Speaking of the Middle Ages

"Parlez du moyen âge". Translated by Sarah White. Foreword by Eugene Vance.
Many books in recent years have reopened the criticism of the historical method. What is historical thinking? What needs does history attempt to satisfy? What presuppositions does modern history imply? These questions have become preoccupations for the New Historians: the entire practice of historical research and presentation has been considered.
In "Speaking of the Middle Ages," Paul Zumthor applies these basic questions to the medieval period. To these he adds: Why the Middle Ages? How can they be studied? At what effort and for what needs should they be investigated?
In the Middle Ages, the modern languages of Europe were formed, and with them many habits of thought and phrase that continue to direct our modes of questioning and response. Shifts in the study of the Middle Ages demonstrate how closely historical work is tied to the search for happiness. Increased happiness — pleasure — is probably the last thing the typical student expects from the study of history, but in this compact and challenging book Zumthor demonstrates it is history’s very reason for being.