A Distant Mirror by historian Barbara W. Tuchman is one of the most captivating books I've ever read. The work encapsulates the history of the 14th century Europe in thrilling six-hundred pages. Have you ever wondered what life was like in the middle ages? This book is the perfect resource for that. This is the best nonfiction book I've ever read. It does have story elements within, however, they are rather limited. The book is loosely based around one man's life. Enguerrand De Coucy. He was a French noble that had a double allegiance, to England and his native France. He was the shining example of nobility, chivalry, and grace. He led war campaigns against England and led knights into battle in crusades as well. He helped unite England and France at key moments in the war. In the end, he got captured on a crusade and the Moslems imprisoned him. He died.
What was more fascinating than the life, goals, and happenings of Engerrand was the sheer alienness of this world, this so-called medieval Europe. What inspired me to read this book was the recommendation from my father. He said, "saying since you love science fiction so much, you should read this book. This world described therein is so foreign to you, that it will be like reading science fiction." He couldn't be any more correct.
It's hard to believe that the middle ages even happened in some respects. Of course, it did, because we have literature, art, music [sheet music], and architecture to prove it. However, what I mean is that the world was so different back then, that it's hard to reconcile this universe in a modern perspective, which is what Tuchman does here. Spectacularly.
The book covers the black plague [pestilence carried by rats, dung, and uncleanliness], the consanguinity of the papal order, the papal schism [which brought the Protestant Reformation some 100 years later-but it started here], knighthood, chivalry, philosophy of the time as well as art, literature, food, debauchery, flagellants, sexual deviancy, anti-semitism, as well as the gory bloody details that existed in the age; what life was like for the king, the noble, the knight, the squire, the peasant, the laborer, the noblewoman, the peasant woman, the priest, the pope, the aristocrat, the merchant, the sailor, the writer, the poet, the artiste, the architect. A Distant Mirror pretty much covers everything you would ever want to know about the middle ages.
Some fun facts. The first sheet music was published in 1473. Contrary to popular belief the black plague did not only affect Europe, thus killing off 1/3 of the population. I learned from this book that the black plague affected India, Africa, and China. It was actually all over the world, not just in Europe. Chivalry was idealized in immortal knighthood but was hardly if ever utilized in practice. People lived long lives [living into their 70s sometimes], however, because of the brutal nature of the times [war, famine, pestilence], they often died at a younger age. People became senile faster too. Thus girls were married off at younger ages and bore children earlier, sometimes resulting in their deaths due to the nature of childbirth and the primitive methods of doing so. Kings and nobles were in a constant state of war, even with French on French assassinations, and likewise English on English murder. Kings and nobles kept power within families, making alliances with other countries by marrying off their daughters to royalty.
The details of the war are remarkable. "To be a knight was to be a terrible worm in an iron cocoon." That's one of my favorite lines in the book. I had such a different view on knights in my mind. But the truth of the matter was that their iron armor was often so heavy that they could hardly move or attack very fast in it. They had to supported by archers wearing little armor for mobility and peasant foot soldier militia to win battles. They certainly couldn't swim in water if they had to. Terrible worm in an iron cocoon indeed.
Overall, this is a remarkable work of history. In fact, I was so impressed with this book that I bought my own copy used from Amazon. Lucky for me, this book is very old so it was pretty cheap. In time I will look back to it. I read and finished the book in three weeks but during those three weeks, I didn't play any video games or waste my time in frivolous activity. Rather I went to the library and Starbucks and savored each and every word. This book is a masterpiece. You should definitely check it out. Reading the entire thing is a daunting task but once you finish you see the beauty in history. Bring on the Japanese feudal war era next.
