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A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

by Barbara W. Tuchman

4.12 · Rating Details · 19,701 Ratings · 852 Reviews

Barbara W. Tuchman--the acclaimed author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning classic The Guns of August--once again marshals her gift for character, history, and sparkling prose to compose an astonishing portrait of medieval Europe.

The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering age of crusades, cathedrals, and chivalry; on the other, a wo ...more

Paperback, 677 pages

Published July 12th 1987 by Random House Trade Paperbacks (first published September 21st 1978)

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Lists with This Book

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Best Middle Ages Books

6th out of 943 books — 1,180 voters

The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer

Best History Books

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Sep 24, 2015 Kalliope rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, history-european, 2015, medieval

What an extraordinary read it is when one book is as action packed as thirty riveting novels. And if it also contains rich and erudite disquisitions and is narrated in a language as clear and flowing as water from a spring, then the volume must be given a preferential place in one’s library.

I am not too keen of including quotes in my reviews. But given the amount of material that marshals in front of one’s eyes, as colorful as overwhelming pageants and breathtaking jousts, and as dense as the ti ...more

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Nov 20, 2014 William1 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: us, 20-ce, history, 14-ce

A vivid and detailed look into a lost world. The major players are The Black Death, The Hundred Years War, the sick, uproarious joke of chivalric valor, The Papal Schism, ruinous taxation, serfdom, petty feudal institutions, the utter absence of reason among the so-called ruling classes, murderous vengeance, horrendous peculation, brigandry, the subjection of women, the sheer endless cruelty of mankind, crusade against the "infidel," and so on. A GR friend said that he was disappointed in this b ...more

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Mar 10, 2015 Hana rated it really liked it

Shelves: history-and-bio, europe, 2015-reads, 10th-15th-century

I was a little worried at the start that 600 pages of 14th century history might be, shall we say, a bit too much. There is no denying the book is long and very detailed and at times it was a struggle, but every time I was about to give up after yet another pointless battle Tuchman would come up with a telling detail or surprising insight.

Example: the invention of chimneys in the 14th century made separate bedrooms possible and introduced notions of privacy that had never before been possible ...more

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Apr 26, 2016 Matt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

My interest in medieval times is not incredibly strong; it is, in fact, relegated mostly to the hope of someday going to a Medieval Times restaurant. I’ve read Ken Follett’s two Kingsbridge novels, and I’ve been to a few Renaissance Fairs in my time (and eaten more than my share of child-sized turkey legs), but beyond that, I’ve never cared much about the Middle Ages.

I read Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century not for its subject matter, but because Tuchman wrote it. ...more

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Oct 25, 2008 Aaron rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: medieval history buffs

I'm not quite sure how I came to read this strange and unwieldy book. It just kept popping up in my sights. For a while now, I've had a boyish fascination with the Middle Ages, intensified by a couple of years spent studying Old English in grad school, and nursed along since then with occasional books about the Black Death, the Crusades, castle building, and whatever else seemed interesting to me. Most of what I've read has been deeply thought-provoking, on the one hand, if somewhat tiresome to I'm not quite sure how I came to read this strange and unwieldy book. It just kept popping up in my sights. For a while now, I've had a boyish fascination with the Middle Ages, intensified by a couple of years spent studying Old English in grad school, and nursed along since then with occasional books about the Black Death, the Crusades, castle building, and whatever else seemed interesting to me. Most of what I've read has been deeply thought-provoking, on the one hand, if somewhat tiresome to read, on the other. Norman Cantor, at his best, is an exception, but even he grows drowsily academic. There are few great writers among medievalists, I've discovered. Steven Runciman, the British historian of the Crusades, is one. But Barbara Tuchman, the author of this book, is in a league entirely of her own.

