Palmer High School Library What's the Point of Reading?

large view Gothic Cathedral

Reading to Meet the "I wonder . . ." Need

After bike touring in Austria this summer for a couple of weeks, I realized how much I don't know. At every turn of the Danube River I found myself wondering about how things worked, what things meant, and how to piece together the sequence of historical events. In the USA we don't think much about knights, castle fortifications and the overlap of religion and politics. We know about the Reformation, but what about the Counter Reformation and the 30 Years War? The incredible art in the museums left me awestruck and wanting to know more about the events that inspired the artists and what the symbolism in the paintings means? How could I understand the hidden messages? As we pedaled east toward Vienna, large towers and steeples loomed over even the smallest villages we entered. How could such small villages support such humongous churches? Who paid for these enormous buildings and why did each small village need to have its own? These questions peppered my thoughts as I pedaled along the river path. While travel ignites our curiosity, reading offers us an avenue to expand our knowledge base and to locate ourselves within a time period and place completely different than our own. To get me started on my personal knowledge quest, I found several sources available in our Palmer Library .

Questions Set 1: I wonder how knights were able to move in all that armour? What did knights do when they weren't fighting? Who paid for them to wander about the countryside or did they stay close to home?

Here's an answer source located in our nonfiction section 940.1 KNI

 KNIGHTS: IN HISTORY AND LEGEND

Author: Constance Brittain Bouchard

The catalog description says: With 400 stunning full-color photographs and works of art, an authoritative, comprehensive and accessible single volume reference detailing the rise and fall of knighthood and offering an intimate description of the knight's everyday life.

Questions Set 2: Why have big churches and huge castles in these small towns? Why did they build some churches and castles on Roman ruins? How effective were castle fortifications?

The Middle Ages by Sarah McNeil

For an interesting and entertaining look at many different aspects of life in the middle ages there's Sarah McNeil's Middle Ages. Look for this title in the nonfiction section under 909.07 MCN. 

In another nonfiction title, Castle, David Macaulay's illustrated explanations bring meaning to the inner and outer workings of a castle. Located in the nonfiction section at 623.19.

 

Question Set 3: How can I understand the meanings and symbols in the paintings? Why are popes and bishops portrayed next to biblical characters?

How to Read a Painting : Lessons from the Old Masters from author Patrick de Rynck gave me quick access to understanding the meanings and messages in many of the paintings I saw. Delving into the story behind the story makes the art works even more amazing.

Here's what our Destiny catalog's Title Peek says:

Clues to the meaning of many of the masterpieces of art history lie in a rich system of symbols, themes, and motifs that often eludes modern museum-goers. The intimate knowledge of Christian theology, Greek and Roman mythology, and folklore that was so vivid in the minds of viewers during the Renaissance is rarely part of the preparation the contemporary viewer brings to a painting. This insightful, anecdotal, portable book, with 1,000 gorgeous color illustrations, helps to fill in those gaps by decoding the imagery of more than 150 of the most influential and admired artworks of all time. Covering the works of the Italian, Netherlandish, German, and Spanish Old Masters, from 1450 to 1750, paintings by artists such as Giotto, Botticelli, El Greco, Bruegel, Holbein, Rubens, and Vermeer, all held in public collections, "How to Read a Painting not only helps the viewer to understand the significant details of a picture but also explains the relationship with similar imagery in other works. The guide to,Old Master paintings that every art lover has always wanted, this indispensable museum companion will open the reader to a whole new experience of Western art's most praised and visited paintings.

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                                          *Photo detail from the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Question 4: What's all the fuss about the Reformation and Counter Reformation? What did religion have to do with ruling empires?

A resource that I've found to be a treasure is Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Modern World. The call number for this title is 909.08 GON, but at the Palmer Library we keep it with our collection of graphic novels. Gonick's look at the Reformation filled in my knowledge gaps while entertaining me with his tongue in cheek humor which helps me remember the information. 

                                            

(If you want a run down on history start to finish check out Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe, Volumes 1-3. Real page-turners.) 

I had only a thimble full of knowledge about the Habsburg Dynasty until I checked out An Age of Empires 1200-1750 by Marjorie Bingham. This title, located in the nonfiction section at 909.07 BIN, also helps to explain the relationship between empire building and organized religion. Our Destiny Catalog description says:

The Medieval and Early Modern World tells the colorful story of a pivotal period in human history, an era that is crucial to understanding our own times. The expansion of trade and city life, the spread and reform of religious institutions, the rise of regional empires and local feudal regimes, and revolutionary advances in science and technology laid the foundation for the modern world. Told through the words and experiences of the people who lived it--kings, queens, and commoners, priests and lay people, explorers, scientists,artists, and world travelers--this is a world history for a new generation.

These titles from our Palmer High School Library provide me with a place to start answering some of the "I wonder questions" that surfaced as I traveled through Austria. I loved finding answers to my musings and flipped through the pages with genuine pleasure. I didn't read every page of every chapter, in fact, I skimmed the table of contents and the index and targeted my reading to my questions. That's part of the joy of reading nonfiction, the reader decides what's important and relevant.

What are you wondering about? Use the online Destiny Catalog to check out the Palmer High School Library's collection. Feel free to ask the library staff to help guide you in your quest.

   

*Photo detail from the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, Austria