence includes the best-selling titles How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Gifts of the Jews, Desire of the Everlasting Hills and Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea. Cahill, an authoritative yet accessible writer, has a broad vision and an astonishing grasp of history. With his newest book, he offers another perceptive and illuminating history that entertains even as it challenges.

A reading group guide is available in print and online at readinggroupcenter.com.