Maybe that's because she wasn't a traditional medievalist. Tuchman was an amateur historian, unaffiliated with any academic institution. She was a writer, first and foremost, who produced gigantic, painstakingly crafted books on a wide variety of subjects. Her history of the events leading up to World War I, "The Guns of August," earned her the first of two Pulitzer Prizes. (Just added to my "to read" list.) From the moment I started in on this hefty 600-pager, I was enthralled by the voice of the consummate stylist guiding me along. Perhaps that's a naive thing to say about a historical account, and perhaps it's the sort of thing that leads to a flawed understanding of historical events. Eloquence isn't everything, and plenty of important books have been the work of rough hands. But it's not so much Tuchman's command of language that draws you in as her infectious enchantment with her subject: the period of Western European history beginning with the Black Death of 1348 and ending with the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the early 1400s, all as seen through the life of a single French nobleman. "People of the Middle Ages existed under mental, moral, and physical circumstances so different from our own as to constitute almost a foreign civilization," Tuchman writes. And indeed the reflection of humanity you see in this "distant mirror" is almost unrecognizable, but all the more fascinating for that.

Today, as I finished off the last hundred pages, I found myself reading long passages aloud, the way you do when you read Gabriel Garcia Marquez for the first time, or some other uncannily good novelist. Unlike some authors of ambitiously long and complicated books, Tuchman doesn't peter out near the end and leave the reader feeling cheated. Her culminating chapters are some of her best, and it doesn't even matter that the people and events she's describing are so old and of so little relevance to your daily life that you will probably never hear them mentioned again, not even on Jeopardy. What matters is that she makes them all alive again, more alive than they've been for 600 years. ...more

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Mar 23, 2014 Glenn Russell rated it it was amazing

A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman is, on one level, a 700 page encyclopedia of the 14th century’s political, military, religious, social, cultural and economic history. Since Ms. Tuchman is a first-rate writer, on still another level the book is a compelling, personalized account of individual men and women living through these turbulent, disastrous times, especially Enguerrand de Coucy V11 (1340-1397), a high-ranking noble, heralded as “the most experienced and skillful of all the knights A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman is, on one level, a 700 page encyclopedia of the 14th century’s political, military, religious, social, cultural and economic history. Since Ms. Tuchman is a first-rate writer, on still another level the book is a compelling, personalized account of individual men and women living through these turbulent, disastrous times, especially Enguerrand de Coucy V11 (1340-1397), a high-ranking noble, heralded as “the most experienced and skillful of all the knights of France”. The focus on Lord Coucy is most appropriate since he repeatedly pops up as a prime player in many of the century’s key events.

The 14th century witnessed ongoing devastation, including the little ice age, the hundred years’ war, the papal schism, the peasant’s revolt and, most dramatically, the black death of 1348-1350, which depopulated Europe by as much as half. Ms. Tuchman’s book covers it all in 27 chapters, chapter with such headings as ‘Decapitated France: The Bourgeois Rising and the Jacquerie’, ‘The Papal Schism’, The Worms of the Earth Against the Lions’, and ‘Dance Macabre’.

Many pages are filled with the color and morbidity of the times. By way of example, here is one memorable happening where the French Queen gave a masquerade to celebrate the wedding of a twice widowed lady-in-waiting: six young noblemen, including the King who recently recovered from a bout of madness, disguised themselves as wood savages and entered the masked ball making lewd gestures and howling like wolves as they paraded and capered in the middle of the revelers. When one of the noble spectators came too close with his torch, a spark fell and a few moments later the wood savages, with the exception of the King, were engulfed in flames. Afterwards, the French populace was horrified by this ghastly tragedy, a perverse playing on the edge of madness and death nearly killing their King.

Here is what the author has to say about the young man who concocted the wood savage idea, “The deviser of the affair “cruelest and most insolent of men,” was one Huguet de Guisay, favored in the royal circle for his outrageous schemes. He was a man of “wicked life” who “corrupted and schooled youth in debaucheries,” and held commoners and the poor in hatred and contempt. He called them dogs, and with blows of sword and whip took pleasure in forcing them to imitate barking. If a servant displeased him, he would force the man to lie on the ground and, standing on his back, would kick him with spurs, crying, “Bark, dog!” in response to his cries of pain.” The book’s chapters are chock full with such sadistic and violent sketches.

