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In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture.
Book Description
The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift, and a book in the best tradition of popular history -- the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe.
Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" -- and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians.
In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task.
As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated.
In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's
A Distant Mirror,
How The Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.
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From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne--the "dark ages"--learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European continent. The great heritage of western civilization--from the Greek and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works--would have been utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of unconquered Ireland.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable reading.......2007-09-28
I enjoyed this book and am somewhat surprised by the nasty reviews. I wasn't looking for a historical textbook or I would surely have looked elsewhere. As an introduction to the role Ireland played in history, I found it a scratching of the surface that made me want to go out and learn more. And I loved Cahill's rather lighthearted amusing writing style. I'm intrigued enough to want to read more in the hinges of history series and I find myself wanting to study Irish poetry from the middle ages.
An enjoyable read!
An ok book about the Irish.......2007-08-27
An ok book about irish civilization. I cannot say that I loved this book. It was a general read about the Irish. I was not overwhelmed by this.
Heavy reading.......2007-07-18
This book is an interesting intellectual history of the fall of Western classical civilization, and how its literary works and ideas were preserved and then brought back to life through Irish monasteries. Cahill begins with an analysis of why the Roman Empire collapsed, which he supports by drawing heavily on classical writers, from Plato to Cicero. He also examines the state of Irish society at the time, using the Tain as an example. He then traces the history of Saint Patrick bringing Christianity to Ireland, and how the new Christian monasteries came to be the institutions that preserved the ancient classical texts and brought them back to mainland Europe in future centuries.
I found Cahill's approach to history quite interesting, in his heavy use of contemporary literary works to exemplify his descriptions. He argues that it was the special nature of Irish intellectual society, in which the monks were interested in reading and preserving all classical works without censoring them, which enabled many classic Greek and Roman texts to be preserved. Without such broad interests in preserving all ancient texts, Cahill argues they would have been lost for good with the looting and burning of the great European libraries, and the ideas in them would not have been available to fuel the renaissance. The book is quite thought-provoking, and would make a good choice for book discussions.
Wonderful Book.......2007-06-14
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Like many of Thomas Cahill's books the author spends the first few chapters on background history (which can be a slow read for some - myself included), but once he sets up the time and place it is a smooth enjoyable ride that leaves you inspired and enriched.
Not scholarly literature.......2007-06-13
I thought Cahill's premise was fascinating. The book was interesting, too, but it's not a scholarly work. Cahill tells a story. I admit that I have not read enough in this area to be able to fully critique his work, but like any work the reader should not blindly accept everything he or she reads.
I was disappointed by the vagueness of much of Cahill's text. Much of it seemed irrelevant. Ausonius and Augustine and Plato are nice, but I don't know if they're really the greatest cross-section of classical civilzation to cite. I was confused by the way in which the story was told. I felt cheated by the layout, which seems to indicate that events happened in this order: 1) Rome is great, 2) Rome is overrun by barbarians, 3) Ireland becomes civilized, 4) Ireland enlightens the world, 5) the world is saved. However, if you look at the chronology in the back, these events are intertwined and one is not necessarily the result of another. This book seems to be the bones of the story - but it's not fleshed out. Please note that Cahill's credentials are as a religious scholar, not a historian.
Cahill's arguments are interesting, and he did illuminate an aspect of history that was previously a shadow of the Dark Ages. The time between the fall of the Roman empire and Charlemagne seems to be a black hole in history. Cahill does make the usual error of assuming that the people of his society are the only people in the world - but anyone who knows anything about history knows that the world was never empty. I may give Cahill another chance, but I have my reservations.
Customer Reviews:
The Best 'Reader' for AP World History Classes.......2007-06-11
There are half a dozen or more 'readers,' collections of primary sources and secondary articles, available for world history courses. A few are very good, but most are pretty much just collections of sources with little else to recommend them.
I've used five of these books in my classes over the past six years, and Reilly's "Worlds of History" is the one I prefer. Why?
It offers an excellent selection of useful primary sources from all eras and regions. Some are classics like the Code of Hammurabi. Others are unusual and interesting like descriptions of the court of Genghis Khan or eyewitness accounts of what Tenochtitlan (future Mexico City)looked like when the Spanish first arrived. Many of these accounts are fascinating. Equally importantly, the translations are good, modern translations unlike some sources in other readers which are older and out of date. The secondary accounts are judiciously chosen articles which add immensely useful points of view to the standard textbook story students will be reading.
