The Middle Ages
by Johannes Fried, former professor of medieval history at the University of
Frankfurt, was originally published in German and has recently been translated
into English by Peter Lewis. The medieval period is a perennially fascinating subject.
The mystique of a bygone “Dark Age” accounts for some of the fun in learning
about this time in western history. We know, however, that the Middle Ages were
not strictly a dark time in Europe. There was a great deal of diligent and
intensive scholarly work on a variety of topics including logic and ecclesiastical
topics. Tremendous efforts were expended to preserve and carry forward some of
the spirit of the Greco-Roman heritage. This effort continued on for a thousand
years throughout the early, high and late middle ages. Sure the collapse of the
Roman Empire came with its accompaniment of destruction, tears and wailing but the
situation ameliorated due in large part to the growth of two stabilising
forces: church and crown.
Fried begins his narrative quiet early with the
“barbarian” Ostrogoth King Theodoric and the death of Boethius. For those unfamiliar
with the story, Boethius was a member of a rich and powerful Roman patrician
family. He was considered a highly intelligent man in his day—but the sentiment
doesn’t do the man justice. The fact that Boethius was sensitive to the failing
standards of excellence in every facet of the disappearing Roman world, and
that he tried desperately to fix the situation by translating Greek
masterpieces of learning into Latin for future generations makes him
extraordinary. Unfortunately, Boethius had only started on this grand and noble
project when Theodoric, suspicious of this well connected Roman, had Boethius imprisoned and killed.
From the death of Boethius the story continues on to the
relationship between the growing influence of the Papacy and the rising,
centralizing power of the Franks. The church and crown dynamic will run through
the rest of the Middle Ages and does a lot to define the era. This great political tango to forge a
mutually beneficial relationship between Pope and Emperor (and later, the
various monarchs of Europe) is one of those endlessly debated topics in western
political-cultural history. Sometimes the relationship was cordial other times
it was hostile. For better and for worse the Papacy and the Monarchies needed
each other. The political splintering of the Holy Roman Empire and, eventually,
the religious splintering ended the uniformity of culture and belief that some
have called Christendom.
Fried has organized the book into major chapter headings,
not necessarily by date but rather by larger historical currents. For example,
in the chapter titled The End of Days
Draws Menacingly Close, Fried looks at the idea popular at the time of the imminent
end of days. Though the anxieties are discussed the chapter delves much more
into cultural transitions in the church, and the growth in ideas of nobility. In
another chapter, The True Emperor Is the
Pope, Fried discusses the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of Europeans
fought between the papacy and monarchs to determine who would have ultimate
power on the continent. The Epilogue may
be the best part of the book in the way it dismantles the whole notion of the
Middle Ages as a time of uninterrupted ignorance and superstition.
Fried’s narrative style has flashes of eloquence but not
enough of them. What I want from a book on Medieval history, metaphorically
speaking, is to walk through a cathedral and witness the play of light on
carved stone. Reading Fried’s Middle Ages
sometimes felt like I was climbing up a flight of grey, concrete stairs. Not
that the language is overly technical or strained, but that it is too
conventional: this happened, and then this happened, and the result was that
this happened. I don’t want to give the impression that the book is poorly
written, it is not, but the experience was not all it could be. The pace and
presentation was done with learnedness as the dominant guiding principle rather
than the communication of a fascinating period in history. When these two
elements coalesce, scholarship and narrative flare, then you get that
time-travel magic. If you are looking from a comprehensive and erudite intellectual
history of the Middle Ages this is a good one.
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