Speaking of the populate, there is plenty of detail on the habits and round of daily life of the common people. And, of course, there is a plethora of detail on the lives of the upper classes. Here is a snippet of one description: “In the evening minstrels played with lutes and harps, reed pipes, bagpipes, trumpets, kettle drums, and cymbals. In the blossoming of secular music as an art in the 14th century, as many as 36 different instruments had come into use. If no concert or performance was scheduled after the evening meal, the company entertained each other with song and conversation, tales of the day’s hunting, “graceful questions” on the conventions of live, and verbal games.” As in any age, it makes for more comfortable living being at the top rather than at the bottom of the social scale. And all those musical instruments speak volumes about how the 14th century was a world away from the plainchant of the early middle ages. In a way, the 14th century musical avant-garde fit in well with the fashions of the times: extravagant headdresses, multicolored, bejeweled jackets and long pointed shoes. For those who had the florins, overindulgence was all the rage.

Ms. 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. And here is a general, overarching comment about the age, “The times were not static. Loss of confidence in the guarantors of order opened the way to demands for change, and miseria gave force to the impulse. The oppressed were no longer enduring but rebelling, although, like the bourgeois who tried to compel reform, they were inadequate, unready, and unequipped for the task.” Indeed, reading about 14th century economic upheaval one is reminded of Karl Marx’s scathing observations 400 years later.

On a personal note, my primary interests are literature and philosophy; I usually do not read history. However, if I were to recommend one history book, this is the book. Why? Because Ms. Tuchman’s work is not only extremely well written and covers many aspects of the period’s art, music, literature, religion and mysticism, but the turbulent, transitional 14th century does truly mirror our modern times. Ms. Tuchman’s book has also inspired me to put several novels set in the 14th century on my reading list. Quite a time to be alive. ...more

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Aug 29, 2014 Matt Brady rated it really liked it

Shelves: hundred-years-war, medieval-history, england, female-author, read-in-2014, france

The Hundred Years War, the Papal Schism, the Black Death, peasant uprisings, the death of chivalry, crusades, assassinations, tournaments, all these things and more Tuchman explores through an examination of the life of one man, Enguerrand de Coucy. Scion of perhaps the most powerful and wealthiest baronial family in France, Coucy lead a fairly amazing life. He fought wars in his homeland of France, Italy, North Africa, Switzerland and Bulgaria, lead important diplomatic missions, twice turned d ...more

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Nov 13, 2014 Chrissie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, france, medical, audible, 2014-read

Tuchman's books are always interesting, but usually they have more than one can absorb. For this reason, reading them is always a bit of a struggle. OK, I am merely speaking for myself.

I am going to try to keep this review short, maybe a reaction to having just completed Tuchman's extensive opus. Not every detail need be explained. A Distant Mirror covers thoroughly every single aspect of medieval life. It covers in detail the battles of the Hundred Years' War. What is the Hundred Years' War?

Th Tuchman's books are always interesting, but usually they have more than one can absorb. For this reason, reading them is always a bit of a struggle. OK, I am merely speaking for myself.

I am going to try to keep this review short, maybe a reaction to having just completed Tuchman's extensive opus. Not every detail need be explained. A Distant Mirror covers thoroughly every single aspect of medieval life. It covers in detail the battles of the Hundred Years' War. What is the Hundred Years' War?

The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 pitting the House of Plantagenet, rulers of the Kingdom of England, against the House of Valois for control of the Kingdom of France. Each side drew many allies into the war.....

Historians commonly divide the war into three phases separated by truces: 1) the Edwardian Era War (1337–1360); 2) the Caroline War (1369–1389); and 3) the Lancastrian War (1415–1453).

Contemporary conflicts in neighbouring areas, which were directly related to this conflict, included the War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364), the Castilian Civil War (1366–1369), the War of the Two Peters (1356–1375) in Aragon, and the 1383–85 Crisis in Portugal. Later historians invented the term "Hundred Years' War" as a periodization to encompass all of these events, thus constructing the longest military conflict in history.

