A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

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From 1980 to 1983, dual hardcover and paperback awards were given in most categories, and in multiple nonfiction subcategories, including History.

The desperation of kings for more money to fight their wars and the extent of political manoeuvring and corruption suggest that they could match anything we witness in the modern world. Edward claimed to be the rightful French King but his real goal was to add mainland provinces to his domain. By the way, I have been up to see the castle of Chaucy which is the epicenter of this book and, unfortunately, there is precious little to see - the chateau was demolished during the World Wars of the 20th C.Tuchman offers ongoing commentary: for example, regarding military engagement, she cites how the 14th century nobility was too wedded to the idea of glory and riding horses on the battlefield to be effective against the new technology of the long-bow and foot soldiers with pikes.

She describes the lives of peasants and knights and lords; she describes their faith; their clothing; their jobs; their sexual practices (apparently the chastity belt “rests on only the faintest factual support”). Left unemployed by the truce the [mercenary] companies reverted to plundering the people they lately liberated. It’s the same with Barbara Tuchman’s terrific idea of approaching the war and politics of 14th century Europe, through just one man - Enguerrand de Coucy - whose lifetime fits so perfectly with the story she wants to relate. and each was to produce unsurpassed works of art: The Apocalypse series of tapestries for Anjou; the Tres Riches Heures and Belles Heures illuminated for Berry; and the statues of the Well of Moses and the Mourners for Burgundy. Think about that for a second and you will understand how hard it would be to know what year you are talking about.The century marked the decline of the Roman Catholic Church’s power, the feudal system and the myth of the chivalrous knight. Tuchman has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "August 1914" and "Sand Against Wind" and her other novels are "The Proud Tower", "The Zimmermann Telegram" and "Bible and Sword". He is a perfect character to follow since he is thus connected to both the French and English nobility, the two warring nations. I am now reading Tuchman’s The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam and I hope it will be equally good. This century was probably the most appalling in European history with an epidemic that slaughtered 30%+ of the population; and yet men could not refrain from almost continuous war - that at times just exhausted the combatants.

Full of information and telling an amazing tale about the massive changes that take place over the course of a century. As in any age, it makes for more comfortable living being at the top rather than at the bottom of the social scale. Repeated spasms of the Hundred Years War, a war in Italy, then more Papal wars, then war against the Berbers, and finally a last bloody Crusade would provide employment and plunder for these rapacious bands--and for some a fitting end. Often, I felt that, like Connie Willis’ time traveler, I had suddenly arrived, transported through the distant mirror….

Medievalists tend to take themselves rather seriously, so it’s fairly easy to ignore their sniffing (and their dry monographs). For younger bookworms – and nostalgic older ones too – there’s the Slightly Foxed Cubs series, in which we’ve reissued a number of classic nature and historical novels. I only read the book because I knew I had to do some reading, my dad recommended it, and I didn’t know where else to start; but it was a really good choice. There were more than a few idiots, but no heroes, no chivalrous knights, just ugly opportunists laying waste to their own countryside, killing for no reason, looting, and burning towns to the ground. The author makes a point that this may be due to the fact that deaths of infants were common and pretty much expected, and, this, coupled with frequent child-bearing, meant that love and attachment to children were discouraged since both would, more likely than not, prove to be meaningless in the end and only lead to the experience of sorrow upon sorrow.