Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe by Thomas Cahill

Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe by Thomas Cahill

Mysteries of the Middle Ages is the fifth book of the Hinges of History series, which examines the history of the Western world through known and lesser-known figures: the “gift-givers” who gave us or preserved for us some of the treasures of our civilization. See Thomas Cahill’s web site for descriptions of his other books and for a description of his eminent scholarship and his varied career in academia, journalism and publishing: http://www.randomhouse.com/features/cahill/bio.html

In this latest book , Cahill examines the rise of Feminism, science and art from the cults of Catholic Europe. In the High Middle Ages Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science leading to ideas and institutions current in Western civilization today. According to Cahill, the importance of the cult of the Virgin Mary in medieval church and life led by degrees to the 20th century rise of feminism. The Incarnation in the communion service led to the formulation of questions of reality and substance, pushing philosophers to a way of thinking that led to the methods of modern science. In the same way, artists asked themselves similar questions about the depiction of reality in their compositions.

I felt that Cahill tackles these scholarly ideas in an extremely accessible way. He uses the lives of various individuals to illustrate his points; for instance Hildegarde of Bingen, Francis of Assissi, Giotto, Abelard and Heloise. To me, each biography was fascinating and told in an engaging way that totally opened up the person to me. Cahill frequently makes the point that the medieval mind was not like ours, but he writes so as to help us understand it in human terms. In such a case, perhaps Cahill’s occasional use of 21st century slang is necessary; however, I sometimes found that a bit jarring. Also jarring is Cahill’s ocasional descent into diatribe, for instance about George Bush’s Iraq policy or the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church.

Throughout the book I felt that I was being led into looking at history through a new lens, and that delighted me, even though I felt that Cahill was sometimes too vehement in inserting his own opinions. He probably has a right! because his scholarship is formidable, and the footnotes prove that the book is very deeply researched. I was totally intrigued by the ideas presented here and swayed by Thomas Cahill’s accessible writing style. I made the resolution to try and find out what other historians have written on the subject.

Elizabeth