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Reviews 247 though 'nothing in Dante's text indicates a hope for an imperial return' (pp. 131, 133,138). I disagree with Hollander's interpretation of the prophetic aspects of the Comedy (contrast pp. 139-44, for instance, with m y paper in Dante Colloquia inAustralia (1982-1999)). For Hollander, Dante shifts from being a Guelph to a Ghibelline c.l305 (p. 156). Many would consider Dante to have been inherently a Ghibelline, but Hollander is of the view that Dante was a late (re-)reader of the Aeneid and a late convert to Romanism, though his Romanism is always tempered by a traditional support for the spiritual role ofthe papacy (pp. 162-63). Richard Kay's Dante's Monorchia, translated, with a commentary (Toronto: Pontifical Institute ofMedieval Studies, 1998) provides confirmation ofHollander's hunch that the Monorchia was written after 1316 (p. 167). All Dante's works, including his late Latin writings, are treated sympathetically and with understanding in this excellent book. Behind it lies a lifetime ofstudy ofthe poet's writings, the conviction that 'his poem [the Divine Comedy] [is] one of the few absolute monuments of human achievement', and that Dante 'has eclipsed, for most readers, all but Homer' (p. 179). For any inquirer wanting to know what the latest thinking is about Dante's poetry, its chronology, its inner meaning and its relationship with the man himself, and what the worth ofsuch thinking is, Hollander's book is essential reading. No-one will come away from the book at all uncertain about the claims just made for the significance ofthe Comedy and its author. A 'Chronology of Dante's Life', very full and scholarly notes, a 'Bibliographical Note' and an index complete the volume. John O. Ward Department ofHistory University of Sydney Kleinschmidt, Harald, Understanding the Middle Ages: The Transformation of Ideas and Attitudes in the Medieval World, Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2000; doth; pp. xix, 401; 50 b/w illustrations, 1 colour plate; R R P US$75.00,£45.00; ISBN 085115770X. In what French scholars call 'un travail de longue haleine', Harald Kleinschm has undertaken a conceptual history of medieval culture in western Europe between thefifthand sixteenth centuries, with some reference also to the Roman 248 Reviews Empire and the post-Renaissance centuries. His descriptive approach, he states, eschews explanations and cross-cultural comparisons (p. 335). His aim is an interactionist revision of the general systems theory (p. 11, 335) through description of change in various concepts, situating them in a context, as defined by Michel Foucault (pp. 1-2). H e acknowledges the influence of Edgar Morin and Claude Levi-Strauss and one perceives also a certain influence of the French Annates historians, notably Jacques Le Goff, whose work is listed in the bibliography (p. 343). Given 'the fuzziness of the concept of "Europe"' (p. 6), the author has defined it in terms of the fusion of the ancient concepts of 'Europe' and the 'Occident', including Scandinavia and east-central Europe as a consequence of the spread of Christianity, and excluding Greek and R o m a n antiquity apart from the impact of its heritage. Harald Kleinschmidt has thus carefully defined his terms of reference, method, purpose and scope. The book is throughout well organised, with clear introductions, summaries and conclusions which bind the work together. In style the author favours the ternary sequence of ideas as is particularly evident in the Introduction. The book has four parts each with several chapters: Generalities Experiences of Time, Conceptions of Space, The Body - Modes of Behaviour, Groups, M e n and Women; Action - Production and Distribution, War, Thinking; Interaction - Communication in a Given Present, Commemorating the Past, The Movement of Persons and Groups; Images of Order - The Old and the Young, Rule and Representation. The author usually divides the discussion on each aspect chronologically into the two broad tranches of the early Middle Ages and the High and Late Middle Ages. Evidence relating to England and Germany predominates with much reference to Latin sources and secondary material in German. Discussion of concepts is amplified by examples such as the invention of mechanical clocks, the evolution ofthe cemetery, genealogies and explanatory comment on the illustrations...

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