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daja57's review against another edition
4.0
This is a big book, over 500 pages. It tells the story of the Burgundians, from their beginning on Bornholm Island in the Baltic as a Germanic tribe who invaded the Roman Empire and fought Atilla the Hun (as commemorated in the Nibelungenlied) to their days of glory during the Hundred Years War when the Dukes of Burgundy (who now also owned large tracts of the Flanders) acted as power brokers between the French and the English. It's a huge canvas on which the author paints ... but he does it by focusing his attention very much on the period between 1369 to 1467. The more than 900 years before then receives about 50 pages, this century receives 300 pages and the ten years after receives 70 pages. This corresponds, I suspect, with the available material but it nevertheless presents a strangely lop-sided feeling. The first section seems to be written for the general reader and the second for the specialist ... and yet this section is presented with a less objective, almost playful air, in which the author repeatedly speculates eg about whether John the Fearless was at all worried when he walked across the bridge to his doom.
Nevertheless, there is plenty here of interest, whether it is minutely recounted assassinations or carefully described feasts. There are battles, there are rebellions, there are lots and lots and lots of executions, and there is even some literary history. There's also quite a lot of etymological explanation for words such as 'knight', 'Fleming' and even 'mustard'; I adore a good etymology.
And there are some unforgettable characters (mostly bloodthirsty tyrants) including a King who thought he was made of glass.
Nevertheless, there is plenty here of interest, whether it is minutely recounted assassinations or carefully described feasts. There are battles, there are rebellions, there are lots and lots and lots of executions, and there is even some literary history. There's also quite a lot of etymological explanation for words such as 'knight', 'Fleming' and even 'mustard'; I adore a good etymology.
And there are some unforgettable characters (mostly bloodthirsty tyrants) including a King who thought he was made of glass.
navahx's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Heard an interview with the author and had to read this, it feels like this was written specifically for me. I expect to reread this in two years or so.
jelsayeh's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
willemijn2302's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Ik raakte door alle namen en anekdotes toch de draad kwijt, dat terwijl ik toch enige voorkennis over de Bourgondiërs heb.
Het is een goed geschreven boek, maar de materie kon me toch wat minder boeien dan ik gehoopt had
Het is een goed geschreven boek, maar de materie kon me toch wat minder boeien dan ik gehoopt had
cellassis's review against another edition
5.0
Une excellente lecture ! Ce livre de vulgarisation historique a été un véritable coup de cœur. J’y ai appris beaucoup de choses non seulement sur la dynastie bourguignonne, mais aussi sur l'histoire de la Belgique et des Pays-Bas. Le style est très accessible et la façon dont l'auteur raconte les aventures de nos bourguignons a fait de cette lecture une très bonne expérience.
timdams007's review against another edition
5.0
Eigenlijk een pleidooi om de geschiedenislessen in het middelbaar helemaal anders te geven. Als ik toen had beseft waarom bepaalde zaken wel/niet aanbod kwamen (the big picture zeg maar) had dit mij een heel ander beeld van onze 'oorsprong' gegeven. De sterkte van dit boek is dat het dit overzicht geeft, maar dankzij heerlijke sausjes van (soms pietluttige) details zoals oorsprong van woorden, klederdracht van persoon x, liefdesanekdotes, etc leest dit stevige boek heerlijk weg.
Aanrader!
Aanrader!