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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
After really enjoying both Rubicon and Dynasty, this was a let-down for me. Too ambitious in reach, it tried to cover too much ground and as a result it felt like a summary of a much larger book.
An excellently written account of the Dark Ages from Charlemagne to the very first Crusade. Holland writes in a very grandiose, sweeping manner that makes every person and event featured, epic in their existence.
The books ending though abrupt could not have been worded better. A fantastic book that explains just how Christianity has shaped (for better and worse) the nations of modern Europe.
The books ending though abrupt could not have been worded better. A fantastic book that explains just how Christianity has shaped (for better and worse) the nations of modern Europe.
The years between the fall of the Roman Empire and the turn of the first millennium are generally known as the 'Dark Ages', an era of brutality, poverty, illiteracy, paganism and savagery, when all the advances of the Greek and Roman civilisations seemed to vanish as though they had never been, and the shape of the countries we know as England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Denmark, were barely coming into focus. Such was the case in Western Europe, at least. There was no such Dark Age in the Islamic or Byzantine Empires. In these years, it would have been all but impossible to imagine a time, not so far in the future, when both these mighty empires would be toppled and Western Europe would stand triumphant, stable and orderly, crowned by the splendour and spiritual muscle of the Pope in Rome.
Tom Holland chronicles the course of the centuries either side of 1000 AD, a time of much convulsion and upheaval: the 'birth pangs', as he calls it, of Western Europe. These were the years in which France was emerging from West Francia, a breakaway portion of the empire of the Franks, the empire of Charlemagne, who had been crowned emperor of the West in Rome itself and acknowledged as the western counterpart of the eastern emperor in Constantinople; in which the Scandinavia countries of Norway, Denmark, Iceland were turning away from Odin and the old gods and embracing Christianity; in which Vikings were settling, by force, in France and forming the land that would become Normandy; other Norsemen were settling further in the continent and becoming known as the Rus, eventually giving their name to Russia; yet more Normans were invading and conquering England, Sicily and southern Italy; the Muslim caliphate was splitting in two, with the Umayyad clan basing their dynasty in Cordoba in Muslim Spain, al-Andalus, and the Abbasid caliphate waging persistent war against the Byzantines.
And above all of this, the Church was establishing its grip, the power and influence of the Pope reaching into every kingdom - the secular and the spiritual no longer as separate as they had once been. Popes were claiming new powers and rights over kings, culminating in many kings coming under the papal sway as vassals, crowned and acknowledged by the Pope alone - in effect, the Pope was claiming that the whole of Christendom was subject to him and the Church. And in an act that would have lasting consequences, popes were coming to embracing the concept of a church-blessed 'holy war, a concept already well embedded in the Islamic jihad. In the space of two scant centuries, all this came to pass - and how much can be ascribed to 'millennial fever', to the fervid belief that the End of Days was nigh and the Antichrist due, with the thousand year anniversary of Christ' birth on the horizon, is the major theme of this book. The years before the turn of the millennium were dark and feverish, with many believing that the world was sinful and needed perfecting before the End of Days, giving rise to much of the impetus that propelled these changes.
Tom Holland is a marvellous writer - he has a tone that somehow manages to be wry and melodramatic at the same time, quite a skill. This isn't academic history, it is very much history for the uninformed, but there can be few authors better at painting such a sweep of history so enjoyably. I found the central theory of the millennial fever a little lacking, and it only really forms a central theme in the first half of the book. But I didn't enjoy this book any less for that. This is an era of history I've never been especially interested in - it's either Greek, Persian and Roman, or skipping over these middle years to get to 1066, but I could hardly put this book down.
Tom Holland chronicles the course of the centuries either side of 1000 AD, a time of much convulsion and upheaval: the 'birth pangs', as he calls it, of Western Europe. These were the years in which France was emerging from West Francia, a breakaway portion of the empire of the Franks, the empire of Charlemagne, who had been crowned emperor of the West in Rome itself and acknowledged as the western counterpart of the eastern emperor in Constantinople; in which the Scandinavia countries of Norway, Denmark, Iceland were turning away from Odin and the old gods and embracing Christianity; in which Vikings were settling, by force, in France and forming the land that would become Normandy; other Norsemen were settling further in the continent and becoming known as the Rus, eventually giving their name to Russia; yet more Normans were invading and conquering England, Sicily and southern Italy; the Muslim caliphate was splitting in two, with the Umayyad clan basing their dynasty in Cordoba in Muslim Spain, al-Andalus, and the Abbasid caliphate waging persistent war against the Byzantines.