Each new edition has removed a few readings (Not always poor ones and some I wish had remained), but those added have been excellent.
Reilly avoids the endlessly detailed introductory material of a few other readers which I've found detracts from the sources themselves. Often, a brief (half-page) introduction is all a student needs to a document. Reilly does include brief chapter introductions and chapter-ending thoughts which are useful. But, for the most part, the focus is clearly on the documents and articles themselves and not on the editor (Reilly) constantly "interrupting," which is refreshing, I find.
This two-volume reader is also attractive because it is smaller and more portable than most. The typeface is highly readable unlike in some other readers. All readings are numbered consecutively so they are easy to assign to students. There are one or two other readers which are good, but Reilly's "Worlds of History" is my clear favorite. And my students like it which says a lot.
Very good book for primary sources.......2003-10-04
I used this book for my AP World History course. I have to say that this book is very effective for the purpose. The book offers many primary sources from many different places. To help out with the understanding, it offers some review questions at the beginning of each primary source. It may be hard to read at times, but it is worth its weight in gold for all it offers.
Use as a textbook, but not for public consumption.......2002-03-21
I read this for a history course. It provides an acceptable overview of historical events. It is a collection of primary and secondary source materials from different sources so the narration lacks flow.
Book Description
This book explores Africa's involvement in the Atlantic world from the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries. It focuses especially on the causes and consequences of the slave trade, in Africa, in Europe, and in the New World. Prior to 1680, Africa's economic and military strength enabled African elites to determine how trade with Europe developed. Thornton examines the dynamics that made slaves so necessary to European colonizers. He explains why African slaves were placed in significant roles. Estate structure and demography affected the capacity of slaves to form a self-sustaining society and behave as cultural actors. This second edition contains a new chapter on eighteenth century developments.
Customer Reviews:
A bright candle in the dark.......2005-08-31
Issues of race have become central to American historiography in the past generation or so, and no modern historian of the American colonial era (or any other era afterwards, for that matter) can justifiably ignore its impact. Yet despite this, it is astonishing how little of the African political, social and cultural origins of New World slave populations is brought to bear on analyses of the Atlantic world. This relatively slim yet dazzlingly efficient book amply redresses this blind spot. In addition, the passivity customarily attributed to Africans is swept aside and replaced with a much more realistic and complex agency asserted on both sides of the Atlantic. It is truly astounding how much Thornton is able to cover in such detail within a mere 334 pages that include a rather general and theoretical introduction to Atlantic historiography with its roots in Fernand Braudel's pioneering "Annaliste" school of regional history, and an initial chapter on the birth of the modern Atlantic world as a whole (albeit with a recurrent focus on Africa's role).
Aside from this initial placesetting, the book is divided into two parts--"Africans in Africa", and "Africans in the New World". In the first section, Thornton skillfully explores the impact of European-dominated Atlantic trade on west African societies and economies, deftly dissolving common myths as well as disassembling the more carefully constructed theories and assertions of several generations of earnest historians. For instance, Thornton solidly establishes that west African societies were not dependent on European textiles, iron or firearms, that the slave trade existed almost entirely at the behest of local elites, and that simple formulae of "guns for slaves" or economic imperialism do not adequately describe or explain what was going on. He also delineates the fundamental differences in what constituted "wealth" in Africa (people) and Europe (land, and later, capital), and one is struck at how these complementary conceptions so smoothly dovetailed to give birth to one of the most heinous and durable streams of atrocities humanity has ever generated. Those eager to assign culpability to one or another long-dead group will be frustrated, however--Thornton refrains from projecting our current attitudes, struggles and judgements onto their worlds, as any good historian should, even as he unflinchingly reconstructs the horrors endured by those who embarked on the "Middle Passage". This excellent study is neither apology nor indictment, neither accusation nor excuse.
The second part focuses on the New World, surveying the lives of Africans--free, slave and maroon--in areas ranging from Brazil and Colombia, to the Caribbean and North America. Unfortunately, this section is fashioned as a refutation of scholars who assert, for a variety of reasons, that Africans were unable to successfully transfer, preserve and adapt African culture to the New World. For those (like me) who are already inclined to believe that Africans could and indeed did manage to do just that, many of Thornton's conclusions will be an unnecessary preaching to the choir. However, the theme nonetheless provides a decent scaffolding on which to present Thornton's wealth of knowledge concerning west African cultural groups, African military practices, the social evolution of slave communities and runaway societies, and, in particular, African religion and religious syntheses. In addition, he masterfully reconstructs the details of creolization, and delivers tantalizing glimpses into the complex interactions between Africans and Native American societies alongside their deeper and richer exchanges with Europeans.
