《欧洲文化入门》练习及参考答案

《欧洲文化入门》练习及参考答案《欧洲文化入门》练习及参考答案PAGE《欧洲文化入门》练习及参考答案欧洲文化入门各章练习及答案第一章填空题：1.TherichnessofEuropeanCulturewascreatedby________elementand_________element.Greco-RomanJudeo-Christian2.TheHomer’sepicsconsistedof_________.IliadandOdyssey3.________isthefirstwriterof“problemplays”.Euripides4.__________iscalled“FatherofHistory”.Herodotus5.________isthegreatesthistorianthateverlived.Thucydides6.ThedividingrangeintheRomanhistoryrefersto________.27.7.“Icame,Isaw,Iconquered.”isafamoussayingby_______.JuliusCaesar8.TherepresentationformofGreekDemocracyis__________.citizen-assembly.判断题1.Euclidsays“Givemeaplacetostand,andIwillmovetheworld”.(×)Archimedes2.Herodotus’shistoricalwritingisonthewarbetweenAnthensandSparta.(×)GreeksandPersians名词解释：1.PaxRomana答：IntheRomanhistory,therecametwohundredyearsofpeacefultime,whichwasguaranteedbytheRomanlegions,itwasknownasPaxRomana2.“Democracy”inancientGreece答：1）Democracymeans“exerciseofpowerbythewholepeople”,butinGreeceby“thewholepeople”theGreeksmeantonlytheadultmalecitizens.2）Women,children,foreignersandslaveswereexcludedfromDemocracy.论述题：1.HowdidtheGreekCultureoriginateanddevelop1)Probablyaround1200.,awarwasfoughtbetweenGreeceandtroy.ThisisthewarthatHomerreferstoinhisepics.2)Greekculturereachedahighpointofdevelopmentinthe5thcentury.A.ThesuccessfulrepulseofthePersianinvasionearlyinthe5thcentury.B.Theestablishmentofdemocracy.C.Theflourishingofscience,philosophy,literature,artandhistoricalwritinginAthens.3)The5thcenturyclosedwithcivilwarbetweenAthensandSparta.4)Inthesecondhalfofthe4thcentury.,GreecewasconqueredbyAlexander,kingofMacedon.Wheneverhewentandconquered,wheneverGreekculturewasfound.5)MeltingbetweenGreekcultureandRomanculturein146.,theRomansconqueredGreece.2.WhatisthegreatsignificanceofGreekCultureonthelater-onculturaldevelopment答：TherehasbeenanenduringexcitementaboutclassicalGreekcultureinEuropeandelsewhereRediscoveryofGreekcultureplayedavitalpartintheRenaissanceinItalyandotherEuropeancountries.1)SpiritofinnovationTheGreekpeopleinventedmathematicsandscienceandphilosophy;Theyfirstwrotehistoryasopposedtomereannals;Theyspeculatedfreelyaboutthenatureoftheworldandtheendsoflife,withoutbeingboundinthefettersofanyinheritedorthodoxy.2)SupremeAchievementTheGreeksachievedsupremeachievementsinnearlyallfieldsofhumanendeavour:Philosophy,science,epicpoetry,comedy,historicalwriting,architecture,etc.3)LastingeffectA.Countlesswritershavequoted,borrowedfromandotherwiseusedHomer’sepics,thetragediesofAeschylusandSophoclesandEuripides,Aristophanes’scomedies,Plato’sDialogues,ect.B.Intheearlypartofthe19thcentury,inEnglandalone,threeyoungRomanticpoetsexpressedtheiradmirationofGreekcultureinworkswhichhavethemselvesbecomeclassics:Byron’sIslesofGreece,Shelley’sHellasandPrometheusUnboundandKeats’sOdeonaGrecianUrn.C.Inthe20thcentury,thereareHomericparallelsintheIrishmanJamesJoyce’smodernistmasterpieceUlysses.3.WhatisthesimilarityanddifferencebetweenGreekcultureandRomanculture答：1)similarities:A.Bothpeopleshadtraditionsrootedintheideaofthecitizen-assembly.B.Theirreligionswerealikeenoughformostoftheirdeitiestobereadilyidentified,andtheirmythstobefused.C.Theirlanguagesworkedinsimilarways,bothbeingmembersoftheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily.2)differences:A.TheRomansbuiltupavastempire;theGreeksdidn’t,exceptforthebriefmomentofAlexander’sconquests,whichsoondisintegrated.B.TheRomanswereconfidentintheirownorganizationalpower,theirmilitaryandadministrativecapabilities.4.WhatistheRomehistoricalbackground答：1)ThehistoryofRomedividedintotwoperiods:Beforetheyear27.,Romehadbeenarepublic;fromtheyear27.,OctaviustooksupremepowerasemperorwiththetitleofAugustusandRomanEmpirebegan.2)Twocenturieslater,theRomanEmpirereacheditsclimax,markedbylandarea’sextension:EncirclingtheMediterranean.3)Strongmilitarypower:thefamousRomanlegions.4)IntheRomanhistory,therecametwohundredyearsofpeacefultime,whichwasguaranteedbytheRomanlegions,itwasknownasPaxRomana.5)AnotherimportantcontributionmadebytheRomanstoEuropeanculturewasRomanLaw.6)Theempirebegantodeclineinthe3rdcentury.A.Inthe4thcenturytheemperorConstantinemovedthecapitalfromRometoitConstantinople(modernIstanbul).B.After395,theempirewasdividedintoEast(TheByzantineEmpire)andWestC.In476thelastemperoroftheWestwasdeposedbyGothsandthismarkedtheendoftheWestRomanEmpire.D.TheEastRomanEmpirecollapsedwhenConstantinoplefelltotheTurksin1453.第二章填空题：1.___________isbyfarthemostinfluentialintheWest.Christianity2.TheHebrewshistorywasrecordedin_________oftheBible.theOldTestament3.TheNewTestamentisabout_________.thedoctrineofJesusChrist4.ThestoryaboutGod’sfloodingtothehumanbeingandonlygood-virtuebeingsavedwasrecordedinGenesis,Pentateuch,theOldTestament,theBible,whichwasknownas_________.Noah’sArk.5.TheBirthofJesuswasrecordedin________.Matthew6.ThestoryaboutJesusbeingpinnedinthecrosstodeathwasknownas_________.TheLastSupper.7.ThefirstEnglishversionofwholeBiblewastranslatedfromtheLatinVulgatein1382andwascopiedoutbyhandbytheearlygroupofreformersledby_________.JohnWycliff.名词解释:1.TheOldTestamentTheBiblewasdividedintotwosections:theOldTestamentandtheNewTestament.TheOldTestamentisaboutGodandtheLawsofGod.Theword“Testament”means“agreement”,theagreementbetweenGodandMan.2.PentateuchTheOldTestamentconsistsof39books,theoldestandmostimportantofwhicharethefirstfivebooks,calledPentateuch.Pentateuchcontainsfivebooks:Genesis,Exodus,Leviticus,Numbers,Deuteronomy.3.GenesisGenesisisoneofthefivebooksinPentateuch,ittellsaboutareligiousaccountoftheoriginoftheHebrewspeople,includingtheoriginoftheworldandofman,thecareerofIssacandthelifeofJacobandhissonJoseph.4.ExodusExodusisoneofthefivebooksinPentateuch,ittellsaboutareligioushistoryoftheHebrewsduringtheirflightfromEgypt,theperiodwhentheybegantoreceiveGod’sLaw.JoshuabroughtthepeoplesafelybacktoCanaan.5.TheBookofDanielTheBookofDanielbelongstoTheOldTestamentoftheBible.IttellsabouttheHebrewsbeingcarriedawayintoBabylon.论述简答题：1.WhatarethebeliefsofChristianity答：Christianitybaseditselfontwoforcefulbeliefswhichseparateitfromallotherreligions.1）OneisthatJesusChrististheSonofGod,andthatGodsenthimtoearthtoliveashumanslive,sufferashumanssuffer,anddietoredeemmankind.2）TheotheristhatGodgavehisonlybegottenson,sothatwhosoeverbelievesinhimshouldnotperish,buthaveeverlastinglife.2.WhatarethedifferenttranslationeditionsoftheBible答：1)TheoldestextantGreektranslationoftheOldTestamentisknownastheSeptuagint.AnditisstillinuseintheGreekChurchtoday.ButitonlytranslatedtheOldTestament.2)ThemostancientextantLatinversionofthewholeBibleistheVulgateedition,whichwasdonein385-405.BySt.Jeromeincommonpeople’slanguage.ItbecametheofficialBibleoftheRomanCatholicChurchthroughouttheworld.3)ThefirstEnglishversionofwholeBiblewastranslatedfromtheLatinVulgatein1382andwascopiedoutbyhandbytheearlygroupofreformersledbyJohnWycliff.4)AfterJohnWycliff’sversion,appearedWilliamTyndale’sversion.ItwasbasedontheoriginalHebrewandGreeksources.5)TheGreatBibleorderedbyHenryⅧin1539tobeplacedinalltheEnglishchurcheswasinpartfoundedonTyndale’swork.6)ThemostimportantandinfluentialofEnglishBibleisthe“Authorized”or“KingJames”version,firstpublishedin1611.Itwasproducedby54biblicalscholarsatthecommandofKingJames.Withitssimple,majesticAnglo-Saxontongue,itisknownasthegreatestbookintheEnglishlanguages.7)TheRevisedVersionappearedin1885,andthestandardAmericaneditionoftheRevisedVersionin1901.8)TheGoodNewsBibleandtheNewEnglishBible.3.Whatisthegreatsignificanceofthetranslationsofthebible答：1)ItisgenerallyacceptedthattheEnglishBibleandShakespearearetwogreatreservoirsofModernEnglish.2)Miltion’sParadiseLost,Bunyan’sPilgrim’sProgress,Byron’sCain,uptothecontemporaryHemingway’sTheSunAlsoRises,andSteinbeck’sEastofEden.TheyarenotinfluencedwithouttheeffectoftheBible.第三章填空题：1.In_______aGermanic(日耳曼)generalkilledthelastRomanemperorandtookcontrolofthegovernment.4762.After1054,thechurchwasdividedinto_________and_______.theRomanCatholicChurchandtheEasternOrthodoxChurch.3._______istheonewhotranslatedintoLatinbothOldandNewTestamentfromtheHebrewandGreekoriginals.St.Jerome4.______introducedFrenchandItalywritingtheEnglishnativealliterativeverse.5.Both___________arethebestrepresentativeofthemiddleEnglish.ChaucerandTheCanterburyTales6._________pavedthewayforthedevelopmentofwhatisthepresent-dayEuropeanculture.theMiddelAges名词解释1.theMiddleagesInEuropeanhistory,thethousand-yearperiodfollowingthefalloftheWesternRomanEmpireinthefifthcenturyiscalledtheMiddleAges.Themiddleagesissocalledbecauseitcamebetweenancienttimesandmoderntimes.Tobespecific,fromthe5thcenturyto15thcentury.2.FeudalismFeudalisminEuropewasmainlyasystemoflandholding—asystemofholdinglandinexchangeformilitaryservice.Theword“feudalism”wasderivedfromtheLatin“feudum”,agrantofland.3.TheManorThecentreofmedievallifeunderfeudalismwasthemanor.Manorswerefoundedonthefiefsofthelords.Bythetwelfthcenturymanorhousesweremadeofstoneanddesignedasfortresses.Theycametobecalledcastles.4.CarolingianRenaissanceCarolingianRenaissanceisderivedfromCharlemagne’snameinLatin,Carolus.ThemostinterestingfacetofthisratherminorrenaissanceisthespectacleofFrankishorGermanicstatereachingouttoassimilatetherichesoftheRomanClassicalandtheChristianizedHebraicculture.5.Gothic1)TheGothicstylestartedinFranceandquicklyspreadthroughallpartsofWesternEurope.2)Itlastedfromthemid-12thtotheendof15thcenturyand,insomeareas,intothe16th.Morechurcheswerebuiltinthismannerthaninanyotherstyleinhistory.3)TheGothicwasanoutgrowthoftheRomanesque.论述简答题：1.WhyisthemiddleagesiscalledAgeofFaith答：1)DuringtheMedievaltimestherewasnocentralgovernmenttokeeptheorder.TheonlyorganizationthatseemedtouniteEuropewastheChristianchurch.2)TheChristianchurchcontinuedtogainwidespreadpowerandinfluence.3)IntheLatemiddleages,almosteveryoneinwesternEuropewasaChristianandamemberoftheChristianChurch.Christianitytooktheleadinpolitics,law,art,andlearningforhundredsofyears.4)Itshapedpeople’slives.Thatiswhythemiddleagesisalsocalledthe“AgeofFaith”.2.WhatisthegreatsignificanceoftheCrusades答：1)ThecrusadesbroughttheEastintoclosercontactwiththeWest.AndtheygreatlyinfluencedthehistoryofEurope.2)DuringthewarswhilemanyofthefeudallordswenttofightinPalestine,kingsathomefoundopportunitiestostrengthenthemselves.Thusamongotherthings,Crusadeshelpedtobreakdownfeudalism,which,inturnledtotheriseofthemonarchies.3)Besides,throughtheircontactwiththemoreculturedByzantinesandMoslems,thewesternEuropeanschangedmanyoftheiroldideas.Theirdesireforwealthorpowerbegantoovershadowtheirreligiousideals.4)TheCrusadesalsoresultedinrenewingpeople’sinterestinlearningandinvention.Bythe13thcentury,universitieshadspreadalloverEurope.SuchknowledgeasArabicnumerals,algebra,andArabmedicinewereintroducedtotheWest.5)Astradeincreased,villageandtownsbegantogrowintocities.AndtheriseoftownsandtradeinwesternEuropepavedthewayofthegrowthofstrongnationalgovernments.3.HowdidlearningandsciencedevelopintheMiddleAges答：1)CharlemagneandCarolingianRenaissance:A.Hewascrowned“EmperoroftheRomans”bythepopein800.B.CarolingianRenaissanceisderivedfromCharlemagne’snameinLatin,Carolus.ThemostinterestingfacetofthisratherminorrenaissanceisthespectacleofFrankishorGermanicstatereachingouttoassimilatetherichesoftheRomanClassicalandtheChristianizedHebraicculture.2)AlfredtheGreatandWessexCentreofLearning:A.HepromotedtranslationsintothevernacularfromLatinworks.B.HealsoinspiredthecompilationoftheAnglo-SaxonChronicles.3)St.ThomasAquinasandScholasticism:4)RogerBaconandExperimentalScience:A.RogerBacon,amonk,wasoneoftheearliestadvocatesofscientificresearch.B.Hecalledforcarefulobservationandexperimentation.HismainworkwastheOpusmaius.4.Howdidliteraturedevelopinthemiddleages答：1)TheepicwastheproductoftheHeroicAge.Itwasanimportantandmostlyusedforminancientliterature.“Nationalepic”referstotheepicwritteninvernacularlanguages—thatis,thelanguagesofvariousnationalstatesthatcameintobeingintheMiddleAges.LiteraryworkswerenolongerallwritteninLatin.ItwasthestartingpointofagradualtransitionofEuropeanliteraturefromLatinculturetoaculturethatwasthecombinationofavarietyofnationalcharacteristics.BothBeowulfandsongofRolandweretherepresentativeworksoftheNationalEpics.2)DanteAlighieriandTheDivineComedy:A.Hismasterpiece,TheDivineComedy,isoneofthelandmarksofworldliterature.B.ThepoemexpresseshumanisticideaswhichforeshadowedthespiritofRenaissance.C.DantewrotehismasterpieceinItalianratherthaninLatin.3)GeofferyChaucerandTheCanterburyTales:A.TheCanterburyTaleswerehismostpopularwork.B.MostofthetalesarewritteninversewhichreflectsChaucer’sinnovationbyintroducingintothenativealliterativeversetheFrenchandItalianstyles.C.Chauceristhustobe,regardedasthefirstshortstorytellerandthefirstmodernpoetinEnglishliterature.D.ChaucerandtheCanterburyTaleswererepresentativeoftheMiddleages.5.WhatisthedifferencebetweenthevernacularlanguageusedintheNationalepicsandthevernacularlanguageusedbyMarktwain答：1)TheepicwastheproductoftheHeroicAge.Itwasanimportantandmostlyusedforminancientliterature.“Nationalepic”referstotheepicwritteninvernacularlanguages—thatis,thelanguagesofvariousnationalstatesthatcameintobeingintheMiddleAges.LiteraryworkswerenolongerallwritteninLatin.ItwasthestartingpointofagradualtransitionofEuropeanliteraturefromLatinculturetoaculturethatwasthecombinationofavarietyofnationalcharacteristics.BothBeowulfandsongofRolandweretherepresentativeworksoftheNationalEpics.2)ThevernacularlanguageusedbyMarktwainreferstobothlocalandcolloqlanguageusedintheMississippiarea,withastrongcharacteristicofthatregion.Marktwainusedvernacularlanguagenotonlyindialogue,butalsoinnarration.3)HisrepresentativeworksLifeontheMississippi.6.WhatwerethepowerandinfluenceoftheRomanCatholicchurchintheMedievaltimes1)WithahighlycentralizedanddisciplinedinternationalorganizationfromprieststoPope,theRomanCatholicChurchseemedtobetheonlyunityacrossthewesternEuropeoftheMedievaltimes.ItdevelopedacivilizationbasedonChristianityandhelpedtopreserveandpassontheheritageoftheclassicalculturesbytheofficiallanguageofLatin.2)withthePopeasthesupremeheadofalltheChristianChurchesofthewesternEurope,theCatholic(meaninguniversal)churchreceivedheavytaxesfromlaypeopleandvarioussupportsfromnoblesandkings.Churchcouldremoveanyopponentspoliticalrightsorevenemperors,withthepowerfulsymboloftheInquisition,theChurchcourttopunishheresy.3)TheMedievalChurchwasthecenteroftheEuropeans’dailylifeandalmosteveryonebecameamemberoftheChurch.PeopleturnedtotheChurchforcomfortandspiritualguidance;theChurchalsowasthecenterofholycommunion,recreation,tradeandcommunalactivity.4)Clergythenwastheonlyliterateclass,sokingsandnoblesusedthemtoimplementimportantseculargovernmentalduties.5)TheChurchtooktheleadinpolitics,law,art,andlearningthroughoutthe“AgeofFaith”.Forexample,RomanesqueandGothicartswerepredominantlyreligious;inlearning,itinfluencedgreatlythewesternthinkingwiththemonks’workoncopyingandtranslatingancientbooks,theChurchFathers’philosophy,Monasticism,ScholasticismandExperimentalscience.6)originallyforregainingtheholycityofJerusalem,theChurchlaunched200-yearCrusades,whichhelpedtobreaddownfeudalismandenhancedtheculturalcontactbetweentheWestandtheEast.第四章填空题：1.Renaissancestartedin________and________withthefloweringofpaintings,sculptureandarchitecture.FlorenceandVenice.2.InRenaissanceliteratureofItaly,_______wastherepresentativepoet.Petrarch3.AttheheartoftheRenaissancephilosophywastheassertionof_________.thegreatnessofman.4.Theideaofthegreatnessofmanisreflectedin__________literature.Shakespeare’s5.ThenationalreligionestablishedafterreformationinEnglandwascalled_______.ThechurchofEnglandorTheAnglicanChurch.6.Itwasunderthereignof_______thatreformationwassuccessfulinEngland.HenryⅧ.7.MontaignewasaFrenchhumanistknownforhis_______.“Essais”(Essays).8.TherepresentativenovelistofRenaissanceinSpainwas__________withhisfamouswork_______,whichmarkedEuropeancultureentryintoanewstage.CervantesDonQuixote9.TheVenusofUrbinois___________works.Titian10._______translatedthewholeBiblewiththevernacularlanguage.MartinLuther名词解释:1.RenaissanceGenerallyspeaking,Renaissancereferstotheperiodbetweenthe14thandmid-17thcentury.Theword“Renaissance”meansrevival,specificallyinthisperiodofhistory,revivalofinterestinancientGreekandRomanculture.Renaissance,inessence,wasahistoricalperiodinwhichtheEuropeanhumanistthinkersandscholarsmadeattemptstogetridofconservatisminfeudalistEuropeandintroducenewideasthatexpressedtheinterestsoftherisingbourgeoisie,tolifttherestrictionsinallareasplacedbytheRomanchurchauthorities.2.ReformationTheReformationwasa16thcenturyreligiousmovementaswellasasocio-politicalmovement.ItbeganasMartinLutherpostedonthedoorofthecastlechurchattheUniversityofWittenberghis95thesis.ThismovementwhichsweptoverthewholeofEuropewasaimedatopposingtheabsoluteauthorityoftheRomanCatholicChurchandreplacingitwiththeabsoluteauthorityoftheBible.ThereformistsengagedthemselvesintranslatingtheBibleintotheirmothertongues.3.Counter-ReformationBylate1520theRomanCatholicChurchhadlostitscontroloverthechurchinGermany.TheRomanCatholicChurchdidnotstayidle.Theymusteredtheirforces,thededicatedCatholicgroups,toexaminetheChurchinstitutionsandintroducereformsandimprovements,tobringbackitsvitality.ThisrecoveryofpowerisoftencalledbyhistorianstheCounter-Reformation.