Folio Society Published Works Number 2824
Pirenne, Henri - Mohammed and Charlemagne
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Pirenne, Henri - Mohammed and Charlemagne (Published in by The Folio Society in 2013. Bound in cloth. Blocked with a design by Neil Gower based on a T and O map, with Arabic calligraphy by Josh Berer. Set in Dante with Charlemagne display. 288 pages. Frontispiece and 16 pages of colour plates. Book size: 9.5" x 6.25". Distinguished historian Averil Cameron introduces this seminal book about the origins of the Middle Ages. Numerous photographs show a fascinating array of archaeological sites, illuminations and mosaics. In 1937, two years after its author's death, Henri Pirenne's Mohammed & Charlemagne appeared, challenging Edward Gibbon's view of the fall of the Roman Empire and the development of early Medieval Europe. The 'Pirenne thesis' held that 'the cause of the break with the tradition of antiquity was the rapid and unexpected advance of Islam.' The questions that he raised – particularly about how we view and define our past – remain critical to our understanding of the world we live in. For him, the Germanic invaders were neither simply the progenitors of Western Europe, nor were they responsible for the final collapse of the Roman Empire. To Pirenne, once the Romans 'abandoned the struggle', the barbarians in effect became assimilated with the civilisation they had invaded. Introducing this edition, distinguished historian Averil Cameron writes that 'Pirenne was ahead of his time in placing the Germanic invasions within a context that embraced the whole of the Mediterranean ... Reading Pirenne today reminds us that history is written by human beings. It warns against the dangers of nationalist interpretations and brings home the part played by personal and subjective issues in formulating historical ideas.' Numerous photographs illustrate the text, depicting a fascinating array of archaeological sites, illuminations and mosaics. The endpapers are printed with a map of the Mediterranean World. )
