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I can recommend Norman Cantor's Civilization of the Middle Ages for a really great review of the different views of what happened during and after the deteriora
by jrumbut 6y ago
I can recommend Norman Cantor's Civilization of the Middle Ages for a really great review of the different views of what happened during and after the deterioration of the Western Roman Empire. They range from "a time of violence and backwardness" to "a lot of people may not have noticed." It's really a great book overall and easier to read than you might expect.
He also wrote Inventing the Middle Ages which sounds like it might be more focused on your question but I haven't read it so I don't know.
- billfruit 6y agoIs John Huizinga's Autumn of the Middle Ages, a good source as well?
- jrumbut 6y agoI haven't read it and am no expert, but from the summary it seems like Huizinga believes that the increasingly elaborate customs of the aristocracy in the late Middle Ages was a coping mechanism to deal with the intense violence of the period. Cantor says almost the opposite, that they developed these customs as a marker of their high status and a way to exclude others after they had outlived their original role as the fighting class once cavalry charges were no longer a dominant tactic. This is one of the rare moments in Civilization where the specifics of weapons and warfare are discussed, anyone looking for information on crossbows and lances will be dissappointed.
- Balero 6y agoI found this podcast series really good for the fall of the Roman Empire. Long, but really good! https://soundcloud.com/fallofromepodcast https://soundcloud.com/fallofromepodcast
- neaden 6y agoNot to mention a lot of people benefited, like all the slaves or people on the margins paying taxes for little benefit.