And above all of this, the Church was establishing its grip, the power and influence of the Pope reaching into every kingdom - the secular and the spiritual no longer as separate as they had once been. Popes were claiming new powers and rights over kings, culminating in many kings coming under the papal sway as vassals, crowned and acknowledged by the Pope alone - in effect, the Pope was claiming that the whole of Christendom was subject to him and the Church. And in an act that would have lasting consequences, popes were coming to embracing the concept of a church-blessed 'holy war, a concept already well embedded in the Islamic jihad. In the space of two scant centuries, all this came to pass - and how much can be ascribed to 'millennial fever', to the fervid belief that the End of Days was nigh and the Antichrist due, with the thousand year anniversary of Christ' birth on the horizon, is the major theme of this book. The years before the turn of the millennium were dark and feverish, with many believing that the world was sinful and needed perfecting before the End of Days, giving rise to much of the impetus that propelled these changes.
Tom Holland is a marvellous writer - he has a tone that somehow manages to be wry and melodramatic at the same time, quite a skill. This isn't academic history, it is very much history for the uninformed, but there can be few authors better at painting such a sweep of history so enjoyably. I found the central theory of the millennial fever a little lacking, and it only really forms a central theme in the first half of the book. But I didn't enjoy this book any less for that. This is an era of history I've never been especially interested in - it's either Greek, Persian and Roman, or skipping over these middle years to get to 1066, but I could hardly put this book down.
This book was such a disappointment especially because I loved the other two Tom Holland books I’ve read, “Rubicon” and “Persian Fire.” This book is about the spread of Christianity in western and northern Europe and the separation of church and state. It was really dense to get through, wasn’t chronological and jumped around a lot, and didn’t provide a lot of background and context so I was continually having to google things. I was frustrated that I was having such a tough time with this—I have a degree in religious studies from an ivy league and have taken classes on this time period. I couldn’t figure out if I didn’t like this book from a historical or religious perspective and realized it’s BOTH.
The whole premise of this book is that the meeting between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII at Canossa, Italy in 1076 was THE foundational watershed moment in western Christianity and I just don’t buy it. While I do think it was an important event, I don’t put as much weight in it as Holland. It didn’t separate church and state overnight and the process itself was very long across centuries and was accomplished in small steps. It wasn’t the moment when this process started and it certainly wasn’t the end point. So it was hard for me to read nearly 500 pages based on this premise.
I will say my favorite chapter was about 1066 and William the Conqueror. It made me want to read more about him.
The whole premise of this book is that the meeting between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII at Canossa, Italy in 1076 was THE foundational watershed moment in western Christianity and I just don’t buy it. While I do think it was an important event, I don’t put as much weight in it as Holland. It didn’t separate church and state overnight and the process itself was very long across centuries and was accomplished in small steps. It wasn’t the moment when this process started and it certainly wasn’t the end point. So it was hard for me to read nearly 500 pages based on this premise.
I will say my favorite chapter was about 1066 and William the Conqueror. It made me want to read more about him.
Book that teaches well of, known world of first millennium. Starting with fall of Rome and rise of Francia, that has been from Germanic Tribes.Then Saxonic Reich. Along with predictions about doom times written by monks, in books with such value that you could get war horse for one book on black market.
There is also writing about Poland and her help towards Christianity. That has been under archbishopric of Magdeburg with all known Slavs. When, in west of Europe, ruler, before battle prays, just so he does convince his army to follow and obey.
England has not been part of Kingdom of the Franks or First Reich, however has been very rich land.
Nordic became power of its own as Scandinavian maps captured American Northern-East, Greenland, island, England and Ireland as well as Russian land as Sweden.
And last but not least, Arabic civilization that by many has been recognized as one of two existing civilizations.
Compendium about that medieval, middle earth times.
There is also writing about Poland and her help towards Christianity. That has been under archbishopric of Magdeburg with all known Slavs. When, in west of Europe, ruler, before battle prays, just so he does convince his army to follow and obey.
England has not been part of Kingdom of the Franks or First Reich, however has been very rich land.