At the risk of repeating myself, I have to say that when I was finished with this book, I was amazed at how much I had learned--I rarely find this much crystal clear information, insight and analysis in books three times its size.
An execellent Primer.......2002-08-25
This work serves as an excellent prelude to Hugh Thomas' SLAVE TRADE: The Atlantic Slave Trade from 1440..., Ira Berlin's MANY THOUSANDS GONE, and Price, et al.'s MAROON SOCIETIES since it touches on many issues developed in those works. In addition, it looks at how African culture influenced and encouraged the slave trade.
Starting with a consideration of African concepts of property (i.e., only personalty and chattel could be considered property by individuals since all realty was under collective ownership and could only temporarily be alienated), Thornton builds on how chattel property, notably slaves, were the basis for individual wealth in West Africa prior to the arrival of Europeans. Next, he considers how this caused the numerous wars and raids that continued to take place throughout West Africa.
He also looks at whether (and to what extent) supposed European superiority encouraged the slave trade - or at least made it a more violent and dehumanizing practice. Europeans governments were kept out of Africa and had to largely rely on factors or intermediaries for trade - with the exception of the Luso-Africans in Angola. Europeans traders had to submit tariffs and bribes to the local rulers and nobility, as well as meet the rulers' quotas at inflated prices.
As to economic pressure for trade, Thornton notes that there were no essential goods which the West sold to these leaders that could not have been otherwise attained in Africa. In addition, iron and horses could be bought from the Arabs and were also produced and bred in West Africa. The sale of Arms, especially, the early matchlocks (harquebuses), but including the later flintlocks provided little or no trade benefits because not only were they not decisive in African conflicts but various European nations were willing to sell weapons if one nation attempted to use the non-sale of weapons as a leverage to force a local government to unwillingly trade in slaves.
Turning to slaves exported to the West, he points out that not only did the fact that many of them were formerly military prisoners mean that they were excellent soldiers for various militias, but that they were also potential leaders of maroon colonies quite capable of being a real military threat to local slave-owners. In addition, many skills acquired from local African activities, such as rice and indigo production, led to their usefulness and importance in work on plantations - and, therefore, to the eventual development of artisan workers and the slave economies of various American (and African island) economies.
Again, an excellent primer for the study of African involvement in the slave trade and the development of the Americas.
Agency of Africans.......2001-04-08
John Thornton, author of numerous studies centering around Atlantic Africa, presents a history of the slave trade which attempts to focus on (forced) African migration. He tackles approaches taken by scholars such as Mintz and Price to discuss developing New World cultures. Unfortunately, despite his interesting and important ideas and assertions, chapter 7 presents a disturbing view of a homogeneous African culture. One of this book's redeeming features is the agency attributed to African peoples. The (sometimes prevalent) idea that Africans were passive victims in the Atlantic slave trade is overturned.
A groundbreaking study.......2000-07-07
John Thornton had already established himself as a major historian of West Africa and its relations with Europe before creating this volume for the Studies in Comparative World History series. In this volume he presents the world in which plantation slavery evolved as the collision of many cultures and forces on both sides of the Atlantic, with contributions for good and ill from Africa, the Americas and from Europe. His presentation of slavery, as taking place not just in the Americas nor in Africa, but in the shared society of the Atlantic region bound together by intercontinental trade, forces the reader to acknowlege the active participation of Africans in creating and shaping trans-Atlantic society and the New World. Far from being passive victims of a technologically superior Europe, Africans appear as equal participants in their economic relations with Europeans, and consciously self interested in their participation in the slave trade. The evolution of plantation slavery into a more malignant social arrangement than earlier forms of slave taking and holding traditions is explored considering the input of both slaveholders and slaves. Even those who are truly victimized by the slave trade have avenues of resistance and accomodation. In short, the Atlantic world, with its economic dependence upon slavery, appears as a complex and interesting place. Thornton's presentation of this world is both scholarly and absorbing. He illuminates his arguments with fascinating accounts of individual experiences that often surprise and never disappoint. A must for any serious study of slavery and the African Diasporah.
HELPFUL.......2000-06-20
This book, since I am taking American History, proved to be very useful in the context that the pillage that the African Americans suffered while maintaining progression in history submitted their true belief system towards society.
