Paris, 1200

Baldwin's deep love of Paris emanates from every drop of ink in his latest book (after Aristocratic Life in Medieval France). Drawing on his profound literary, ecclesiastical, and scholastic knowledge of the period, Baldwin devours the scant archives available and presents a brilliant picture of the nascent state. We find Paris as Notre Dame is still under construction and clerical life is being defined. England is losing its French land under King John, and Paris is under interdict due to Philip Augustus' bigamous marriage. At the same time, the masters and students of the Left Bank are coalescing into a university, establishing Paris as the center of high scholasticism. Amidst all this, Philip built the foundations of bureaucracy that created a nation by centralizing documentation, and establishing Paris as the uncontested capital of France. The emerging bourgeoisie, the advent of the mendicant orders, and the early stages of France's bureaucracy contributed to the true beginnings of the French state and of the domination of French culture throughout Western Europe. Baldwin so expands our knowledge and adoration of the city of lights it's as if he walked through it 900 years ago, absorbing every colorful detail. (Oct.)