It’s easier to compose a long text than a short one; to write in academic jargon and clichés rather than original, clear English; and to pander to political trends rather than to seek the truth.
In producing this extraordinary book, Rice and Grafton chose the more difficult path of conciseness, clarity, and integrity. In a mere 202 pages they elucidate a dynamic and culturally rich period of history.
The first chapters of their book survey in detail several trends that radically changed life in Europe. The technology of printing by movable type on rag-based paper revolutionized transmission of factual knowledge and “freed the memory”, enabling education to move its focus from memorization to thinking and judgment. The invention and rapid adoption of the gun shifted power from feudal nobles to kings with their organized infantries.
The application of logic, mathematics, and experimentation established the foundation of fully developed science, which “Only modern western civilization has produced”.
Global exploration introduced tremendous new wealth, shifted Europe’s center of gravity from the Mediterranean towards the Atlantic, and created new perspectives on the world.
Meanwhile, population exploded. Industry, trade and commerce boomed and internationalized. Early capitalism spread in several forms, including vertical organization of craft guilds, subcontracted “putting-out” systems, and enlarged farms. The wealth and power of merchants flourished, and they began to climb the social hierarchy, while workers and peasants had to adjust.
Rice and Grafton’s chapter on humanist values and practices could be the best short summary of the Renaissance ever written. Humanist historians removed their field from theology, examined texts critically, and sought wisdom from man’s experience as a guide to life. The humanists revered the classics and were inspired by their themes to see man’s moral freedom as the basis of human dignity. This spirit was passionately expressed in the sublime art of the period – and in new principles of education intended “to produce free and civilized men”.
The second half of the book explains the consolidation of sovereign states in England, France and Spain which entailed the subordination of nobility to kings. By contrast, in Germany, the Holy Roman “Emperor” failed to centralize power. There, most political authority stayed in the hands of princes, archbishops, free imperial cities, and local lords. In Italy, balance-of-power politics evolved a somewhat stable five-state system.
The final two chapters describe in detail the splintering of the Church between Catholics and reforming but often intolerant Protestants. The ensuing passions polarized Europe. Mutually hostile doctrines attached to different states and classes, sowing the seeds of the horrible religious wars of the 17th Century.
Among the book’s chain of topics, there is not one weak link. Each is explained with insight and telling detail. Well-produced with excellent maps and illustrations, Rice and Grafton’s outstanding book delivers solid understanding of the foundations of modern Europe.
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