That is taken directly from Wiki. Pay attention to the sentence I have underlined. This is a book where the majority of pages are concerned with war and battles. Tuchman has chosen to follow one man of nobility through his lifetime, Enguerrand de Coucy VII(1340-1397). He is from Picardy, France, and is married to the daughter of the Kind of England. He is a perfect character to follow since he is thus connected to both the French and English nobility, the two warring nations. He took part in many of the decisive battles. The book follows what he DOES. Little attempt is made to understand the psychology of the man. That is not the point of the book. You observe his actions. Who does he marry? What battles did he fight in? Where did he live? How did he die? Through him we study medieval life and the Hundred Years’ War. After his death Tuchman quickly summarizes the end of the Hundred Years' War. So while the Edwardian Era War and the Caroline War are depicted in complete detail as well as related battles with the Bretons, battles in Italy, in Spain, in Belgium and finally in Bulgaria (contemporary country names used), only a quick summary of the Lancastrian War is given. Enguerrand dies in 1397 at the Battle of Nicopolis in Bulgaria. This explains why the Lancastrian War is summarized, in the epilog.

Approximately the first fourth of the book establishes the setting. Enguerrand was born in 1340. The world he was born into, that is the earlier years of the 14th Century prior to his birth are studied. They provide a general overview of how people behaved and thought during the medieval era, while the remainder of the book covers more closely the battles. I preferred the first part of the book. The Black Death, the Schism of the Church, clothing, foods, mysticism, chivalry and how motherhood was perceived – it’s all here and it is all interesting, but there is too much to grasp given the abundance of details.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nadia May. This was excellent, but I do NOT recommend the audiobook. There are so many names of places and people! it is hard to keep everything straight. You need maps and genealogical charts which a paper book can easily provide.

I learned a lot. It is an excellent book, but in terms of my personal enjoyment I can only say I liked it. I don’t love books describing battles.
...more

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Nov 18, 2010 Susan rated it it was amazing

I read a little more than half of this a couple of years ago and stopped. This time I read it all, for the discussion of my local book group. I really liked it--I've never NOT liked a Tuchman book. I admire the way she's able to follow one historical figure and still manage to tell the story of a whole age, especially one person, in this case Enguerrand de Coucy about whom so little is known other than what he did. There exist references to him in contemporary works but never more than a figure ...more

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May 22, 2016 Marita rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history-and-archaeology, france-french, plantagenet, hundred-years-war, 2014, favourites-2014, capet, valois, non-fiction

A comprehensive who's who and what's what of 14th century Europe.

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Sep 21, 2011 Bruce rated it it was ok

Tuchman published this book in 1978. In her preface she makes clear that she is interested in comparing the 14th century in Europe - a time of war, disease, social and economic dislocation, and general demoralization - with the two 20th century decades before the book’s publication. One could legitimately argue that the same issues apply during the first eleven years of the 21st century. Tuchman’s method is to use an actual French nobleman, Enguerrand de Coucy VII, as an exemplar whom she then f ...more

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Dec 23, 2009 Inder rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, disease, science, to-reread, france

Just got a nice hardbound copy of this for Christmas, so I'm set to read it again ...

My dad is a Barbara Tuchman fan, so I grew up around this book. As a small child, I used to ponder with interest the scary cover art, which shows the arrival of the Forth Horseman of the Apocalypse ("and his name was death" for you Johnny Cash fans). I finally read the book when I was in high school, and I have reread it several times since. It is a perfect example of good history writing - absolutely engaging a ...more

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May 23, 2014 Cathy DuPont rated it liked it

While I mostly enjoyed reading Tuchman's comprehensive book on the 14th Century, it was TMI. I'm not writing a thesis nor a college paper.

I read this for the enjoyment of knowing more about the century when the Black Plague decimated the world. Well, I got that and much much more. I read this for fun, I thought, however it was about twice as long and twice the information as I wanted and/or needed.

Unfortunately for me it got tiresome and although I did learn a lot such as the size of a royal b ...more

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Sep 16, 2012 El rated it really liked it

Shelves: cultural-studies-and-other, 14th-centurylit

This is what I thought the Hundred Years' War was all about. Apparently that's wrong. (Or maybe Tuchman is wrong, hmmm?)

