Mirror For Monks

Thomas Cahill. How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History). Anchor, 1996
0385418493 From the Publisher The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift, and a book in the best tradition of popular history -- the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe. Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" -- and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated. In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, How The Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish whorelaunched civilization. Los Angeles Times - Richard Eder A lovely and engrossing tale...Graceful and instructive. New Yorker When Cahill shows the splendid results of St. Patrick's mission in Ireland...he isn't exaggerating. He's rejoicing. Boston Globe Cahill's lively prose breathes life into a 1,600 year-old history. Publishers Weekly An account of the pivotal role played by Irish monks in transcribing and preserving Classical civilization during the Dark Ages. (Mar.) Library Journal Ireland's shining moment in European history was in the Dark Ages, when it did yeoman labor for future generations. Preserving literacy, Latin, and Christianity while Western Europe was isolated and barbarian, Irish monks also returned Christianity to Europe with ideas like confession that are part of the modern Catholic Church. Cahill is director of religious publishing at Doubleday, and this is his second book on Ireland. His narrative-highly literate and affectionate, if somewhat rambling and indulgent-links literature, philosophy, history, and lots of legends as he describes the fall of Roman civilization and the lives of saints Patrick and Columba, especially how they established the monasteries critical to the preservation effort. As a freewheeling, witty popular history of Irish Christianity in the Dark Ages, this will amuse and enlighten your Irish kin, and the book is recommended for that audience. The title notwithstanding, there is no untold story here. -- Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Cmpany Information Services, N. Billerica, Massachusetts Library Journal Ireland's shining moment in European history was in the Dark Ages, when it did yeoman labor for future generations. Preserving literacy, Latin, and Christianity while Western Europe was isolated and barbarian, Irish monks also returned Christianity to Europe with ideas like confession that are part of the modern Catholic Church. Cahill is director of religious publishing at Doubleday, and this is his second book on Ireland. His narrative-highly literate and affectionate, if somewhat rambling and indulgent-links literature, philosophy, history, and lots of legends as he describes the fall of Roman civilization and the lives of saints Patrick and Columba, especially how they established the monasteries critical to the preservation effort. As a freewheeling, witty popul.

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Wilhelm Klein and Günter Pfannfüller: Bhutan, Roli Books

New Snow-clad 'Instead of putting the Gross National Product at the centre of our endeavours, let us strive for Gross National Happiness.' This quotation of Bhutan's fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuck reveals the essence of what makes his country on the southern slopes of the Himalayas so exceptional. Bhutan has been cut off from the rest of the world for a long time. Though its borders have been open since 1974, few visitors have been there. Since the first democratic elections in 2008, Bhutan has now joined the modern world. In spite of that, it tries to be faithful to its own traditions while harvesting the advantages of modernity. Daily life is still characterized by its century old religious and cultural traditions. They are the 'capital' of a society that strives for 'Gross National Happiness' . The faces in this book mirror the dignity and self-confidence of people who have found their place in society: members of the royal family, monks, religious dancers, peasants, herders, artisans, children and elderly, women and men. Each one of them stepped voluntarily into the portable studio, told his name and explained where and how he/she lived and earned his/her livelihood. This portable studio, designed by the photographer himself, is like a huge black cube that can be set up anywhere; in the king's palace, on a village square or anywhere within the confines of a monastery or temple. The canvas provides a neutral background for the photography so the eye of the viewer can concentrate fully on the photographed individual. The biographical data adds intensity to the portraits. People have a history and their history has a face. This unusual 'studio photography' is accompanied and framed by photographs of an archaic landscape that can only be found along the slopes of the mighty Himalayas: towering mountains, fortress like monasteries, grazing yak herds and untouched forests. This book offers a fascinating view of a world in the process of slow change, which in many respects has the power of being exemplary in a world beset by the ills of a far to fast moving modernity. ISBN - 9788174366788

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Hedeman, Anne D. THE ROYAL IMAGE Illustrations of the Grandes Chroniques de France 1274-1422, 1991 Berkeley, CA University of California Press ; fester Einband / hard cover; 1. Ed.
0520070690

Hardcover Very Good+ in Near Fine dust jacket Edition: 1st Edition; 1st Printing B&W Illustrations; Spine ends & corners of book covers have a bit of extremely light bumping and rubbing. Red cloth covered boards have gilt lettering to the spine of the book. The text pages are clean & bright. Pages 13-16 (actually adds up to two pages) have small to smallish edge tears to the bottom edge of the text pages, with some associated wrinkling. How it ended up that only two pages were damaged, I have no clue. Endpapers are a solid off-white color. Spine ends & corners of dust jacket have a bit of very light bumping & rubbing. Overall, a nice bright copy. "The Grande Chroniques de France is a vernacular history of the medieval French monarchs. Late in the reign of Louis IX (Saint Louis) it was prepared by the monks of Saint-Denis, the offical royal historiographers, who translated the Latin chronicles into French and then updated the history. Originally the chronicle traced the kings from their origins in Troy to the death of Philip Augustus in 1223; with subsequent additions it included the reign of Charles VI in the 1380's. Of the copies made for a variety of royal and courtly patrons, approximately 130 remain. Anne Hedeman provides the first critical and comprehensive study of the chronicles illustrations." There is a very detailed section on the collation of the manuscripts used in this book -- a wonderful reference for those using incunabula / manuscripts of this period. Chapters include: Vernacular History, Latin Historiography, Royal Patronage, and the Grande Chroniques, Louis IX's Political Ideology, The Latin Chronicle Tradition at Saint-Denis, Contemporary Representations of Kingship, The Copy of the GC presented to Philip III: a Mirror of Princes, Manuscripts Produced during the Reigns of the Last Direct Capetians, Geneological Manuscripts, Independent Traditions: A Parisian Bookseller's Chronicle, Textual and Pictorial Innovation in John the Good's GC, Saint Louis: the Model Roi Tres Cretien, The Prerogatives of Holy Kingship, The Courtly Response in Manuscripts ny the Master of the Roman de Fauvel, The First Stage of Execution (before 1375), Saintly Ancestors as Models of Kingship, The French Kings and the Empire, Kingly Behavior, the Second Stage of Execution, Kingship and internal Politics, The Royal Succession, The Third Stage of Execution, The Five Substitutions, The Visit of the Holy Roman Emperor, Manuscripts produeced during the Reign of Charles VI, The Legacy of Charles V, Popular Manuscripts and the Religion Royale, Advice to Nobility in Manuscripts Produced in the Style of the Master of the Cite des Dames, The Role of the Princes of the Blood, The Role of the Queen and the Dauphin, The GC in the Late fifteenth Century, Artists in GC produced c. 1274-1422, Surviving Manuscripts of the GC and their provenance, Catalogue of Manuscripts, Notes, Selected Bibliography and Index.

[SW: Hedeman, Anne D. France History Of France Medieval France Medieval Manuscripts Medieval Art Illustrations Royalty Manuscripts: Medieval to 1500]

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Julia Donaldson; Illustrator-Lydia Monks: Princess Mirror-Belle and the Magic Shoes, MacMillan UK 2005-02 ISBN: 0330433296
0330433296 New

New. Contains very slight shelf wear (like you would see in a major chain store). Very nice copy. Looks like an interesting title! We ship daily, provide personalized customer service and want you to have a great experience purchasing from us. Thank you for your consideration. Paperback

[SW: Varia]

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