Book Description
A fascinating narrative history of the great voyages of discovery, and is the only book of its kind to span the crucial period 1400-1600 in one readable book.
Customer Reviews:
The best book on the age of discovery.......2004-08-27
"New Worlds" is an unbelievably great book! After reading the recent "Rivers of Gold", I started to look for an up to date overview of the age of discovery. I was especially interested in events prior to the voyages of Columbus and the role of Portugal.
Dr. Fritze offers a balanced and detailed overview that includes Portuguese contributions. But the book goes much farther. It details the European knowledge and mindset prior to exploration. It covers politics, trade, technology and other factors crucial to setting the stage for exploration. The book is lavishly illustrated. It has great charts and maps.
"New Worlds" is the best history book I have read since "Guns, Germs and Steel." It may be better.
Despite searches on Amazon and web searches, I could not find a book remotely covering the age of exploration. "New Worlds" is on Amazon... but it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily I stumbled across "New World's" at the Stanford bookstore.
My kudos to the author. I hope your publisher will find better ways to get the word out. (I'm shocked how clueless they must be about web marketing.)
Book Description
Venetian merchants of the Middle Ages imported more than precious spices and textiles from the far reaches of the eastern Mediterranean, they also acquired a wealth of visual ideas and information from Islamic culture, this book shows. Architectural historian Deborah Howard explores the range of buildings that reflected Muslim imagery and discusses the complexities of importing such ideas to an unambiguously Christian city.
Customer Reviews:
dont get carried away.......2007-08-03
The importance with books of this sort, is dont get carried away. Islam is a big question today, and intercultural history is a top priority, but accuracy should always trump political fads. Venice is by far a city of Byzantine and Gothic, much less Islamic influence. The book fails to make this sufficiently clear, and can leave the reader with the impression that Venice, and the Renaissance had Oriental roots. This is plain wrong.
The Many Veils of Venice.......2007-06-25
Deborah Howard is steeped in the enigma of Venetian architecture and gives a fabulous interpretation of its development through trading relationships with the Islamic world from 1100-1500 AD.
By emphasising the mental `Transmission and Propagation' of Islamic imagery as much as any materialistic one through trade, Howard shows just how elastic the `process of cultural diffusion' was and restores the importance of the oral tradition in the `reformulation' of that imagery into another space and time.
Her focus on the Middle East draws our attention away from Constantinople, bringing out the importance of Alexandria as one of the main sources of cultural inspiration.
In a vivid example of a rescued and transformed architectural motif, Howard mentions at length the lighthouse Pharos of Alexandria. This wonder of the ancient world was still standing when Islam spread across the North African coast and its secular function as a light in dark places became a potent spiritual symbol with the slimmed down rise of many a minaret.
The offspring of Pharos continued to multiply with Venice contributing several of its own; the last example, Codussi's campanile for the cathedral church of San Pietro di Castello with, `its snow-white ashlar masonry . . . stands at the eastern end of the city, as a beacon for the sea borne traveller from the east.'
The Great Umayyed Mosque in Damascus also gets singled out for special attention as does the Abbasid and Fatimid periods in general, with their legacy of impressive building projects that impacted upon the mind of many a Venetian merchant.
Howard reminds us how the papal ban on trade with Moslems became more than just a tiresome irritant for the Venetians. With so much lucrative trade at stake, the essence of its survival, good relations with the Moslem Middle East were a necessity; in Cairo for example, `only Venetian gold ducats are accepted currency.'
Venice also became a facilitator in pilgrim traffic to Jerusalem and it is the combination of so many of those factors that makes Deborah Howard's narrative so interesting. With splendid photographs and maps to reinforce her view, we look at Venice with fresh eyes while the ghost of bygone Alexandria dazzles, mirage like, before us.
The ripe old civilisations of the east were infused with much positive creativity in the wake of Islamic conquests: Howard's narrative helps dissolve the rigid and outdated paradigm of a `clash of civilisations,' revealing a grudging sense of admiration by many a Christian merchant and pilgrim who stood witness to Islamic ways of life and became transmitters of that imagery back to Venice.
An unusual book: Highly recommended!
