A distant mirror

the calamitous fourteenth century

by

677 pages

English language

Published Jan. 8, 1978 by Knopf.

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5 stars (3 reviews)

Amazon.com Review

In this sweeping historical narrative, Barbara Tuchman writes of the cataclysmic 14th century, when the energies of medieval Europe were devoted to fighting internecine wars and warding off the plague. Some medieval thinkers viewed these disasters as divine punishment for mortal wrongs; others, more practically, viewed them as opportunities to accumulate wealth and power. One of the latter, whose life informs much of Tuchman's book, was the French nobleman Enguerrand de Coucy, who enjoyed the opulence and elegance of the courtly tradition while ruthlessly exploiting the peasants under his thrall. Tuchman looks into such events as the Hundred Years War, the collapse of the medieval church, and the rise of various heresies, pogroms, and other events that caused medieval Europeans to wonder what they had done to deserve such horrors.

25 editions

reviewed A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman

Review of 'A Distant Mirror' on Goodreads

4 stars

A VERY informative book on its subject matter: 14th-century France. It details the rise and fall of kings, the Black Death, the 100-Years War, crusades, peasant uprisings, brigandage, living conditions, social order, etc. It really leaves no stone unturned, with the possible exception of the technology of the time period.

This book is not a quick read in the slightest, even though it does have the thread of the Coucy Barony running throughout and some very influential people inhabiting the castle, especially Enguerrand VII. One of the main problems is so many characters that it's easy to forget who is who--compounded by many with similar names. Another shortcoming is there is very little description of the setting in which things are taking place.

I'm not sure how much I remembered, though. It's a good book, but not a good place to start with the Middle Ages. More like the pinnacle.

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rated it

5 stars
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rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Coucy, Enguerrand de, -- 1340-1397,
  • Nobility -- France -- Biography
  • France -- History -- 14th century