We pretty much all know what the Middle Ages was all about, we all have at least heard tell of the Hundred Years' War or the Black Death or the Papal Schism. Those terms are all familiar. What Tuchman did here was bring all of those familiar terms to life. She filled in the gaps that public education doesn't (whether due to funding or time or the Board of Education doesn't thin This is what I thought the Hundred Years' War was all about. Apparently that's wrong. (Or maybe Tuchman is wrong, hmmm?)

We pretty much all know what the Middle Ages was all about, we all have at least heard tell of the Hundred Years' War or the Black Death or the Papal Schism. Those terms are all familiar. What Tuchman did here was bring all of those familiar terms to life. She filled in the gaps that public education doesn't (whether due to funding or time or the Board of Education doesn't think it's as important, whatever), so for myself there were a few "ah-ha!" kinds of moments. (Like "Oh, so the War didn't start because of a wedgie!")

The additional bonus of reading Tuchman is that she wasn't a dry writer. She did what seems like a thousand years' worth of research and managed to make just about every word of it absolutely fascinating. Yes, my eyes glazed over a time or two; I was in this read primarily to know more about the society, culture, and day-to-day living of folks back in the Late Middle Ages. The battles were of less interest to me, though kudos to Tuchman for the amount of detail she provided. She had that research down to bitch-slaps and other offenses. There are 18 pages of Bibliography and something like 36 pages of Notes. She didn't just make this stuff up here. She did a lot of research, and I appreciate that.

So the parts that I signed up to read were especially fascinating to me - how women were treated in society, how so-and-so died (like in a fire after being wrapped in booze-soaked wraps to help his fever - whoops!), the plague and sickness - y'know, totally gruesome stuff like that. It's not a quick read, though it's not a difficult read, if that makes any sense. Most readers will get at least something out of this, no matter what they're going in expecting or wanting. I wanted one thing but came out with so much more. It's action-packed, written in a narrative that doesn't exclude or alienate the reader, and (again!) so freaking well-researched it's insane.

This was my first Tuchman, but I have more in my stacks. I'm looking forward to reading those others even more now. ...more

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Mar 25, 2015 Greg Strandberg rated it liked it

Shelves: history

I have to take a bit of a different tact on this book than many other reviewers. Let me start off by saying that I liked the book. I'm not going to say I really liked it because I found it a bit dry. And when I say dry, I mean I was losing my place, or forgetting what I'd just read.

One of the reasons for this is that there are so many people, so many place names, and so many goings-on. It's hard to keep track of all of that! Even looking at the 'Look Inside' on Amazon right now, I can see tons ...more

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Mar 03, 2010 Tony rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top-10-2010

The Calamitous 14th Century: a time of war, class struggle, taxation, endless litigation, ravaging disease, religious intolerance, Christian versus Moslem, feckless leaders, plenty of lust, torture, self-interest -- 'a distant mirror' indeed. We are not so different. Look back or just look around.

And that is the point, I think, of this wonderful work of history and literature. Tuchman's wit and erudition are on full display.

Sometimes the reading went very slow, but only because it all seemed so ...more

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Jan 19, 2016 Beth rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, history, middle-ages, european-history-and-culture, owned

I remember noticing this book as a kid, before I knew the meaning of the word “calamitous.” It was sitting on one of my Dad’s bookshelves, and I found myself intrigued by the title, mentally picturing an ornate enchanted mirror that reflected images from far off centuries.

While I may have initially picked this book up because of a nostalgic childhood memory, I’m glad that I did. I knew so little about the 14th century before delving into its pages. I suppose I could have told you that it was th ...more

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May 26, 2009 Trevor rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

I have been recommended this book by many of my good reads friends, and so I’ve read it. My friend Eric’s review says simply, “Normally, I have always enjoyed Barbara Tuchman's books, but this one, while very interesting, I felt I had to struggle a bit”.

