What did it mean to be 'civilized' in Early Modern England? Keith Thomas's seminal studies Religion and the Decline of Magic, Man and the Natural World, and The Ends of Life, explored the beliefs, values and social practices of the years between 1500 and 1800. In Pursuit of Civility continues this quest by examining what the English people thought it meant to be `civilized' and how that condition differed from being `barbarous' or `savage' . Thomas shows how the upper ranks of society sought to distinguish themselves from their social inferiors by developing distinctive forms of moving, speaking and comporting themselves - and how the common people in turn developed their own forms of civility.The belief of the English in their superior civility shaped their relations with the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish. By legitimizing international trade, colonialism, slavery, and racial discrimination, it was fundamental to their dealings with the native peoples of North America, India, and Aust
Irish Civilization provides the perfect background and introduction to both the history of Ireland until 1921 and the development of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1921. This book illustrates how
Irish Civilization provides the perfect background and introduction to both the history of Ireland until 1921 and the development of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1921. This book illustrates how
Employing a novelistic and impressionistic style that bears some similarity to Eduardo Galeano's multi-volume history of the Americas, Memory of Fire (which is alluded to in the dedication), Akenson (
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. Ever
From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne - the "dark ages" - learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European continent. The great heritage of western civilization - from the
We normally think of history as one catastrophe after another, war followed by war, outrage by outrage--almost as if history were nothing more than all the narratives of human pain, assembled in seque
There are approximately 40 million people of Irish descent in America today, and they are not the only ones who have made books such as How the Irish Saved Civilization and Angela's Ashes internation
The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization has done it again. In The Gifts of the Jews Thomas Cahill takes us on another enchanting journey into history, once again recreati
From the bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, a fascinating look at how medieval thinkers created the origins of modern intellectual movements.After the long period of decline known
In these masterful stories, steeped in realism, Joyce creates an exacting portrait of his native city, showing how it reflects the general decline of Irish culture and civilization. Joyce compels atte
