Reviews for Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400-1400

The average rating for Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400-1400 based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-10-03 00:00:00 Darrin Wagner 3.5 stars if stars really count. I suspect that most readers of this book encounter it as part of a course on medieval cultural history. I also suspect that it started as a longer book which was 'negotiated' down in many discussions between author and editor. ("No! I definitely cannot cut that out." "Okay. We'll leave that but then we definitely need to cut here. There's way too much detail.) Marcia Colish is a real scholar of the medieval period. She has a firm grasp on a great deal of information on the theology, literature, philosophy, science, political and economic theory and general history of the thousand years she covers here. What weakens the book is that there is a certain imbalance in the presentation of these elements. Thus my suspicion about the editing. (I did encounter a couple of factual errors.) It is clear, however, that she always knows whereof she writes. Where she does go into depth, she is usually quite clear, although I can see that those not familiar with the language of medieval philosophy could easily find their eyes glazing over. The sections dealing with political and economic theory, on the other hand, were both clear but a bit brief. I should have enjoyed more. The sections dealing with literature, including Celtic, Old French, Old Norse, Old High German, Old English, as well later 12th Century, Courtly and other later developments were a joy to read. I could share in Colish's enjoyment in writing much of this. She seems to be positively excited by some of the old literature, especially the Old Norse. It was fun to read. I could read a whole book on this while wanting to read the original texts (although my Old Norse skills are weak). All in all, a good book. I enjoyed it and, if I were to teach a course on the era, I would have no compunction in imposing the book on my students, with suitable additional primary readings of course. Recommended for anyone with a basic knowledge of the subject matter who wants more detail.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-01-23 00:00:00 Tiffany Creech Colish's examination of medieval thought is simply and definitively comprehensive. Dense and often foreboding, the text surveys the evolution of theology, literature, philosophy, political theory and economics throughout Europe from the Fifth through the Fifteenth Centuries. The effect of Islamic and Byzantine scholarship on Latin Europe is especially fecund. Averroes shines in those sections. Correspondingly the traditional plaudits afforded to Augustine, Benedict, Anselm, Bernard, William of Ockham and Thomas Aquinas are reinforced with solemn scholarship. As noted there is considerable overlap with my previous reading of R.W. Southern. Aside from such, this is an excellent introduction to Intellectual History of the Middle Ages. This is not a positivist account, setbacks in various disciplines are announced as such without undue recrimination. I benefited as well from the lush bibliography at the book's conclusion.