This is a very uncharacteristic review by Eric. I think Eric is one of the most thoughtful and best reviewers on this site. His reviews generally give valuable insights into a book and unfortunately far too often have me adding books to my ‘to re ...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: History Buffs

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Ultimate Reading List - History

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, history, ultimate-reading-list, ebooks

I first gave this massive doorstop book a try in my teens, and the immense detail, I think, is what defeated me. I remember finding it dry and tedious (a complaint echoed in the few negative reviews.) The book's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness--its density. This is an intensely rich and detailed account of "the Calamitous 14th Century" in Europe.

In the Foreword Tuchman wrote she wanted to approach the story through the frame of a single life. She didn't want to choose royalty, a I first gave this massive doorstop book a try in my teens, and the immense detail, I think, is what defeated me. I remember finding it dry and tedious (a complaint echoed in the few negative reviews.) The book's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness--its density. This is an intensely rich and detailed account of "the Calamitous 14th Century" in Europe.

In the Foreword Tuchman wrote she wanted to approach the story through the frame of a single life. She didn't want to choose royalty, as by definition they're an exception, but the life of a commoner would neither be well-chronicled nor give enough of a range, nor was she tempted to hang her book on the life of a clergyman, so she framed the book by choosing as a focus Enguerrand, Lord of Coucy (1340-97), a French nobleman who had the King of England as a father-in-law and died on Crusade in what is now Turkey. This doesn't read like a biography at all though. Although we get more of Coucy's story than a chronicle of his age might justify, this is a book much wider in scope than a biography would allow. And frankly, the rather rational Coucy comes across as a rather bland figure in this pageant of the High Middle Ages. This was an era that included the Black Death, peasant revolts, brigandage, Papal schism, and several decades of the Hundred Years War between England and France. This was an age that saw the faint glimmers of the Protestant Reformation in such figures as Wycliff and Hus and a flowering of great literature by Petrarch, Boccaccio and Chaucer and great mystics such as St Catherine of Sienna and Thomas Kempe.

The title implies that we can better see our own times through the reflection of this bygone age. If so, Tuchman doesn't draw the comparisons for us. She described it as a time of flux and change when the "fiction" of chivalry was broken down by the disruptions brought by the Black Death. Of the entire book, I certainly found the account of the plague, "This is the End of the World" the most riveting part of the book. There were parts I did find a slog (why I'm docking a star) as it seemed at times Tuchman was determined to leave no detail of dress or feasts unlisted. But if this is a mirror to our age, I can't say I can see the resemblance. Instead what comes through to me is how alien is this far distant time in its values and structure. Especially if you're not familiar with the Middle Ages, reading this is like reading science fiction--and it's a good corrective to the prettified view of the era we get reflected back in high fantasy. And that's why this book gets high marks. Because you can't read this and not get a sense of the spirit of the age, from high to low, clergy and scholar and merchant and knight and mercenary in all its blood-soaked, anti-Semitic, misogynist glory. ...more

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Michael Fabulous review. I gave it 5 stars--maybe because it was an odd choice for me to read and was able to get through it. Though it was 6 years ago, I rem ...more
Feb 11, 2013 04:07AM

Lisa (Harmonybites) Michael wrote: "Fabulous review. I gave it 5 stars--maybe because it was an odd choice for me to read and was able to get through it. Though it was 6 ...more
updated Feb 11, 2013 04:32AM

Dec 21, 2007 Janis rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: serious readers of history

Dense with detail, A Distant Mirror offers a shocking picture of life in 14th-century Europe including endless warfare, crusades, burdensome taxing of the lower classes, public punishment as a form of entertainment, highway robbers, and recurring plague. Tuchman weaves the history loosely around the life of a French nobleman but her view is broad and her knowledge of the era seemingly boundless. It's no reflection on Tuchman (I thought her scholarly achievement was amazing) but I am relieved to ...more

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May 03, 2010 Lightreads rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, history, biography

Don’t let the breadth of the title mislead you: this isn’t a history of the fourteenth century, it’s a history of France from about 1340 to 1400 through the career of a noble man, with occasional jaunts to England and the Italian city states. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – aside from one or two things, noted below – just for clarity.

