Customer Reviews

Millennium

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The most impressive aspect of this book, in my opinion, is its scope. Without lapsing into mere "survey", in discusses the history of the Carolingian and Ottonian empires, the fortunes of the Byzantine empire from the 8th to the 11th centuries, the history of Muslim Spain and the early Reconquista, the consolidation of political authority in France, and the rise of the Normans. Numerous characters, from Muslim Caliphs to Viking adventurers, are convincingly portrayed, and a sense of the direction of history is maintained throughout. As always, Holland's writing style is very engaging, and he displays good judgment in the selection of anecdotes and the placement of digressions. A couple of his interpretations are very intriguing, if somewhat questionable. For example, he argues that the victory of church over state at Canossa actually constituted a revolution in favour of political secularism, since it drove a wedge between, and recognized a distinction between church and state. I don't find this very convincing (and Holland himself admits that this wasn't Pope Gregory's intent). The reason is that it was specifically by encroaching on royal authority (by declaring that the emperor's subjects were no longer obligated to obey him) that Gregory forced Henry to back down. It seems to me that what occurred was not a separation between church and state, but a victory for the church in the continuing struggle between the two. The real separation, I believe, dates not to the 11th century, but to the Reformation, when the transnational authority of the Papacy was rejected. That said, even though I disagree with Holland's interpretation, I find it very interesting and well-presented.

This is an enjoyable read and the author takes us through a fair amount of late Dark Age western European history in a "hands on manner". It's somewhat of "A Day in the life of ..." genre story and as such, if you're expecting a dénouement, conclusion or punch, you won't find one here. You get a background to the second millenium period (1000,AD - 2000 AD) where the stage is set, then the millenial century (11th century) unfolds following the fortunes of the day's major players: popes, Roman emperor(s), various invaders and the support cast. It's interesting to see this period of time described in a manner that is not glaringly a justification for what comes after, for that is never touched upon, and it's left up to the reader to have, in the least, notions of western European history of the subsequent period; the stuff we're taught in school such as the fallout from the Norman invasion(s), the crusades etc.. By and large it preaches to the converted so if you aren't already a history buff, you might find this a bit of a labour.

Firstly, I am a big Tom Holland fan but struggled getting through this book. Self-admittedly I am the least well-versed in this period of history and that may have contributed to my disappointment with this book. I loved Rubicon and Persian Fire but to me this book fell short of those efforts as I found the story less engaging, harder to follow, and just not as interesting. I am split as to the reasoning of disappointment as either a weaker effort by the author or my own lack of knowledge on the subject area. For those without a strong interest or knowledge of this historical period I think it will be a very tough read!