Venice's love affair with the Orient.......2001-03-16
Clearly one of the best art books of the year, Venice and the East traces the impact of Islamic art on the Venetian imagination -- as evident in its architecture. Though stunning illustrations that compare Venetian and Islamic architecture and a well-written text based on primary sources, author Deborah Howard shows that, in the heyday of Levantine trade, Venetian merchants brought back more than spices and cotton from the Islamic world. They also brought back visions of paradise: Islamic styles in gardens, courtyards and palaces that evoked not just Eastern sensuality but also biblical grandeur and spirituality. Although Howard gives ample attention to the borrowing of specific architectural motifs -- balconies, crenellated walls and ogee windows -- she goes well beyond a cataloging of borrowed style. This is, most of all, a study in cultural assimilation -- of ideas as much as architectural form -- and is well worth treasuring whether your passion runs to architecture, history, sociology, or more simply: to gorgeously illustrated coffee table books.
Customer Reviews:
Overrated and full of hyperbole.......2007-07-31
The authors have written a book with a clear-cut agenda--to force American students to recognize and overcome their evil "Eurocentric" biases. (The word "Eurocentric" too often today is code for racist.) While I do agree that there are other histories, other perspectives, trashing Europe, Europeans, and by extension Americans, to build up an argument for knowing about the Chinese, Aztecs, and Africans fails to impress. This book is the textual equivalent of shouting the loudest to gain the greatest attention, and that very hyperbole makes for a very bad book, both from reading and teaching perspectives. Furthermore, Pomeranz, who studies China, seems to be under the impression he's the only one who knows anything about China and the rest of us are totally ignorant on the subject. Anybody who has read ANY Jonathan Spence or Patricia Ebrey or John King Fairbank knows better--in every sense of that world. For India, read PJ Marshall, Barbara Stoller, or Richard Barnett; Africa, John Thorton and Linda Heywood, Philip Curtain, or David Northrup. Frankly, THE WORLD THAT TRADE CREATED is a polemic, not a history. One would more profitably spend time with Curtain's THE WEST AND THE WORLD.
The world that Pommeranz and Topik invent.......2007-05-07
Fun reading for those that enjoy economic history. The problem is that it is impossible to know what is real.
For example, when talking about the euro, they say that by 2003 "pesos, francs, and marks had become things of the past." That is, Messrs. Pommeranz and Topik confuse pesos (used in several Latin American countries) with pesetas (the vanished Spanish currency). A superficial mistake, no doubt, but one that any well-informed student would avoid making. One can only wonder about the world the authors invent, or get superficially or deeply wrong, when they travel further into the past.
fast and loose with the facts.......2007-04-02
Written by college professors, "The World that Trade Created" tries to sound like a textbook, but is in reality a fictionalized novel that uses history as its vehicle.
Warning sign: there are no footnotes. The book contains thousands of quotes and factoids, but the authors give no indication where they came from. This intellectually dishonest technique keeps the reader from determining for themselves whether the "facts" presented are reliable, unreliable, or made up.
Yes, sometimes stuff is simply made up. Example: "Remote Andorra is now in the center of the world." (p.214) This is just nonsense masquerading as fact. I could find no similar description of Andorra anywhere else. Every other account I found calls Andorra "remote", the opposite of central. Andorra is not alone in offering tax advantages or relying on tourism, so it cannot be central metaphorically. Here and elsewhere, the authors simply make a fanciful statement as if it were fact.
"The World That Trade Created" is at best a loosely organized, fictionalized version of trade history. If you want a revisionist view of history told in People Magazine format, this is the book for you.
only a stiff could possibly find this book remotely interesting.......2006-02-21
After reading this book and writing this review, I considered reporting it to the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commision, because this book is dangerously boring! I found no new information relevent to anything important. In addition, I believed that certain parts were extremely repetitive, and the topics were dull. The AP teachers may find this book interesting, however, they obviously do not care how their students will react to reading such a dry group of essays. I would highly not recommend this book to anyone, and if you do have to read it for AP World History, good luck.
Anxious.......2006-02-19
Reading this book just makes me exremely anxious... I don't know why.. Maybe its because it just talks about a bunch of stuff that I'm already aware of.. i would rather opt for an interesting story that shows this rather than a bunch of essays. However, if you're into trade and want to sharpen up your knowledge on it, this book is for you.
