The history of the Renaissance world From the rediscovery of Aristotle to the conquest of Constantinople

Susan Wise Bauer

Book - 2013

A chronicle of the years between 1100 and 1453 describes the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Black Death, the Little Ice Age, the emergence of the Ottomans, the rise of the Mongols, and the invention of new currencies, weapons, and schools of thought.

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Subjects
Published
New York : W.W. Norton & Company [2013]
Language
English
Main Author
Susan Wise Bauer (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xxv, 785 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 723-747) and index.
ISBN
9780393059762
  • List of Maps
  • List of Illustrations
  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface
  • Part 1. Renaissances
  • 1. Logic and Compromise: England, Rome, and the Holy Roman Empire, 1100-1122
  • 2. The Crusader Enemy: Byzantium, Venice, and the Crusader kingdoms, 1100-1138
  • 3. Anarchy: England, Western Francia, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1120-1139
  • 4. The Lost Homeland: China, Dai Viet, and Khmer, 1127-1150
  • 5. Crusade Resurrected: The Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, with visitations from Germany and France, 1128-1149
  • 6. Reconquista and Rediscovery: The Spanish peninsula, 1134-1146
  • 7. Questions of Authority: France and Italy, 1135-1160
  • 8. The New Song: China, 1141-1165
  • 9. The Heiji Disturbance: Japan, 1142-1159
  • 10. Death of an Army: Goryeo, 1146-1197
  • 11. The First Plantagenet: England and Western Francia, 1147-1154
  • 12. Frederick Barbarossa: Germany and Italy, 1147-1177
  • 13. The Almohads in Spain: North Africa and Spain, 1147-1177
  • 14. "Many Nations": Africa, sometime in the twelfth century
  • 15. The Last Fatimid Caliph: Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, 1149-1171
  • 16. Monks and Brahmans: South India, 1150-1189
  • 17. Conquest of the Willing: Northern India, 1150-1202
  • 18. Death of a Priest: England and France, 1154-1170
  • 19. Foreign Relations: Byzantium, Hungary, and the Balkans, 1157-1168
  • 20. The Venetian Problem: Byzantium and Italy, 1171-1185
  • 21. Resentments: England Ireland and France, 1171-1186
  • 22. Saladin: The Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, 1171-1188
  • 23. The Gempei War: Japan, 1179-1185
  • 24. Kings' Crusade: England, France, and the Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, 1188-1199
  • 25. The Sack of Constantinople: Byzantium and Europe, 1195-1204
  • Part 2. Invasions, Heresies, and Uprisings
  • 26. Westward: Central and South America, 1200
  • 27. The Mongol School of Warfare: China, North and Central Asia, 1201-1215
  • 28. John Softsword: England and France, 1203-1213
  • 29. Sundiata of the Mali: Africa, 1263-1240
  • 30. The Jokyu War: Japan, 1203-1242
  • 31. The Unwanted Throne: The old Byzantine lands, 1204-1225
  • 32. The First Delhi Sultanate: Northern and central India, 1206-1236
  • 33. Heresy: France, 1209-1210
  • 34. Reconquest and Failure: France and the Spanish peninsula, 1210-1213
  • 35. From Bouvines to Magna Carta: France, England and the Holy Roman Empire, 1213-1217
  • 36. The Birth of the Inquisition: France, 1215-1229
  • 37. Moving Westward: China, North and Central Asia, and the Middle East, 1215-1229
  • 38. South of India: India and Sri Lanka, 1215-1283
  • 39. The Fifth Crusade: Egypt and the Crusader kingdoms, 1217-1221
  • 40. From the Golden Bull to the Baltic Crusade: Hungary, Poland, and the lands of the Lithuanians, 1218-1233
  • 41. Lakeshores, Highlands, and Hilltops: Africa, 1221-1290
  • 42. The Sixth Crusade: The Holy Roman Empire, the Crusader kingdoms, and the Ayyubid empire, 1223-1229
  • 43. The Tran Dynasty: Southeast Asia, 1224-1257
  • 44. Young Kings: England France, and the kingdoms of Spain, 1227-1242
