Mysteries of the Middle Ages - Thomas Cahill

From the national bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization-a fascinating look
at how medieval thinkers created the origins of modern intellectual movements.

"Intoxicating.... Cahill's command of rich historical detail makes medieval cities and their colorful characters come to alive."-The Los Angeles Times

After
the long period of decline known as the Dark Ages, medieval Europe experienced a
rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop
a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today,
from the entry of women into professions that had long been closed to them to the
early investigations into alchemy that would form the basis of experimental science.
On visits to the great cities of Europe-monumental Rome; the intellectually explosive
Paris of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas; the hotbed of scientific study that was
Oxford; and the incomparable Florence of Dante and Giotto-acclaimed historian Thomas
Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry,
and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern
world.