My favorite parts of this book were the slice-of-life sections: what French peasants ate, what people talked about at court dinners, the lifestyle of Br ...more

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Jun 07, 2009 James rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

I still remember reading this book when it first was published. It is another readable and accessible history by that great non-academic historian Barbara Tuchman. I first encountered her work when I read The Proud Tower so my expectations were high. That they were exceeded suggests that this is a work to which I should return as I seldom do for non-fiction. In this ambitious book she explores the tragedy, political intrigue and occasional dark comedy that surround the infestation of the Black P ...more

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Feb 28, 2008 James rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: culture-and-politics, character-studies, history, economics, literature, death-dying-killing-bereavement

This book gets more relevant as time goes on - as Tuchman's examination shows, the 14th century really was a mirror for our own times in many ways. Disease is becoming a greater factor in geopolitics, with malaria and HIV changing history, and threatens to devastate world civilization if avian flu or another pandemic gets out of control; in the post-Cold-War era, more and more of the world is lapsing into feudalized failed-state status. I wish Tuchman was still with us - it would be fascinating ...more

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Aug 27, 2015 Jeanette rated it it was amazing

This is just a reaction for the 4 or 5 chapter revisit I made back to this excellent history. Having read the entire decades ago, and also having used it for some reference referrals for others at different times, I wanted to read again about the cracks appearing in serfdom, the agriculture crisis, the disease factors (especially the percentage numbers for Italy in decimation from Plague). And also and most importantly, the change in the Papal and Nobel rationalizations toward rights and preroga ...more

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Dec 28, 2014 Dana Stabenow rated it it was amazing

Shelves: silk-and-song-research

Readable history. It doesn't get any better than this.

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Aug 05, 2015 Anna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I feel like I’ve been reading about the 14th century for months, although that’s an exaggeration. ‘A Distant Mirror’ covers an enormous amount of ground in an era about which I knew practically nothing before. It was therefore a more exacting read than I was expecting, although fully worth the effort. The subtitle is entirely accurate, as the 14th century appears to have been an unmitigated disaster for Europe. During that hundred years, the population fell by 50 or 60% thanks to plague, wars, e I feel like I’ve been reading about the 14th century for months, although that’s an exaggeration. ‘A Distant Mirror’ covers an enormous amount of ground in an era about which I knew practically nothing before. It was therefore a more exacting read than I was expecting, although fully worth the effort. The subtitle is entirely accurate, as the 14th century appears to have been an unmitigated disaster for Europe. During that hundred years, the population fell by 50 or 60% thanks to plague, wars, excessive taxation, revolts, and brigandry. Meanwhile, support for the established institutions of the time was eroded by a papal schism, knights abandoning chivalry for theft and rapine, mad and bad kings, wasteful wars at home and abroad, and egregious financial mismanagement. Of particular interest to me in this litany of woe were the repeated revolts by peasants and the urban poor and/or bourgeois, on both sides of the channel. All were suppressed with appalling brutality after some initial successes, presaging the civil war and revolution that would follow in subsequent centuries. I’d assumed a more complaisant populace in Mediaeval times. Also extraordinary to me was the damage caused by unemployed knights, who pillaged their own countries when there was no war overseas to profit from. A repeated theme throughout the book is the need for wars, often crusades, to be started in order to get the destructive bands of knights out of France for a while. As Tuchman makes clear, much talk of chivalry translated into little in the way of chivalrous behaviour in most cases. Bands of knights would exort money from towns in return for not attacking them, then turn around and pillage the surrounding countryside.

The business of the papal schism was also incredibly destructive in its own way, but with the benefit of hindsight also has a profound ludicrousness about it. The schism had no theological basis at all, being entirely based in politics. The existence of a pope and anti-pope splitting the church brought it into disrepute, not least thanks to the behaviour of said popes. Benedict XIII is especially memorable. Formerly known as Cardinal de Luna, he was elected pope in his sixties after claiming to be eager for reunion of the church and saying he would unilaterally abdicate, ‘as easily as I take off my hat’ if necessary to achieve that end. He then proceeded to do absolutely nothing of the sort. As Tuchman puts it:

‘Benedict XIII resisted every pressure. For nearly thirty years to come, despite French withdrawal of obedience, siege of Avignon, desertion by his cardinals, deposition by two Councils, and the rivalry of three other popes, he would not step down. Retreating to a Spanish fortress, he died in 1422 at the age of 94 still maintaining his claim.’

