I picked up this book to learn more about the Middle Ages, but was somewhat disappointed. The author writes mostly about the Renaissance, contrasting it with the worldview of what he considers the extremely benighted medieval era. Evidently, Manchester thought the events of the Middle Ages weren’t worth writing about, as he makes the rather astounding claim that very little of significance happened in Europe during that thousand-year period (roughly 500-1500 A.D.). He concedes that kings and popes died and new rulers took their places, that wars were fought and that natural disasters wreaked havoc on the population. Yet it has little historical significance in Manchester’s estimation because the impact of these events on the masses, he says, was “negligible.” In my view, the author overstates his case— I believe the Middle Ages weren’t as dark as he makes them out to be and that there were many significant events that took place during the era— but his very dim view of the Middle Ages is shared by some historians.
It’s one thing to have a different historical opinion— an interpretation of the facts that happens to be at some variance with mine. But it’s a more serious thing when Manchester makes demonstrably false claims in an attempt to show how wretched the Middle Ages were. One example: he claims that there were no such things as clocks in the Middle Ages, yet the mechanical clock is known to have been invented in the late 1200’s. I even found an article about a clock that is still intact built in the medieval era (I would guess that it’s not the only one). Manchester also claimed that educated Christians at the time believed the Earth was flat, yet this claim has long been debunked. Quotes from Christian intellectuals of the time, such as Bede, Isadore of Seville, Boethius, Hermannus Contractus and Thomas Aquinas, show that they clearly believed that the world was round.
Manchester accurately describes how discoveries made during the Renaissance threatened cherished beliefs about the world (such as how Copernicus’ discovery of a heliocentric universe imperiled the medieval belief that the sun revolved around the Earth). These beliefs were thought to be closely related to their Christian faith, though Christians today would not look at them that way. When these beliefs were refuted, Manchester suggests that it caused most educated people during the Renaissance to turn completely away from Christianity. This is simply not true; intellectuals did not, for the most part, abandon their faith. In fact, pioneering textual criticism of the Bible by Renaissance Humanists actually helped lead to the Christian movement called the Reformation. Educated people in the Renaissance may have been very divided in religion due to that great upheaval, but they still thought of themselves as Christians and found a way to reconcile their faith with the new discoveries.
In spite of all the above criticisms, I have to admit that this is still a pretty compelling book, which is why I read it in its entirety. For one thing, the book seems to be generally historically accurate. Then, too, Manchester tells a great story. The most fascinating part was the last section, devoted to Manchester’s favorite explorer, Ferdinand Magellan. As you may remember, Magellan was the Portuguese explorer, sailing under the flag of Spain, who discovered the South American strait that bears his name. More importantly, this discovery enabled his expedition to be the first to sail all the way around the world (Magellan himself died before his ships returned to Spain). Reading Manchester’s thrilling account, I certainly learned some interesting things I didn’t know about Magellan. For example, Manchester writes that he was considered a traitor by his countrymen because his expedition was sponsored by Spain. The author also describes how Magellan overcame a mutiny during the expedition, showing what an extraordinary leader he was.
Even though I didn’t learn about what happened during the Middle Ages, I did gain insight into the Renaissance and the mindset of the Middle Ages, in spite of Manchester’s errors. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐
- John W.
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