Praise for the first edition:
"Aberth wears his very considerable and up-to-date scholarship
lightly and his study of a series of complex and somber calamites
is made remarkably vivid." -- Barrie Dobson, Honorary Professor of
History, University of York
The later Middle Ages was a period of unparalleled chaos and
misery -in the form of war, famine, plague, and death. At times it
must have seemed like the end of the world was truly at hand. And
yet, as John Aberth reveals in this lively work, late medieval
Europeans' cultural assumptions uniquely equipped them to face up
postively to the huge problems that they faced.
Relying on rich literary, historical and material sources, the
book brings this period and its beliefs and attitudes vividly to
life. Taking his themes from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,
John Aberth describes how the lives of ordinary people were
transformed by a series of crises, including the Great Famine, the
Black Death and the Hundred Years War. Yet he also shows how
prayers, chronicles, poetry, and especially commemorative art
reveal an optimistic people, whose belief in the apocalypse somehow
gave them the ability to transcend the woes they faced on this
earth.
This second edition is brought fully up to date with recent
scholarship, and the scope of the book is broadened to include many
more examples from mainland Europe. The new edition features fully
revised sections on famine, war, and plague, as well as a new
epitaph. The book draws some bold new conclusions and raises
important questions, which will be fascinating reading for all
students and general readers with an interest in medieval
history.
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