My copy of “A Distant Mirror” is aptly illustrated with the ominous vision of the pale horsemen leading the legions of the dead against men. The men of the picture are an army themselves, busy besieging a city. One of the unfortunates, on spotting Death's column, raises his arms in surprise, though he could just as easily be saying – “we’re busy now – can you try back during the Renaissance?” The pages of “Mirror” are so redolent with death – owing to ceaseless, purposeless wars, plague and other tragedies, one wonders how death itself kept pace with mankind. “Mirror” charts the bloody ebb and flow of Europe’s “calamitous 14th century”. Between the crusades and the renaissance, 14th century Europe saw endless war – mostly between England and France. The combatants fight for land and for ransoms while aspiring to chivalry – meaning that they were better at romanticizing wars than fighting them. While ennobling the institution of Knighthood, knights themselves were prone to freebooting, sack & pillage and other acts darkening the word “medieval” but miserably failed to actually win battles. The “Hundred Years War” bookends the story, but historian Barbara Tuchman focuses on Enguerrand VII, Sire De Coucy – an uncommonly wise noble free of much of the avarice of his class. Coucy seldom directs the events of the age, but his peculiar strength of character provides a valuable frame of reference for his contemporaries. When the nobles aren’t fighting their futile wars, marauding soldiers rove the countryside selling their services to (or selling “protection” from those services to) villagers. Besides soldiers, the plague arrives, decimating whole populations. The nobles, endlessly hungry for revenue to fuel their wars, increase the tax burden on the survivors. Religious fervor underlies much of the conflict, but also fails to make a dent on the course of events – that is until the great schism of the Roman church. The fatal flaw of the age isn’t simply being medieval – rather a lack of genuine nationalism made it impossible to end what we now call the Hundred Years War. Lacking the cohesion of national identity, combatants had no reason to favor one side or another, and end up plotting with both. Instead, each side fights for prospective sovereigns – either English or French contenders for the throne of France. Ironically, the stability would come in the next century with the rise of Charles VII, ill-famed as the effete weakling in “Henry V” and the legend of Joan of Arc. Until then, Europe suffers the hubris of chivalry, ignoble wars, Black Death and papal schism. European rulers stir themselves to war intending to unite against “The Grand Turk” but spend more time fighting against each other. Tuchman ends her tragic tale with the battle of Nicopolis, where European chivalry - with its love of silks, guilt armor and traveling pavilions - are crushed by Ottoman steel. With medieval European history, Tuchman makes for unstoppable reading. Tuchman’s trademark prose, her understanding of social dynamics and a superhuman capacity to weave it into history makes “A Distant Mirror” a book that sticks in your mind, at times becoming – dare I say it – a book I couldn’t put down. I was first introduced to Barbara Tuchman through her unforgettable “March of Folly” which, to this book, is merely a primer.Read full review
Two popes, both with mistresses and children; bubonic plague killing half of Europe. The "calamitous 14th century". These days, the plague narrative can put COVID into perspective. The book has a slow start, but worth the slog.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The book was in great shape and well packed.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
superb
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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