![]() ![]() Some of the concepts this books presents were simply too technical to sustain my interest, but I did find The Light Ages a surprisingly engaging read. Where I hoped to find medical and sociocultural history, I got mechanics and mathematics. In exploring these early breakthroughs, Falk reveals the surprising enlightenment of what is generally considered a rather brutal and backward chapter in European history.Īstronomy is not, I confess, a field that particularly interests me, so it is fair to say I was drawn to this book only by misguided expectation. Perhaps for the first time, humanity had the tools to answer big questions about the stars, the universe and our place within a wider cosmos. Despite the long shadow of the Black Plague, this was an era of broadening horizons and international collaboration. Really, the so-called ‘Dark Ages’ were a time of significant social progress and scientific discovery. ![]() Seb Falk aims to show us that our stereotypes are not only reductive, but often inaccurate. ![]() The Light Ages sets out its stall as a challenge to anyone whose idea of the Medieval era is a depressing picture characterised by dysentery, feudal wars and religious intolerance. ![]() Why are there 12 months in a year? How did Oxford and Cambridge become such academic cities? What is an astrolabe? These questions and more the curious reader can find answered in this journey through the celestial discoveries of the Middle Ages. ![]()
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