Average customer rating:
- The cake below the frosting
|
The Age of Van Eyck: The Mediterranean World and Early Netherlandish Painting 1430-1530
Till-Holger Borchert , and
Andreas Beyer
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Medieval
| Schools, Periods & Styles
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Renaissance
| Schools, Periods & Styles
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
European
| Regional
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Van Eyck, Jan
| ( V-Z )
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Netherlands
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0500237956 |
Book Description
The emergence of early Netherlandish painting and its dissemination throughout Europe took place during one of the most intriguing epochs in the history of Western Europe. This age of transition from the late Middle Ages to early modern times was characterized by fundamental changes in economics, politics, religion, society, and—in its broadest sense—culture.
It is no coincidence that the art of Jan van Eyck, the Master of Flémalle, Rogier van der Weyden, Hugo van der Goes, Hans Memling, and Gerard David flowered in the period that saw the formation and expansion of a mighty Burgundian state in the prosperous provinces of the Netherlands and the neighboring regions. The ever-growing political significance of Burgundy was reflected by the success of Burgundian culture abroad. From the outset, members of the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese business communities residing in Flanders, such as the Arnolfini and Portinari, took pride in commissioning works by Netherlandish painters that were eagerly sought after by the princes and urban entrepreneurs of their homelands. The Sforza of Milan sent their court painter to Bugatto to train with Rogier van der Weyden; Alphonso V of Aragon ordered his painter Dalmau to travel to the Netherlands; and Isabella of Castile appointed Juan de Flandes alongside other Northerners as her court painter. The presence of Netherlandish works of art in the South inspired Iberian, French, and Italian artists such as Jean Fouquet, Filippino Lippi, Antonello da Messina, Bartolomé Bermejo, and Nuño Gonçalves.
This book explores the complex artistic, cultural, socioeconomic, and political relationships between Burgundian Netherlands and the Mediterranean. It offers a lavishly illustrated panorama of the work of Jan van Eyck and his followers, and focuses on their share in the development of painting in southern France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, reproducing many of the finest works of European Renaissance painting. 380 illustrations, 220 in color.
Customer Reviews:
The cake below the frosting.......2005-02-24
I certainly agree with the above editorial, except it's more than candy.
As an amateur it's one thing to read chapter after chapter that reveal my arthistorical ignorance of this giant, yet another to see image after color image (even in the catalogue!) that elicit "whoa-I'd-no-idea," how influential his style, and those of the other International Style artists, were on his contemporaries, and the socio-geopolitical-economic forces that help explain Master Johannes' influence.
So if you enjoy, wish to understand more about, or just can't get enough of the Ecykians, you need to buy this book. The images are good, a great many new to me, but not quite as compellingly printed as deVos' "The Flemish Primitives : The Masterpieces". However that superb book is more an insular collection than this continental analysis.
In trying to understand a rather invisible man and his unusually complex life, showing what he touched; where he traveled; what his colleagues and admirers achieved, who gave him thematic inspiration, guidance and financial incentive; and the many reasons why, are the features making this book exceptional. Until we can restore an enlightened monarchy, or princes of more than software or heredity, books such as this will have to lead us out of last century's fog.
Two negatives: 1. typical tedious troves of trivia that slow/show off scholarship but add little. Luggage in the trunk, please. 2. Just two pages about how the International Style miracle began (the book begins at 1432, another immaculate conception?). Obviously subject enough for another book, but unless the first artist was an eidetiker, the factors catalyzing the I.S. are linked to those of its spread and might have been given a chapter.
Well worth the price.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent resoruce to the world in 1492........1998-06-24
I recently used Circa 1492 as a reference in preparing lesson plans for several high school units. I found the book to be an excellent resource, filled with information about the world in 1492 that was thought provoking. I recommend the book for anyone who is interested in art and history, multicultural society, and the age of exploration.
Book Description
OPULENT REPRODUCTIONS OF ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS SPANNING 12 CENTURIES
This oversized and magnificently printed tour de force contains examples from 167 of the most dazzling and significant illuminated manuscripts in existence. Presented in chronological order, each reproduction illustrates a one-of-a-kind painting originally created for the church, for royalty or for the wealthiest private benefactors. Although the focus is on European manuscripts (French, Dutch, German, Italian, English and Spanish), nearly two dozen examples have also been included from Persia, Turkey and India - cultures with their own rich traditions of exquisite miniature painting.
The highly readable text is both factual and informational. Each entry provides the date and place of origin, format, content, name of miniaturist, number of illustrations, owner and provenance for the featured manuscript. Enriching the facts are essays describing the circumstances of the commission, description of the technique, history of the workshop from which it came, and much more.
