We have long thought of the Renaissance as a luminous era that marked a decisive break with the past, but the idea of the Renaissance as a distinct period arose only during the nineteenth century. Though the view of the Middle Ages as a dark age of unreason has softened somewhat, we still locate the advent of modern rationality in the Italian thought and culture of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Jacques Le Goff pleads for a strikingly different view. In this, his last book, he argues persuasively that many of the innovations we associate with the Renaissance have medieval roots, and that many of the most deplorable aspects of medieval society continued to flourish during the Renaissance. We should instead view Western civilization as undergoing several "renaissances" following the fall of Rome, over the course of a long Middle Ages that lasted until the mid-eighteenth century. While it is indeed necessary to divide history into periods, Le Goff maintains, the meaningful continuities of human development only become clear when historians adopt a long perspective. Genuine revolutions—the shifts that signal the end of one period and the beginning of the next—are much rarer than we think.

Jacques Le Goff argues that many of the innovations we associate with the Renaissance have medieval roots, and that many of the most deplorable aspects of medieval society continued to flourish during the Renaissance. While it is indeed necessary to divide history into periods, the meaningful continuities of human development only become clear when historians adopt a long perspective.

Jacques Le Goff argues that many of the innovations we associate with the Renaissance have medieval roots, and that many of the most deplorable aspects of medieval society continued to flourish during the Renaissance. While it is indeed necessary to divide history into periods, the meaningful continuities of human development only become clear when historians adopt a long perspective.

This book presents a selection of ten significant contributions of essays to French historiography.

Starting with an examination of how historians work, this "Very Short Introduction" aims to explore history in a general, pithy, and accessible manner, rather than to delve into specific periods.

This sourcebook contains more than twelve hundred easy-to-follow and implement classroom activities created and tested by veteran teachers from all over the country. The activities are arranged by grade level and are keyed to the revised National History Standards, so they can easily be matched to comparable state history standards. This volume offers teachers a treasury of ideas for bringing history alive in grades 5?12, carrying students far beyond their textbooks on active-learning voyages into the past while still meeting required learning content. It also incorporates the History Thinking Skills from the revised National History Standards as well as annotated lists of general and era-specific resources that will help teachers enrich their classes with CD-ROMs, audio-visual material, primary sources, art and music, and various print materials. Grades 5?12