The Two Cities: Medieval Europe 1050–1320 - Hardcover

Barber, Malcolm

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415067804 ISBN 13: 9780415067805

Publisher: Routledge, 1991

Synopsis

First published to wide critical acclaim in 1992, The Two Cities has become an essential text for students of medieval history. For the second edition, the author has thoroughly revised each chapter, bringing the material up to date and taking the historiography of the past decade into account.

The Two Cities covers a colourful period from the schism between the eastern and western churches to the death of Dante. It encompasses key topics such as:

• the Crusades
• the expansionist force of the Normans
• major developments in the way kings, emperors and Popes exercised their powers
• a great flourishing of art and architecture
• the foundation of the very first universities.

Running through it all is the defining characteristic of the high Middle Ages: the delicate relationship between the spiritual and secular worlds, the two 'cities' of the title.

This survey provides all the facts and background information that students need, and is defined into straightforward thematic chapters. It makes extensive use of primary sources, and makes new trends in research accessible to students. Its fresh approach gives students the most rounded, lively and integrated view of the high Middle Ages available.

About this title

Review:

"Reviews for the previous edition: .""Barber has filled an important gap . for years, leaders of undergraduate courses on the central Middle Ages have longed for a book like this: a single volume which supplies useful outline reference material as an adjunct to a clear and wide ranging analysis of complex events, and one which presents a rounded view of the different aspects of the period, on association with a bountiful supply of relevant primary sources in translation. Above all, a book which presents the period as dynamic and fascinating, and positively invites the user to read more widely . a real tour de force."-"Times Higher Education Supplement "Malcolm Barber has succeeded admirably . a fine book . should find a wide and grateful readership."-" History "A valuable introduction."-"History Today "A historical survey of unusual comprehensiveness. Warmly recommended to upper-division undergraduates and their instructors."-"Choice

Synopsis:

The Two Cities is a history of Western Christendom in the high middle ages. Assuming no prior knowledge of the period, it nevertheless seeks to explore the medieval mentality in greater depth than could be gained from a conventional outline of political events. Physical and material conditions, religious belief and organization, political structures, and medieval perceptions of the world, are presented as parts of an integrated whole. Running through the book is the perceived tension, at the heart of the medieval world view, between the spiritual and material sides of men's nature, the two cities of the title. The author's extensive use of primary sources brings character and immediacy to a rich and comprehensive book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0415067804
• ISBN 13: 9780415067805
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 612