Nordic became power of its own as Scandinavian maps captured American Northern-East, Greenland, island, England and Ireland as well as Russian land as Sweden.
And last but not least, Arabic civilization that by many has been recognized as one of two existing civilizations.
Compendium about that medieval, middle earth times.
I was having difficulty reading this book right from the start. For me the part of problem was the narrative style which i felt was very complex and because of this i didn't find this book very engaging. i read almost 200 pages and a chapter in between but couldn't read more.
this is the first book by Tom Holland which i read because i was unable to get my hands on Rubicon. And now i m also apprehensive about 'In the Shadow of Swords' which is in my to-read list. If his other books have same writing style as this one, then i think i m better off not reading them.
this is the first book by Tom Holland which i read because i was unable to get my hands on Rubicon. And now i m also apprehensive about 'In the Shadow of Swords' which is in my to-read list. If his other books have same writing style as this one, then i think i m better off not reading them.
It had been two months since I had started on my attempt to read this book for a second time. To be sure, as before, it was not an easy tome to peruse. Indeed, at times, it dragged for, while mister Holland certainly has an extensive knowledge, as an historian, of the middle ages, his writing is filled to the brim with unnecessary, redundant, and annoyingly overused adverbials. Futhermore, it is also the case that his writing, while it, perhaps, somewhat pepresents the chaos of the time period he is describing, tends to be, to no small extend, a pandemonium of unstructured veering off topic to, at times, locations that did not interest me very much at that point in the book. Indeed, it should come as no small surprise, then, that there was little enjoyment to be had in the challange I foolishly gave myself: the challange to finish this book. But, indeed, finally having done so, it brings me, in no small measure, a certain sense of catharsis to put my unflattering thoughts about this book into words. To be sure, there is nothing quite as satisfying in the same way, in the world of literature at least, as immitating an unexperienced author's writing style, and, indeed, make a mockery of it.
Now imagine four hundred pages of what is written above, and you have an accurate idea of what reading Millenium by Tom Holland is like.
Now imagine four hundred pages of what is written above, and you have an accurate idea of what reading Millenium by Tom Holland is like.
A terrific fast-paced read. The author has a narrative touch which brings to life the complex characters and events of a thousand years ago and more. The period of history which is covered is vastly complicated, with tumultuous events happening in almost every part of the known world, and this book is a worthy attempt to cover them all. Because of this, the author had to keep hopping around in time periods to make sure the context for each individual event was covered thoroughly. I was beginning to get a little confused as to the order of events, until I discovered the timeline at the end of the book, which helped no end.
It has to be said that this is narrative history (having said that, this book has a lot of analysis within it - a lot more than can be said for other 'popular'* works of history). As such, it necessarily takes an introductory approach to the events and glazes over some details. However, to cover the history of Europe (and beyond) from the end of the Roman Empire up to the Crusades in 400 pages, you would expect some things to be left out. If you already know much about this period of history, there won't be much here that is new to you. However, the skilled way in which Holland ties the multiple incidents into one investigation into the adolescence of Christianity, while still keeping the narration simple and readable, certainly makes this a worthwhile addition to any medievalist's library.
*I hate the word 'popular' in this context, as it is so often used derogatively and anobbishly to label history aimed at general readers rather than academics. However, apart from narrative history, I don't know another word to simply denote a work of history which chiefly aims to be readable by everyone rather than only for peers of the author.
It has to be said that this is narrative history (having said that, this book has a lot of analysis within it - a lot more than can be said for other 'popular'* works of history). As such, it necessarily takes an introductory approach to the events and glazes over some details. However, to cover the history of Europe (and beyond) from the end of the Roman Empire up to the Crusades in 400 pages, you would expect some things to be left out. If you already know much about this period of history, there won't be much here that is new to you. However, the skilled way in which Holland ties the multiple incidents into one investigation into the adolescence of Christianity, while still keeping the narration simple and readable, certainly makes this a worthwhile addition to any medievalist's library.
*I hate the word 'popular' in this context, as it is so often used derogatively and anobbishly to label history aimed at general readers rather than academics. However, apart from narrative history, I don't know another word to simply denote a work of history which chiefly aims to be readable by everyone rather than only for peers of the author.
Really enjoyable, but I'm too slow of a reader to finish before it needed to be returned to the library.