The book nominally centres on a prominent French noble named de Coucy, whose life regularly surfaces amongst its pages. There is much more to it than that, however, as de Coucy had dealings in many but not all of the important events of the century. At times the complexity of politics becomes challenging to follow, especially amid the squabbling city-states of Italy, but is remarkably clear considering the subject matter. Overall I found it a fascinating history, in particular as regards the Hundred Years War and the papal schism. The sheer number of disasters and the toll they took on the population is hard to grasp, though. It’s also striking to consider that while Europe was tearing itself apart, other continents were doing much better. Although the plague also struck there, I don’t think Asia found the 14th century calamitous to the same degree at all. ...more

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Mar 17, 2016 Lise Petrauskas rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction, history, france, italia, 20th-century-non-fiction, britain, 2015, 500-women

I keep thinking about this book wondering what to say about it. I was really excited to read it after reading Tuchman's masterful The Guns of August. This was much harder for me to get through and absorb and I stalled out a couple of times, which was disappointing. A lot of that is due to the scope of the book—it covers a huge span of time and geography. It's not the book's fault that I had no basic knowledge of the period going into it, nor can Tuchman be blamed for the fact that I have reread ...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Jeweleye rated it it was amazing

When this book came out in the late 1970s, my stepdad -- who was fascinated by the Middle Ages -- read it and told me afterwards, "If you read this book, you will have graduated." A few years later I got about halfway through it and put it down, always planning to pick it back up. Now, given my own interest in the Middle Ages, I finally picked it back up (reading it from the beginning, of course). And at last I can say, "Dad, I have graduated!"

Barbara Tuchman describes the 14th century as "calam ...more

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Dec 03, 2013 Geoff Sebesta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: good-books-about-france

One of the best histories there is. I started this long ago, came back to it recently and devoured it. Took me four weeks, because the prose is so dense and I want to understand EVERYTHING.

Two major things have changed since my last try at this book:

1. I've been to a few of the places they're talking about
2. I have a regular internet connection now.

Let me tell you, being able to wiki these historical figures is the single best guard against all those ancient names running together. This book is ...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Evan Leach rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: GRRM fans, history buffs

Shelves: history, 1970-1979

Worth the hype and then some. I read this after hearing that George R.R. Martin recommended it, and I was not disappointed. Tuchman uses the life of Enguerrand de Coucy as a kind of framing narrative to present the 14th century. Coucy lived a fascinating life, and was involved in many of the pressing issues of his day, but the book goes beyond his story and paints a fascinating picture of a very tumultuous time. The comparisons between the 14th century and the modern era don't always quite fit, ...more

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A distant mirror	1	13	Mar 24, 2016 08:09PM
2015 Reading Chal...: A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman	1	12	Jan 06, 2015 08:10PM
The History Book ...: BIBLIOGRAPHY - A DISTANT MIRROR	7	130	Nov 10, 2014 03:35AM
500 Great Books B...: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century - Barbara W. Tuchman	1	4	Jul 23, 2014 02:27AM
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The History Book ...: 17. A DISTANT MIRROR...October 17th ~ October 23rd ~~ Part Two - Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN and EPILOGUE (564 - 598) - No Spoilers Please	7	44	Jun 10, 2012 07:20AM
The History Book ...: 16. A DISTANT MIRROR...October 3rd ~ October 16th ~~ Part Two - Chapter TWENTY-SIX (538 - 563) - No Spoilers Please	11	59	Dec 12, 2011 05:46AM

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About Barbara W. Tuchman

Barbara Wertheim Tuchman was an American self-trained historian and author. She became best known for The Guns of August, a history of the prelude and first month of World War I.

As an author, Tuchman focused on producing popular history. Her clear, dramatic storytelling covered topics as diverse as the 14th century and World War I, and sold millions of copies.

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The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914

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Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45

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