George Holmes (1)Critiques

2/7/23

2/7/23

This book provides a classic introduction to a key period in the history of Europe - the transition from medieval to Renaissance Europe.
In this updated edition, Professor Holmes traces the main political events as well as describing broader changes in social structure and culture. He reveals the interactions between politics, society and ideas that contributed to the problems and changes of this period.

The book addresses the crises of the medieval world. At the start of the period, Europe was dominated by the institutions of the church, monarchy, armies of knightly cavalry and Gothic art. By the end, the Papacy had been drastically weakened, the Hussite movement was heralding the social and religious changes to come in the next century, the armoured knight was no longer a formidable force, and the cultural movement of the Italian Renaissance was beginning to unfold. The author shows how economic forces, including the Black Death and the fall in population threatened the power of the landowners, church and monarchy and how such changes prompted interaction not only between political powers but between different communities and divergent ways of life and thought.

Throughout the book, Professor Holmes relates his strong political narrative to the social and ideological movements of the period and explains the legacy of this period for the centuries that followed. For this edition, he has included updates to the text and bibliography

Beknopte maar zeer goede introductie op Dante. Goed gekaderd.

A robust exploration into the history of Western and Central Europe from 400-1500.

The book features multiple authors and is divided by both geographical areas and time: timeframes are 400-900, 900-1200, and 1200-1500, and two main geographic areas are explored: northern Europe (meaning British Isles, France, Germany, and Poland and Hungary as they develop) and the Mediterranean (meaning Spain, Italy, and the Byzantine Empire).

All major trends and events are profiled but not all are covered in detail; the book is very general, as is necessary for a topic of such breadth. Nevertheless, the reader is given an understanding the developments of history over this 1100 year period, to learn of the importance of that period, and to appreciate how the medieval experience and its major events and challenges have shaped the modern world and its belief systems.

Highly recommended.

A decent road-map to the economic, political and social changes that transformed the Roman Empire and it's northern frontiers into Modern Europe.

Good, if you like history -- even then, it's kind of dry. It is a very dense text, and there's an awful lot of it -- so you don't have to worry about it being thorough enough, because it is.

This collection of essays about Italy starts with the announcement that it is not a history of Rome, though, inevitably, a lot of Roman history winds through the pages from the age of the Emperors through the growing Papal authority.

The long ages of fragmentation between the different kingdoms in Italy is a fascinating and sometimes appalling story of power, prestige and sibling wars between the various city-states. Add to that the almost mythological status of having control of practically any part of Italy, and you have a set-up rife with trouble. Austria, Germany and France often had their hands on some part of Italy, helping to keep the country fragmented. And yet, while each of the cities had their own culture, there was obvious overlay and even competition that kept them striving to be the best. Rome was, by no means, the only city of cultural importance.

This book, with alternations between history and culture of the times, did much to layout the history of these city-states in a way that allows a better understanding of the overall problems and triumphs of the area, and the final push to create a unified country -- quite late in history by our modern standards.

Of all the chapters, the one on World War I seemed to be the most appalling in many ways, and an interesting counterpoint to other works I've been reading on the era.

The book was informative, relatively easy to read, and filled with gorgeous photography. While having different authors work on different sections helped in many ways, it did sometimes give it an uneven feel for the writing style. I found it amusing to read one of the cultural sections which seemed, in my opinion, to read a little over the top in the 'snobish' art critic range -- and yet, even there, I found the work fascinating, and the ability to tie painting, music and writing together far more informative than many books I've read dedicated to the arts. Pulling all the pieces together made this a fascinating read.

A useful book for the layman. A nice treatise on the times.

In this history of the renaissance George Holmes surveys the extroadinary impact of the astonishingly rich culture which dramatically affected Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. He examines the social, commercial and political background which enabled the extraodinary flourishing in the arts that took place during this period, stressing the importance of the Great commercial cities, Florence, Bruges, and Venice. Beginning with the Florentine renaissance, he traces the development of humanism in art, politics, science and philosophy and discusses the impact of the High renaissance in Italy on the rest of Europe. This history of the Renaissance surveys the extraordinary impact of this culture which dramatically affected Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. It examines the social, commercial and political background which enabled the arts to flourish at this time, stressing the importance of the great commercial cities, Florence, Bruges and Venice. Beginning with the Florentine Renaissance, the book traces the development of humanism in art, politics, science and philosophy, then discusses the impact of the High Renaissance in Italy on the rest of Europe.

Group L

Italy/History

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