This is the course guidebook that accompanies the 48 lecture “Great Course” of the same name. It is essentially an abbreviated transcript of each lecture, a few pictures, and some related reading. (I watched the lectures, which is what I am reviewing here, and am using the book simply as an aide-memoire.)
I’ve heard of the Renaissance. It’s all about Italian painters and sculptors, Machiavelli and the Medicis, and the Inquisition, right? Well, maybe there’s a bit more to it.
Here McNabb fills in the details, from the Late Middle Ages to the end of the 30 years war in 1648, with the Medieval coverage providing relevant political and religious contexts. There is a lot here, covering the whole continent, the birth of humanism, many wars, political movements, the rise of the nation state, schism and religious oppression, ordinary people, urbanisation, the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and more. It was a complicated time, and McNabb covers many of the events, politics and philosophies from different angles, providing a rounded perspective.
I learned a lot, in particular that not all of the religious persecution was driven by the church: secular rulers also wanted a single religion in their domain, as they thought they needed it to promote unity.