论述简答题：1.WhataretheGeographicalDiscoveriesintheRenaissance答：TheRenaissancewasthegoldenageofgeographicaldiscoveries:bytheyearof1600thesurfaceoftheknownearthwasdoubled.1)Columbus:ColumbusdiscoveredthelandofAmerica.OnhisfourthvoyageheexploredthecoastofCentralAmerica.2)Dias:DiaswasaPortuguesenavigatorwhodiscoveredtheCapeofGoodHopein1487.3)DaGama:GamawasaPortuguesenavigator,whodiscoveredtheroutetoIndiaroundtheCapeofGoodHopebetweentheyearsof1497and1498.4)Amerig：AmerigowastheItaliannavigatoronwhosehonourAmericawasnamed.HisdiscoveredandexploredthemouthoftheAmazonandacceptedSouthAmericaasanewcontinent.2.Whatpositiveinfluencedoesthereformationexertonworldculture答:1)TheRomanCatholicChurchwasnevertheinternationalcourttowhichallrulersandstatesweretobemorallyresponsiblefor.2)Economically,peasantsalloverEuropehadnoneedtopayagoodamountoftheirgainstothePope.3)Ineducationalandculturalmatters,themonopolyofthechurchwasbroken.4)Inreligion,ProtestantismbroughtintobeingdifferentformsofChristianitytochallengetheabsoluteruleoftheRomanCatholicChurch.5)Inlanguage,thedominantpositionofLatinhadtogivewaytothenationallanguagesasaresultofvarioustranslationsoftheBibleintothevernacular.6)Inspirit,absoluteobediencebecameout-modedandthespiritofquest,debate,wasusheredinbythereformists.3.WhatcontributiondidtheRenaissancemaketotheworldculture答：1、TheRenaissancecreatedaculturewhichfreedmantodiscoverandenjoytheworldinawaynotpossibleunderthemedievalChurch’sdispensation.2、TheReformationdealtthefeudaltheocracyafatalblow.第五章填空题：1.Themodernworld,sofarasmentaloutlookisconcerned,beginsin________.the17thcentury2._________formedthebasisofallmodernplanetaryastronomyandledtoNewton’sdiscoveryofthelawsofgravitation.Kepler’sLaws3.“Knowledgeispower.”By_____.FrancisBacon4.Somebooksaretobetasted,otherstobeswallowed,andsomefewtobechewedanddigested.By_____.FrancisBacon5.Leviathaniswrittenby________.TomasHobbes6.TheEnglishRevolutionisalsocalled__________.BourgeoisieRevolution.7.In_______,theBillofRightswasenactedbytheEnglishParliament.16898.TherearetwoleadersintheEnglishRevolution._______wasthemanofactionand________themanofthought.Cromwell,Milton.9.ThebestrepresentativeofFrenchneoclassicismis________.Molière名词解释：1.thelawsofgravitation:thesun,themoon,theearth,theplanets,andalltheotherbodiesintheuniversemoveinaccordancewiththesamebasicforce,whichiscallgravitation.2.ClassicismClassicismimpliestherevivaloftheformsandtraditionsoftheancientworld,areturntoworksofoldGreekliteraturefromHomertoPlatoandAristotle.ButFrenchclassicismofthe17thcenturywasnotconsciousofbeingaclassicalrevival.Itintendedtoproducealiterature,Frenchtothecore,whichwasworthyofGreekandclassicalideals.ThisneoclassicismreacheditsclimaxinFranceinthe17thcentury.3.BaroqueArtBaroqueArt,flourishedfirstinItaly,andthenspreadtoSpain,Portugal,FranceinsouthEuropeandtoFlanderandtheNetherlandsintheNorth.Itwascharacterizedbydramaticintensityandsentimentalappealwithalotofemphasisonlightandcolour.论述简答1.Whydowesaythe17thcenturyisatransitionalperiodfrommiddleagestothemodernt