#9822933 in Books 1950 #File Name: B000OLAAC8
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Detailed and engrossing accountBy Doug ErlandsonDuring the middle years of the twentieth century Will Durant (later joined in his endeavor by Ariel; his wife) did a great service in writing the multivolume Story of Civilization series. The fourth volume; "The Age of Faith" covers a period of just short of a millennium; from 350-1300 AD. Among other things; it traces events such as the crowning of Charlemagne; the humiliation of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV by Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) at Canossa; the enormous power wielded by Innocent III; the sweeping claim for church authority found in the bull "Unam Sanctum" (Boniface VIII); and the Crusades; all of which are covered in detail.The "Age of Faith" is not just a history of the church during this thousand-year period. It is also a history of the decline of the Western Roman Empire from the time of the sacks of Rome to its apparent rebirth as the Holy Roman Empire. This new empire is then described; as are the developments in the parts of Europe not under the direct influence of the Holy Roman empire; such as France; the Iberian Peninsula; the Italian Peninsula; and what is today Great Britain. The intellectual history of the period is also described; especially the rise of scholastic philosophy; as are certain of the forerunners of the Reformation; such as the Waldensians.Throughout Durant's writing is never dull or pedantic. Rather; he makes the events he describes come to life.
