A History of the Church in the Middle Ages, by Donald F. Logan takes its readers on a historical tour of medieval times. The author does a great job using different stories to emphasize the impact that the church and state had on shaping this period. Issues such as reform, heresy, corruption, disease, death, education, conquests, and the profiles of key individuals are all discussed and analyzed by Logan. He does a commendable job giving unfamiliar words a brief description to help the reader better understand its meaning. Another aspect of Logan's writing that I enjoyed was the way he was able to relate historical issues to the present day. He was quick to admit when historical accuracy might not have been fully accounted for, so he does not pretend to be "all-knowing" and have proof of his claims. He occasionally gives his opinions on certain situations, but mainly gives factual information. His writing is not the most elegant and artistic. I would say he uses more names, dates, and facts that makes recall somewhat difficult given the large portion of events he speaks of. Basically, I think Logan tried to squeeze the whole Middle Ages in to one small book. This was too much information for him to be elaborate on. I will now take you through the book to help illustrate what I mean. .
The Eleventh century brought about a need for reform in the Christian religion. The central belief that the "original sin" of Adam weakens human nature made man fearful of failure. In a time when the shape of the Christian church was in question, the crusades acted as a battle to separate the power in the medieval church. The traditional names given to the movements were the "Gregorian Reform" or the "Hildenbrandine Reform." Both names of which the author says are misguiding and inappropriate. They refer to Pope Gregory VII, who while played a major role, should not be given full credit .
Martin 2.