  • 45. The Mongol Horde: Most of Asia and Europe, 122P-1248
  • 46. The Debt of Hatred: The Holy Roman Empire, 1229-1250
  • 47. The Shadow of God: India, 1236-1266
  • 48. The Seventh Crusade: France, Egypt, and Syria, 1244-1250
  • 49. The Splintering Khanate: The Mongol conquests, 1246-1264
  • 50. The Mamluks of Egypt: Egypt, Syria, and the Mongol lands, 1250-1268
  • 51. Louis the Saint: France and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1250-1267
  • 52. The Lions Den: Germany, Italy, Sicily, and England 1252-1273
  • 53. The Recapture of Constantinople: The Latin Empire and the empire of Nicaea, 1254-1261
  • 54. The Last Crusades: North Africa, Egypt, France, Italy, and the Crusader kingdoms, 1270-1291
  • 55. Kublai Khan: China, Japan, Goryeo, Champa, and the Dai Viet, 1273-1294
  • 56. The Sicilian Vespers: Germany, Italy, Sicily, Aragon, and France, 1274-1288
  • 57. The Wars of Edward I: England Scotland Wales, and France, 1275-1299
  • 58. The Second Sultanate of Delhi: India, 1287-1300
  • 59. The End of the Papal Monarchy: France, Germany, and Italy, 1301-1317
  • 60. The Appearance of the Ottomans: Byzantium and the Turks of the Il-khanate, 1302-1347
  • 61. The Fall of the Khilji: India, 1303-1320
  • 62. The Triumph of the Bruce: Scotland England and Ireland 1304-1314
  • Part 3. Catastrophes
  • 63. The Great Famine: All of Europe, 1310-1321
  • 64. The Sultan and the Khan: Egypt, the Il-khanate, and the Golden Horde, 1310-1335
  • 65. Mansa Musa of Mali: West Africa, 1312-1360
  • 66. After the Famine: France and England, 1318-1330
  • 67. The Southern and Northern Courts: Japan, 1318-1339
  • 68. Rebellions: India, 1320-1351
  • 69. Naming the Renaissance: Germany, Italy, and France, 1322-1341
  • 70. The Cities in the Lake: Central America, 1325-1375
  • 71. A Hundred Years of War: France and England 1329-1347
  • 72. The End of the World: Asia, Europe, and India, 1338-1353
  • Part 4. Regroupings
  • 73. The Will to War: France, England and the Spanish kingdoms, 1349-1369
  • 74. White Lotus, Red Turban: China, 1351-1382
  • 75. After the Mongols: Southeast Asia, 1351-1399
  • 76. The Turks and the Desperate Emperor: Byzantium and the lands of the Turks, with side journeys to France and Italy
  • 77. The Disintegration of Delhi: India and Sri Lanka, 1352-1388
  • 78. The Union of Krewo: Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania, 1364-1399
  • 79. The Rebirth of the Mongol Horde: Central Asia, the Middle East, India, and the lands of the Rus', 1367-1399
  • 80. Compromises and Settlements: The Korean peninsula and Japan, 1368-1392
  • 81. The House of Visconti and the Papal States: France and Italy, 1368-1390
  • 82. Bad Beginnings: France and England, 1369-1381
  • 83. Dislocation: Africa, 1370-1399
  • 84. Madness and Usurpation: Castile, Portugal, England, and France, 1383-1401
  • 85. The Battle of Nicopolis: The Ottoman empire, Constantinople, and the lands of eastern Europe, 1385-1396
  • 86. The Union and Disunion of Kalmar: Scandinavia, 1387-1449
  • 87. The Hussite Uprising: Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bohemia, 1388-1419
  • 88. The Taking of France: France and England 1401-1420
  • 89. After Timurlane: The north of India, the empire of Timur, the lands of the Ottoman Turks, Egypt, and Byzantium, 1401-1415
  • Part 5. Endings
  • 90. The Withdrawal of the Ming: China and the land of the Dai Viet, 1405-1455
  • 91. Failure: The old lands of the Holy Roman Empire and the remnants of Byzantium, 1412-1440
  • 92. Perpetual Slavery: Portugal, Castile, and Africa, 1415-1455
  • 93. The Loss of France: France and England 1422-1453
  • 94. The Fall: The Byzantine and Ottoman empires, along with Hungary, Germany, Wallachia, Bohemia, and Serbia, 1430-1453
  • Notes
  • Works Cited
  • Permissions
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

