#thomas asbridge

[artschoolglasses]

The Black Death: A Global History Of Humanity's Most Devastating Pandemic, by Thomas Asbridge

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is honestly not my era—or area—of history, but the promise of a more global overview of the Black Death, and one that didn’t only focus on Europe, intrigued me enough to pick this book up. And I’m glad I did. This was a very good overview of the Black Death, and also a very approachable read, that I think even people who don’t read much history or non-fiction will have an easy time digesting. It also never got too technical with medical explanations, which I appreciated, because my eyes would have probably glazed over...

Now I will say, I do have a pet peeve with non-fiction books where authors say things like “probably this happened” or “this person probably thought this” etc etc… And though it’s far from egregious, this book does do this a few times. Which, hey, may not bother some people, but is a pet peeve of mine. As well, I wish this had been as global an overview as I was expecting. I understand from reading there’s not as much documentation about the Black Death further east, but there isn’t a complete lack either, and I wish we had looked at that a little more. But I don’t think those flaws are nearly enough to say this isn’t a good book. It very much is. Made all the more interesting by living in a post-Covid world.

[smpropsme-blog]

[netpreneur-blog]

[coverspy]

The First Crusade, Thomas Asbridge (F, 40s, book jacket removed, Strand bookmark, leather backpack, G train)

[errantventures]

Many of those who lived in the same early eleventh-century world as Fulk Nerra feared that they were witnessing the last dark and desperate days of humanity. Apocalyptic Dread reached its height in the early 1030s, when it was though the millennial anniversary of Jesus' death would presage the Last Judgement. One chronicler wrote of this time: 'Those rules which governed the world were replaced by chaos. They knew then that [End of Days] had arrived.' This palpable anxiety alone helps to explain Fulk's penitent mentality. But as far as the count and his contemporaries were concerned, it had not always been so. They harboured a collective memory of a more peaceful and prosperous past; a golden age when Christian emperors ruled in God's name, bringing order to the world in accordance with His divine will. This rather hazily imagined ideal was by no means a perfect recollection of Europe's history, but it did encapsulate some shards of truth.

Thomas Asbridge, The Crusades: The authoritative history of the War for the Holy Land A gentle reminder that however important the issues of the day seem, the world moves on. Generations of humans for millennia have believed in a glorious past, a fallen present, and a forsaken future. Yet history has kept on churning, and the world has kept moving forward. Don't despair if things seem bleak, if history teaches us anything it's that even the bleakest outlooks will pass.