A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

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The Middle Ages present a fascinating conundrum in the history of mankind since it was the period of immense losses, violence and stagnation while, at the same time, there reigned in the land the idea of the chivalric behaviour worthy of every admiration, and religious devotion and loyalty to masters like few periods have seen before or since. In the years after Charles V death in 1380, France was struck by yet another series of violent revolts led by the merchant class and supported by the peasants sick of high taxes and declining incomes while the rich got richer.

Though I’m a bit wary that Tuchman is not a historian… I love books about Medieval times by Jacques le Goff, I’d argue that to date there was no better historian of Middle Ages than him – and Annales school of history, i. To get an idea of the eventfulness of the 14th Century, let’s take a brief look at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.Here are the Flagellants, whipping themselves through the streets, announcing Gods judgment through “the pestilence,” only to quickly blame the Jews for poisoning the wells and turning whole towns against them! Barbara Tuchmann's review of the 14th Century in Europe was first published over 30 years ago but it is still much more readable than most books on the subject.

I’ve read Ken Follett’s two Kingsbridge novels, and I’ve been to a few Renaissance Fairs in my time (and eaten more than my share of child-sized turkey legs), but beyond that, I’ve never cared much about the Middle Ages. The English longbow with the power to drive heavy arrows accurately came of age at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The Black Death, the Schism of the Church, clothing, foods, mysticism, chivalry and how motherhood was perceived – it’s all here and it is all interesting, but there is too much to grasp given the abundance of details.The book opens with the description of the castle of Coucy in Picardy, northern France, a magnificent structure, which showcased the extent of the power of the clan of Coucy in the region in the 14 th century: “ the Coucy maintained a sense of eminence second to none and conducted their affairs after the usage of sovereign princes” [Barbara Tuchman, 1978: 14]. The focus on Lord Coucy is supremely appropriate since this nobleman repeatedly pops up as a prime player in many of the century’s key events.

And just when I thought I couldn’t get more enthralled, we actually begin the life of Enguerrand de Coucy VII.In Paris in 1390 a woman whose lover had jilted her was tried for taking revenge by employing the magical powers of another woman to render him impotent.