CODICES ILLUSTRES is an unparalleled reference, but also an irresistible story book, revealing to the reader the significance of imagery used, and sharing fascinating facts about the painters who created these treasures and the patrons who were lucky enough to possess them.
A thirty-six page appendix contains biographies of the artists, an extensive bibliography, an index, and a glossary in which the technical terms used in the book can quickly be found. Flanking the page numbers are charming characters and symbols taken from the manuscripts, providing a witty decorative grace note to what is already an embarrassment of riches. Of special note; a fifth color - gold - was used in the printing of two hundred and twelve pages of CODICES ILLUSTRES. This complicated and costly process is the only way to genuinely reproduce the lavish gilding used in so many medieval manuscripts and the book wouldn't be the same without it.
CODICES ILLUSTRES is an essential addition to the library of anyone with an interest illuminated manuscripts, medieval art, and the history of books before the invention of printing.
**Hardcover with Vellum Dust Jacket
Customer Reviews:
A joy to hold and behold.......2006-12-14
Illumination has fascinated me since I was a boy. This is the best book I have seen of illuminations. The scope includes books in Greek, Latin, Old Church Slavonic, Persian, and Mayan. The printing is superb. Detailed descriptions tell who did the work, who patronized it, who owned the book, where it is now, and so forth. Great for browsing for enjoyment and as a source of inspiration. I expect this book to be a favorite for many years to come. Anybody who enjoys calligraphy and illumination would be delighted to own this book.
One of the coolest books I own!!.......2006-07-06
This book is worth every penny! It has fantastic HUGE pictures full of great detail. As an artist who specialises in ancient illuminated manuscripts, I value this book above all others in my personal library. So many great manuscripts are represented here. Truely high art!
A great book on medieval illumination.......2005-11-11
This book deserves a seven stars score, as it is magnificent in every sense: Paper, Colour palette reproduction, basic and reliable information accompanying every depicted facsimil, and specially because of the scope of the compendium, involving manuscript examples from arabic countries as well as a XIII century mexican manuscript (The Borgia Codex currently held at the Biblioteca Vaticana) This collection shows (as rarely done by supossedly comprehensive treatises) that Mesoamerican, Chinese and Arabic cultures do also possess a very rich medieval heritage, characterised by a colourful tradition in art production. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in Medieval illumination, as well as for those modern illuminators concerned with applying only authentic medieval colours (mostly inorganic compounds) in their manuscript reproductions and finally, this book serves also as a comprehensive guide for visiting great libraries and museums all around the world where some of these manuscripts are exhibited (Do not forget to visit the Condé Museum and The Marmottan-Monet Museum in France).
A magnificent, unwieldly place to begin.......2002-12-04
For those interested in the sheer beauty of medieval illumination, this book is a wonder. Color repro values among the best I've seen, and the range of both period and style is superb. The huge size and great weight are the only reasons this did not get 5 stars - it is so big that I clamp it in my portable easel when I'm using it as an exemplar.
For those, like me, who also do illumination as a hobby this book offers a good range of exemplars of very high caliber. Just remember that this represents the best of many times and places, and don't be intimidated by the quality of the work displayed here. Codices Illustres is big enough to be a coffee table book, but is serves much better as a reference in the scriptorium.
YIS,
THL Ragnar Ketilsson
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World History, Volume II: Since 1400 (with InfoTrac)
William J. Duiker , and
Jackson J. Spielvogel
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0534603653 |
Book Description
This is Volume II of WORLD HISTORY, Fourth Edition. Noted teachers and scholars William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel present a balanced picture of world history, with all respect for the richness and diversity of the tapestry of the human experience. Critically and popularly acclaimed, their comprehensive text balances a global approach with attention to the unique character and development of civilization in divergent parts of the world. The text covers individual civilizations such as China, India, and Europe, with due attention paid to the rise of the West, and provides points of comparison between and among these civilizations. A wealth of primary-source documents, maps, and supplements enhance students' experience with the material. WORLD HISTORY is available in the following volume splits: WORLD HISTORY, Fourth Edition (Chapters 1-29) ISBN: 0534603637; WORLD HISTORY, Volume I: To 1800, Fourth Edition (Contains Chapters 1-17) ISBN: 0534603645; WORLD HISTORY, Volume II: Since 1400, Fourth Edition (Contains Chapters 13-29) ISBN: 0534603653; WORLD HISTORY, To 1400, Fourth Edition (Contains Chapters 1-12) ISBN: 0534603661.
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