This is the third volume in a projected four-volume history of the world (e.g., The History of the Ancient World, CH, Jan'08, 45-2759; The History of the Medieval World, CH, Sep'10, 48-0418) by Bauer, who has published widely on writing and education. Ninety-four short chapters narrate political and military intrigues between 1100 and 1453, supported by a time line at the end of every chapter and numerous helpful maps. Bauer peppers her informal prose with numerous quotations, which are entertaining but often uncritically presented. For example, she reports events in 12th-century Spain by quoting a 16th-century epic poem, and quotes Coleridge on the construction of Kublai Khan's summer capital Shangdu (also known as Xanadu). Each chapter provides a readable if superficial narrative of a particular historical moment, but unfortunately they do not connect, a problem exacerbated by Bauer's chronological approach (thus, chapters 31-33 treat the Latin Empire of Constantinople, the first Delhi Sultanate of India, and the French Albigensian Crusade, respectively). The book's only overarching narrative is found in the three-page preface, which tries unconvincingly to explain Bauer's decision to title a work covering 1100-1453 a "history of the Renaissance world." Regrettably, the overall effect of these decisions is more confusing than illuminating. Summing Up: Optional. Public libraries only. C. E. Benevs New College of Florida

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Readers hoping for a glimpse into the life and times of Michelangelo and Da Vinci will be disappointed by Bauer's newest (after The History of the Medieval World): "This is not a history of 'the Renaissance.' Rather, it is a history of the world during. a rebirth of interest in classical learning." That said, this volume is still rife with captivating figures, momentous movements, violent wars, and climactic upheavals. Beginning with the 12th-century rise of the Plantagenets in England and ending with the 1453 Ottoman overthrow of the Byzantine Empire, Bauer ranges far and wide, touching on everything from the gruesome murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury; the ascendancy of the first king of the Incan Empire; the terrorization of the Asian Steppe by Mongol hordes; the relocation of the papacy from Rome to Avignon; the birth of the Inquisition in Toulouse, France; the beginnings of the African slave trade; and the bubonic plague's decimating sweep across Europe. In five sections (Renaissances; Invasions, Heresies, and Uprisings; Catastrophes; Regroupings; and Endings), Bauer covers a bewildering amount of territory in her attempt to offer a tantalizing global perspective of a tumultuous epoch. Unfortunately, she too often sacrifices depth for breadth. 22 illus. & 96 maps. Agent: Richard Henshaw, Richard Henshaw Group. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Another expertly clarified primer by Bauer (History/Coll. of William Mary; The History of the Medieval World, 2010, etc.) organizes by themes the chaos of the medieval world into a semblance of cohesive law, migratory logic and religious fervor that would later explode into the Renaissance. The author has an excellent eye for presenting her subject in bold strokes, memorable themes and without undue clutter. Her work is grounded in the notion of the Renaissance (or, as she posits in the plural: renaissances) as gaining seismic steam in the 12th century, with translation of classic texts by Gerard of Cremona and others. The debate between reason and faith was engaged, proving hugely subversive to central powers. The violent, epic thrusts of peoples also marked the period: The Crusades were launched by the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople; the Muslim kingdoms battled to capture the Spanish peninsula, spreading into Africa and northern India; England and France dissolved into frequent anarchy and civil war, leading to the rise of the Plantagenets; roiling ensued in the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms of Sri Lanka and India; the shoguns ruled in Japan, the Ming in China; great empires like the Incas and later Aztecs rose in South and Central America; and the Mongols galvanized their ferocious military might and set their sights to the west and south. This was the era of Genghis Khan, Frederick Barbarossa, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Osman, Robert Bruce and Mansa Musa of Mali, as well as the Magna Carta, Inquisition, the plague and the spread of the Portuguese slave trade into Africa. Already splintered, Byzantium would be eclipsed by the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, provoking new exoduses of peoples, west and east, "the seeds of new nations; the roots of new wars." Bauer ably captures it all. A wide-angle, thorough world survey for students, complete with immensely useful timelines and maps.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.