A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

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The author looks into the history of Western Europe between 1300 and 1450, drawing parallels with the 20th century and looks into Chaucer, Boccaccio, The Hundred Years' War, pilgrimages, plagues and revolts against a poll tax, amongst other things. But then, I’ve read quite a few books on Ancient Greece and Rome and have never felt they are receding too far into the distance (although, admittedly, there is a sense in which Classical Societies do seem closer to us than those in the Middle Ages).

But it's not so much Tuchman's command of language that draws you in as her infectious enchantment with her subject: the period of Western European history beginning with the Black Death of 1348 and ending with the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the early 1400s, all as seen through the life of a single French nobleman. For some, the century was a time of plenty—a time when the arts were reborn and new secular themes were suddenly and surprisingly in vogue. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thoughts on Papyrus with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Repeated spasms of the Hundred Years War, a war in Italy, then more Papal wars, then war against the Berbers, and finally a last bloody Crusade would provide employment and plunder for these rapacious bands--and for some a fitting end. Wood praised Tuchman's narrative abilities but described the book as a "curiously dated and old-fashioned work" and criticized it for being shaped by the political concerns of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.Tuchman’s focus on the 14th Century began with an interest in the Black Death of 1348-1350, which she states killed an estimated one-third of the people “living between India and Iceland. As it is often claimed, Tuchman may not be a historian of the academic breed, but in this account she has demonstrated her excellent narrative abilities that many historians and novelists would just love to command as well as she. She briefly covers his ancestors as some of them absolutely butchered peasants and barons in their domain while some built the great castle of Coucy in Picardy, France. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. We learn about the Plague, the Hundred Years War, and the decline in the power of the Church as it cannibalizes itself in an orgy of unmitigated greed and perniciousness.

You can unsubscribe from our list at any point by changing your preferences, or contacting us directly. Of all the strange evils and adversities of the 14th century the effect of the Papal schism on the public mind was among the most damaging. Chivalry denotes an informal code of conduct that was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, and was meant to govern knights’ behaviour and social etiquette. The medieval society was so superstitious and religious that one’s place in either Hell or Heaven was as certain as the Sun rising tomorrow, and the Garden of Eden was as realistic as one’s own farm land.I’ve known since I was a child that there were differences between the Eastern European and Western European calendars – but I had no idea that for a long time the year started at Easter. Medievalists tend to take themselves rather seriously, so it’s fairly easy to ignore their sniffing (and their dry monographs). And this he did when the two Kingdoms were at war; a war that would last for over one hundred years.

The internal lawlessness was also prevalent, especially after 1376, when the Statute of Labourers meant that the wages of farmers remained those of pre-plague years. He was a man of “wicked life” who “corrupted and schooled youth in debaucheries,” and held commoners and the poor in hatred and contempt. As a case in point – I had heard of the flagellants before, those fun guys who would whip themselves until they were a bleeding mess as their way to seek God’s forgiveness and thereby stop the plague. It does not make sense to be so cautious, and, in fact, one should be fairly fearless and relaxed in the face of death and ever-present danger so as to simply live a relatively normal life, which is never expected to be a long one anyway.At first I thought it was because this book lacked a central thesis – her March of Folly, for example, has just such a thesis and it bridges with ease stories from diverse centuries, giving a dreadful perspective on self-destructive foolishness that is all-to-human. Most of the Hundred Years’ War took place in the 14 th century, and Tuchman talks in her book about the difficult geopolitical situation between England and France at that time, drawing attention to the Battle of Poitiers of 1356, to the anarchy after the Battle of Poitiers, to the tricky situations in Italy and in Flanders, to the military conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, and, finally, to the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. In the book, I particularly appreciated the various insights into the peculiarities of the domestic life of men and women living in the medieval period. Tuchman explores most aspects of Western European 14th century history with both thematic and narrative chapters – the book has the added element of a (real) main character, whom you really end up rooting for too. Popes ruled from Avignon from 1307 to 1377 with ever increasing domination by the French kings, which was deeply resented outside of France.