A Short History of England was written in 1917 as a 'popular' history book. The author, G. k. Chesterton, said it was, “a history from the standpoint of a member of the public.” Most historical accounts of England, he said, were extremely “anti-popular,” that is, they ignored all the large and obvious things, “like the size of Gothic churches” and the fact that the squires in large country houses are not called abbots but their houses are called abbeys. The difference between a popular history and a scholarly history “is not about the facts but about the importance of the facts.” Chesterton maintained that legend is usually more important than history, because legend is what everyone in a village knows is important, whereas history is only what one person thinks is important. The author is also open about where his sympathies lie.
The book starts with Britain’s barbarian beginnings, then introduces the civilizing order of the Romans and the Saints before going through the Crusades and the Middle Ages, and then through the Renaissance (which he calls “The Rebellion of the Rich”), the eras of the Puritans, the Whigs, the Revolution that never happened, and finally the Return of the Barbarian. At the time of his writing, England was in the midst of WW1.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brown and wrote on apologetics. Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an orthodox Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting. He died in 1936.
The book starts with Britain’s barbarian beginnings, then introduces the civilizing order of the Romans and the Saints before going through the Crusades and the Middle Ages, and then through the Renaissance (which he calls “The Rebellion of the Rich”), the eras of the Puritans, the Whigs, the Revolution that never happened, and finally the Return of the Barbarian. At the time of his writing, England was in the midst of WW1.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brown and wrote on apologetics. Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an orthodox Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting. He died in 1936.
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