View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3

Henry HallamProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8

Word count: 1.4M words
Chapters: 141

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 by Henry HallamAuthor: Hallam, Henry, 1777-1859,Language: English, Class: D: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere, Release Date: Aug 26, 2010

Editor's review

This is Volume 3 of Henry Hallam's View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, an English public-domain work of historiography. The book discusses the institutions, politics, and social conditions of medieval Europe topic by topic, and is a typical specimen of nineteenth-century British historical writing: its material is clearly organized, and its judgments carry a distinct period perspective. Volume 3 can be read on its own, but without knowledge of the argumentative thread of the first two volumes, some lines of reasoning will seem abrupt. Its value lies in offering a fairly systematic framework of institutional history and a wealth of traceable historical leads, while also reminding readers to note the stance and limitations of a nineteenth-century historian. It is suitable as supplementary reading for courses on medieval European history, or for readers interested in institutional and political history to consult by topic; it should not be treated as the only introductory book.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners of medieval European history who need a supplementary institutional-history framework
History majors who want to see what nineteenth-century historical writing looked like
Advanced readers interested in political institutions and social structures
Readers of literature and history able to read English originals

Not a good fit for

Readers starting from zero who need an introductory general history
Readers expecting the latest scholarship and a survey of contemporary research
Readers unable to read English and unwilling to use reference tools

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and chapter introductions first to identify the institutional themes discussed in this volume.
Read alongside a chronology of major medieval events to reduce confusion over the timeline.
Annotate key judgments, distinguishing factual narrative from the author's evaluations.
If possible, skim summaries of the first two volumes before starting this one.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can Volume 3 be read on its own? Do I need to read the first two volumes first?

It can be read on its own, but the book proceeds by topic, and the argumentative thread of the first two volumes affects comprehension. It is advisable at least to learn the scope and basic conclusions of the first two volumes before starting this one; reading will then be smoother.

Are the views in this book outdated?

As a nineteenth-century work of historiography, its material and judgments carry the limitations of their time and cannot replace contemporary research. Read it as a specimen of historiography and a source of historical leads, and stay alert to verifying key conclusions.

How difficult is the English? Is it suitable for non-native readers?

It is nineteenth-century academic English, with long sentences and many proper names, so non-native readers will face some difficulty. It is advisable to use a dictionary and chronological reference works and proceed chapter by chapter rather than attempting to read it quickly from cover to cover.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Henry Hallam Author · British · 1777–1859

Henry Hallam (1777–1859) was a British historian, born in Windsor. He was educated at Eton and Oxford and later served as a Commissioner of Stamps; politically he was a Whig. His major works include View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, The Constitutional History of England, and Introduction to the Literature of Europe, and the five works by him held in this library are mostly volumes of these titles. Hallam's scholarship ranged across political institutions, social conditions, and literary development. Drawing on wide reading and writing with fairness, rigor, and restraint, he traced the broad contours of European civilization over long periods. His constitutional and medieval histories were influential in nineteenth-century British historiography, and he is regarded as a figure bridging Enlightenment and professional historical writing; his works remain useful references for the study of European constitutional and literary history.