Free PDF The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity (Worlds of Christopher Dawson), by Christopher Dawson
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The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity (Worlds of Christopher Dawson), by Christopher Dawson
Free PDF The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity (Worlds of Christopher Dawson), by Christopher Dawson
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In this seminal work, described by the Times Literary Supplement as "impressive alike by the authority of its learning and the originality of its argument," Christopher Dawson concludes that the period of the fourth to the eleventh centuries commonly known as the Dark Ages is not a barren prelude to the creative energy of the medieval world. Instead, he argues that it is better described as "ages of dawn," for it is in this rich and confused period that the complex and creative interaction of the Roman empire, the Christian Church, the classical tradition, and barbarous societies provided the foundation for a vital, unified European culture.
In an age of fragmentation and the emergence of new nationalist forces, Dawson argued that if "our civilization is to survive, it is essential that it should develop a common European consciousness and sense of historic and organic unity." But he was clear that this unity required sources deeper and more complex than the political and economic movements on which so many had come to depend, and he insisted, prophetically, that Europe would need to recover its Christian roots if it was to survive.
Glenn Olsen has noted that Dawson's point "was that the spread and history of Christianity had provided the narrative which had formed Europe and taken out of this narrative, Europe could hardly be spoken of as existing." In a time of cultural and political ambiguity, The Making of Europe is an indispensable work for understanding not only the rich sources but also the contemporary implications of the very idea of Europe.
PRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL EDITION:
"The Dark Ages lose their darkness, and take on form and significance. Thanks to the author's erudition and marshalling of facts, we begin to have a notion of what it is all about."―Aldous Huxley, The Spectator
"Each chapter is a condensed philosophical survey of an important historical movement which profoundly influenced the course of civilization. Each chapter might stand alone, but taken in connections with the others it serves to round out a majestic picture of the slow development of a new order."―Commonweal
- Sales Rank: #402584 in Books
- Published on: 2002-12-04
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .73" w x 5.51" l, .98 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 324 pages
Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!!!
By Hunter Smith
What amazes me most is that this book is probably not even known about in most modern educational circles, yet it should be required reading in every 101 history class in academia. In fact everything Chistopher Dawson writes should be on that list. This book is brilliant on so many levels I couldn't address them all in this space. Christopher himself was one of those extreamly rare individuals who had the ability to truely see the 'forest through the trees' and even better he could write about it for the rest of us to understand. Its one thing to know about a giantic and complex topic and a whole different thing to be able to put it into understandable sentences. The amount of books he read, understood and then tied the thoughts together is itself a staggering feat. The bibliography iteslf list the 100's and 100's of books that when into forming Dawson's mind and then the concepts in this book. As Tiger is to golf Dawson is to history, particularly western cultural history. The other reviewers have done a good job of telling you what the contents of this book are about so read them to get the idea, I second all their thoughts and reviews. What I can add for you is about the author himself. He is from England and grew up in a wealthly and privilaged family of book worms. It is important to understand that he came from wealth for one reason only. He didn't have to waste time like the rest of us toiling away to make ends meet. He understood this yet didn't live the life of a rich playboy. He felt an obligation to his fellow man and dedicated his free time to learning history and then teaching it to the rest of us. He read an wrote for 5 to 10 hours each day. Married young and never divored. His uncle gave him a library full of books where he spent most of his time growing up. He went to all the finest schools and was a professor at Harvard later in his life. All I can say is that this book is well worth the effort of working your way though it. It will give you a deep down spiritual-like experience to know so much more about your roots and where you came from. Enjoy!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
History Written by Someone Who Had a Grasp of Knowledge and Sources
By James E. Egolf
Christopher Dawson (1889-1970)wrote a knowledgeable history of the historical events and cultural influences that defined Europe. Dawson was a devout Catholic who had a meticulous concern for careful research and honest history. He discussed the phenomena of how the concept of Europe expanded from Ancient History to Early Medieval History.
The early parts of this book dealt with Mesopotamian influences on Western Civilzation. Dawson then dealt that the concept of "Europe" meant Hellenic Greece. When Augustus Caesar's (63 BC-14 AD) forces won the battle of Actrium in 31 BC, the concept of Europe expanded to include the Greek world and the Roman Empire. The intellectual and cultural influences of these events could not be over estimated.
Dawson explains that as the Roman Empire declined, the emergence of Christianity held its followers as the old religions became stagnant. The ruinous taxation and the divisions within the Roman army led to the phrase, "Enrich the soldiers and scorn the rest." The early Christian martyrs were not impressed by Rome's power and cheerfully faced martydom which showed firm resolve. The early Catholic Bishops became de facto authorities because of their organization and influence. The bishops and clergy became the economic and social forces that absorbed functions that the Roman authorities could no longer afford such as refuge from famine and social collapse. Esubius (c. 260-c.341)mentioned that the Catholic Church preserved intelligent tradition over chaos. As history students may know, the differences between the Eastern Church and the Latin Roman Catholic Church gradually resulted in schism. Dawson gave credit to the Byzantine Greek Church as having more astute thought, but the Latin Catholic Church was more disciplined. Dawson also gave credit to St. Augustine (354-430)for creating "The Church Intellectual" which helped attract intelligent men and woman especially when he wrote THE CITY OF GOD.
The Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church was closely tied to the Byzantine ruler via Caesaropapism which meant that secular and religious authority were under the Byzantine emperors and kings. While the Latin Western Catholics and Greek Eastern Orthodox were divided, the status of the Pope still had some influence in the East, but this ended by the Iconoclastic Controversy re the use of icons and images in churches.
Due to the apparent differences between early Christianity and Classical learning, there was the expected tension of comparison/contrast between beliefs and philosophy-especially Greek philosophy. Tertullian (c. 160-225) denegrated Greek thought while St. Clement (d. 215)argued that Greek philosphy was a blessing in knowing about the mystery of Creation and God. St. Clement's view was mirrored in Boethius' (c. 480-535)book titled THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY.
In the midst of the emergence of Catholicism, Dawson gave careful attention to the barbarian intrusions into the Roman Empire. Many of the barbarians considered themselves as career Romans and not barbarians. However, after the rule of the Roman Emperor Theodosius (379-395), the Roman Empire faced disaster. St. Jerome (346-420), who translated the Vulgate Bible, argued that God was for eternity while the Roman Empire, like all empires, would disappear.
One of the problems for the Latin Catholic Church was to appeal to the barbarians whose model was the hero warrior and whereby war was the ideal. To penetrate this view would be difficult. However, the Catholic West clergy had literate men who gained influence because of their usefulness as administrators. When Clovis (480-520)converted to Catholicism in 493, the Catholic Church found fertile ground for conversion and influence.
Dawson then compared/contrasted the Latin Catholic Church with the Byzantine East whose Christians were not as well organized. After the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Egyptians and others in the Greek East literally massacred bishops and authorities because of local loyalty to personalities rather than concepts. The Latin Church authorities faced outside pressures as well as doctrinal threats from the Gnostics who believed that an intermediary and not God Himself made Creation. The Manichians argued that the material world was evil and part of an evil God as opposed to Christ who was good. The Monophysilism heresy argued only for Christ's divine nature and not His human nature.
The rise of Islam was a serious threat to both the Greek Orthodox Christians and the Latin Catholics. The Byzantines lost considerable territory and the loss of the library in Alexandria, Egypt. Yet, the Byzantines who faced such threats started the Iconoclastic controversy during the reign of Leo III (717-740) and got worse in 1054 when the Byzantines need allies and not more enemies.
Yet, the Byzantines were able to recover from their refusal to examine and learn from Ancient Greek thought. Photius (815-897), who was responsible in part for the Iconclastic Controversy, and Psellus (1019-1079)helped to resurrect Greek thought and wisdom the realm of Byzantine rule.
While the Byzantine was more advanced than the Latin West, Dawson made a good point that intellectually the Latin West was more dynamic. Dawson cited the work of the Irish Celtic monks whose missionary zeal took them to Iceland before the Vikings arreivd. The Benedictines, started by St. Benedict (480-543)and his twin sister St. Scholastica (480-543)gave the Western Latin monasticism discipline and learning. The Benedictines created the great library at Monto Cassio. The Benedictine monastary at Jarrow, England produced such great scholars as St. Bede (680-735). St. Boniface (c.680-755)helped to spread Catholicism to Germany.
These efforts were embellished by the Franks. The Merovingian Franks were secular while the Carolingians were religious. Dawson argued that Charlemagne (768-814)was the protector of the Latin Catholic Church via his military exploits and his encouraging of learning especially at the school at Aachen. Dawson informed readers of the important work of Alcuin (735-804)whose scholars developed minuscule writing and "Bookhand." Their work embellished teaching and learning for subsequent generations of students.
The efforts of Charlemagne and the Franks was almost destroyed by the Viking invasions. Victories by the forces of Alfred the Great (848-899)at Eddinton, and victories by Charles III 898-922)stopped the Viking invasions, and these North Europeans became absorbed in Catholic culture and religion. The successful invastion of England by the forces of William the Conqueror (1066-1087)gave the English better administration and organization. The military success of Otto I (912-973)against the Magyars (Hungarians)were important in expanding European culture and thought in what were then considered non European areas.
Dawson wrote an informative account of European History. As mentioned above, Dawson was a devout Catholic. He cited the failures of the Catholic Church, but he also gave readers a good assessment of the vast achievements during the History of Catholic Church and the making of Europe. This book should be slowly read and absorbed.
James E. Egolf
June 23, 2011
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Indispensible!
By John Ries
This book has to be the best survey of the beginnings of European, i.e. Western, civilization in the English language.
It reveals that European culture has its origins in the confluence of four vital elements: (1) the Roman Empire; (2) the classical, or Hellenistic, tradition; (3) Christianity (more specifically, the Catholic Church); (4) and the barbarians who infiltrated the collapsing Western Roman Empire. Each is treated in detail, and the combination of Dawson's encyclopedic knowledge and eloquent diction has the singular merit of making a vast and complex subject accessible and appealing to the educated reader.
To me what makes this book so special is the author's unique capacity to project the reader into the period under discussion without filtering it through the distorted lens of modern mores and attitudes that seem typically to color texts dealing with medieval history. He seems to have an intuitive understanding of what was important to the people of the period, and conveys this to the reader while at the same time he refrains from disparaging the so-called "dark ages" with remarks that emphasize its "primitiveness" by constantly comparing it to contemporary culture. (Aside from technological superiority, I see little basis for superciliousness on our part) Such parochialism of viewpoint is entirely absent from The Making of Europe, and for this, and other compelling reasons, I am sure that the interested and discriminating reader will find that it is, indeed, indispensible.
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