Mysteries of the Middle Ages: And the Beginning of the Modern World

354 Pages·2008·10.3 MB·English

by  Thomas Cahill

FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, MARCH 2008
Copyright © 2006 by Thomas Cahill
Excerpt from Heretics and Heroes copyright © 2013 by Thomas Cahill.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in
Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Nan A.
Talese, an imprint of The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2006.
Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
This page constitutes an extension of this copyright page.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the Nan A. Talese edition as follows:
Cahill, Thomas.
Mysteries of the Middle Ages : the rise of feminism, science, and art from the cults of Catholic Europe/Thomas Cahill.—
1st ed.
p. cm.—(The hinges of history ; v. 5)
Includes index.
1. Civilization, Medieval. 2. Women—Europe—History—Middle Ages, 500– 1500. 3. Science, Medieval. 4. Art, Medieval.
I. Title. II. Series: Cahill, Thomas. Hinges of history ; v. 5.
CB.351.C22 2006
909.07—dc22 2006044545
eISBN: 978-0-30775514-8
Book design by Terry Karydes (from the original series concept by Marysarah Quinn)
Map art by Virginia Norey
www.anchorbooks.com
v3.1_r1
Ceiling of Scrovegni Chapel, Padua Bridgeman Art Library
To Nan Ahearn Talese
e là m’apparve, sì com’ elli appare
subitamente cosa che disvia
per maraviglia tutto altro pensare,
una donna soletta che si gìa
e cantando e scegliendo fior da fiore
ond’ era pinta tutta la sua via.
and there appeared to me—as can befall
so suddenly a thing that drives away
all other thought by wonder magical—
a lady alone who went along her way
singing and plucking flower upon flower,
which painted all the path that before her lay.

Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
List of Illustrations
A CHAUCERIAN INVITATION
PRELUDE: ALEXANDRIA, CITY OF REASON
The Great Confluence
INTRODUCTION: ROME, CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD
How the Romans Became the Italians
ONE: BINGEN AND CHARTRES, GARDENS ENCLOSED
The Cult of the Virgin and Its Consequences
TWO: AQUITAINE AND ASSISI, COURTS OF LOVE
The Pursuit of Love and Its Consequences
INTERMEZZO: ENTRANCES TO OTHER WORLDS
The Mediterranean, the Orient, and the Atlantic
THREE: PARIS, UNIVERSITY OF HEAVENLY THINGS
The Exaltation of Reason and Its Consequences
FOUR: OXFORD, UNIVERSITY OF EARTHLY THINGS
The Alchemist’s Quest and Its Consequences
FIVE: PADUA, CHAPEL OF FLESH
The Artist’s Experiment and Its Consequences
SIX: FLORENCE, DOME OF LIGHT
The Poet’s Dream and Its Consequences
SEVEN: RAVENNA, CITY OF DEATH
The Politician’s Emptiness and Its Consequences
POSTLUDE: LOVE IN THE RUINS
A Dantesque Reflection
Notes and Sources
Acknowledgments
Permissions Acknowledgments
Photography Credits
Index
Additional Images
Excerpt from Heretics and Heroes
About the Author
The Hinges of History
Other Books by This Author
List of Illustrations
Maps
map.1 Europe and the Middle East in the time of Constantine the Great
map.2 German Rhineland in the time of Hildegard
map.3 England and France in the time of Henry II
Religious divisions of Europe and the Middle East in the time of
map.4
Francis of Assisi
Charts
chart.1Alumni of Alexandria
chart.2Dating the Middle Ages
chart.3Relevant Romans
chart.4System of Dante’s Hell
chart.5Some Major Medievals
Illustrative Art
Ill.1 Hildegard inspired by fire from above
Ill.2 Hildegard’s First Vision
Ill.3 Man at center of cosmos with Hildegard as observer
Ill.4 Viriditas, or the abundance of nature
Ill.5 Town houses of wealthy merchants, Trier
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Ill.6
Ill.7 Dom of Trier and Liebfrauenkirche
Ill.8 Madonna and Child, Roman Catacomb of Santa Priscilla
Ill.9 Apse of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Ill.10 Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Chartres
Ill.11 Prophetic figures, Chartres
Ill.12 God fashioning Adam from clay, Chartres
Ill.13 Triptych of stained-glass windows, Chartres
Ill.14 Noah’s Ark, Chartres
Ill.15 Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière, Chartres
Ill.16 Eleanor’s palace and Maubergeonne Tower, Poitiers
Ill.17 Detail of Eleanor’s tomb
Ill.18 Tombs of Eleanor and Henry II, Fontevraud Abbey
Ill.19 Crucifix of San Damiano
Ill.20 Francis of Assisi by Cimabue
Ill.21 Unicorn in tapestry
Ill.22 Apse of San Clemente, Rome
Ill.23 Detail of San Clemente apse: woman feeding hens
Ill.24 Detail of San Clemente apse: stag drinking from stream
Ill.25 Detail of San Clemente apse: people at their labors
Ill.26 Smiling angel, Rheims
Ill.27 Jesus as Pantocrator, Daphni
Ill.28 Francis of Assisi’s first crèche by Giotto
Ill.29 Byzantine Virgin and Child, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna