| Nation. 81: 75. Jl. 27, ‘05. 190w. | ||
| N. Y. Times. 10: 613. S. 16, ‘05. 560w. |
Bryce, James. [Holy Roman empire.] [*]$1.50. Macmillan.
“Not only has Mr. Bryce rewritten the work with a view to a clearer presentation of the theories it elaborates, but he has met and admirably overcome the criticisms to which it was formerly exposed—the seeming neglect of certain striking personalities and events, the inadequate treatment of the Byzantine empire, and the expression of views rendered untenable by the political developments of the past quarter of a century.... The more important changes ... of his work may be briefly summarized. In chapter V. Mr. Bryce, discussing the reluctance of Charles the Great to assume the imperial title, incorporates the theories of Dahn and Hodgkin; in chapter VII, he enters into a broader explanation of the theories that went to sustain the empire through the middle ages; chapter XIII., on ‘The fall of the Hohenstaufen,’ he considerably enlarges by the inclusion of a fuller account of the momentous struggle between Louis IV. and Pope John XXII.; in chapter XIV. he develops the early electoral system under the Germanic constitution; in chapter XV. the theories regarding the source of civil authority, a vexed question subsequent to the struggle of the investitures, are discussed more largely; chapter XVI., ‘The city of Rome in the middle ages,’ contains new studies of Arnold of Brescia and Cola di Rienzo. Chapter XVII. is entirely new, embodying an account of the Eastern empire and affording a comprehensive idea of the impress made on history by the people and rulers of New Rome; finally, in Chapter XVIII., the attempts to reform the Germanic constitution are disclosed in greater detail. To this it should be added that the text is more fully annotated, that greatly needed maps are supplied, and that, in addition to the chronological list of popes and emperors found in previous editions, there is a compact and helpful table of salient events connected with the empire.”—Outlook.
| + + + | Critic. 47: 94. Jl. ‘05. 50w. |
“The two new chapters exhibit Mr. Bryce’s capacity for brilliant historical generalisation at its best.” H. A. L. F.
| + + + | Eng. Hist. R. 20: 605. Jl. ‘05. 320w. |
“The identity of the book is by no means lost in the revision, for the changes have not been such as to alter the general mode of treatment, nor to increase the size of the work beyond the limits of a single volume.”
| + + + | Nation. 80: 234. Mr. 23, ‘05. 560w. |
“But not since the edition of 1873 has it shown such changes as are now apparent—changes which, while not materially affecting the main argument, are nevertheless of a character and extent that make the present edition completely supersede its predecessors. He has met and has admirably overcome the criticisms to which it was formerly exposed. The revision he has found it necessary to make in his exposition of the rise, decline, and fall of the ancient empire is of an elucidatory rather than a corrective nature.”
| + + | Outlook. 79: 443. F. 18, ‘05. 2010w. |