History in Flames: The Destruction and Survival of Medieval Manuscripts

Bartlett’s (emeritus, history, Univ. of St. Andrews; The Middle Ages and the Movies) book reflects on what the vagaries of fate have left societies. His book shows that the medieval period (between 1400 and 1450) in Europe was a time of great learning and an abundance of written records. Millions of documents, recording everything from a sovereign’s daily schedule to law assizes, were created, along with less pedestrian works, such as the lives of saints and theological treatises. Bartlett asserts that what survives today is a mere fraction of what once existed, but all are historically significant and worthy of appreciation. He argues that many cultural legacies have been lost throughout the centuries, whether through the wanton destruction wrought by the copious bombings of two world wars, which resulted in the loss of priceless works, or through casual weeding by archivists who did not recognize the historical importance of seemingly mundane documents.