Introduction 7
I Rome 13
II Constantinople 29
III Christianity 47
IV Germanic peoples 81
V Goths and Vandals 101
VI Huns 125
VII Gaul 147
VIII The Franks and Charlemagne 171
IX Popes and Emperors 197
X Crusade 231
Italy after the Hohenstaufen Dynasty 266
XII The End of the Age of Faith 289
XIII Renaissance 319
XIV Reformation 349
XV Overlord 371
XVI French Revolution 393
XVII Prussia 425
XVIII Italy 451
XIX The Unification of Germany 491
Translator's Note 515

A masterpiece by a master of Anglo-American literature
The Human Story, Oxford European History

Exactly one hundred years ago, students at Oxford University were gripped by curiosity.
Because I couldn't figure out whose work this history book with its flowing style and lively narrative was.
The book was a breathtaking account of the process from the founding of ancient Rome to the formation of modern European states.
This book, which analyzes the people and events in history as if exploring the scandals of human history created by desire, possesses both the merits of a rigorous history book and the charm of a novel, while remaining perfectly faithful to its educational purpose.
It contained both the inevitable questions and answers to ‘What is history?’ and ‘What is man in history?’
But whose work is this? Among the known historians, Lawrence H.
DavidsonLawrence H.
There was no such thing as Davison.
The same was true among educators and writers.
It was several years before the identity of this author, who was fluent in the roles of novelist, critic, historian, and educator, became known.
But there were unavoidable circumstances here.

The author was in an unavoidable predicament at the peak of his creative career.
He ran away with the wife of a teacher he had helped during his college years, but was caught again and barely managed to get married a few years later. However, each book he published was accused of obscenity and had its publication banned, and his wife, a German citizen, was even suspected of being a spy in England, where the author was working.
Every time I picked up my pen, words poured out like a spirit, but most of them were indiscriminately censored or could not even be published.
Finger-pointing continued, and the economic situation also became difficult.
At that time, it was Oxford University that offered him the opportunity to write a history book.
For Oxford, entrusting him, a former educator, critic, painter, poet, and novelist, with writing a kind of new 'history textbook' that breaks away from the established answers was a new challenge, but also a choice that found the best author.
As soon as the author received the commission, he completed the manuscript in one stroke, and after it was published under a pseudonym instead of his real name, the response that started at one university soon spread to other universities and the general readership.
The book is 『Story of European History』 and the author is none other than D., who is famous for writing problematic novels such as 『Lady Chatterley's Lover』, 『Rainbow』, and 『Sons and Lovers』.
H. Lawrence.

Just as human desire creates events
History is created by inexplicable human actions.

In a single volume, Lawrence presents 2,500 years of European history, making ambitious claims that are now accepted as accepted theories, but which no historian at the time could have made.
To this end, Lawrence begins his book by criticizing precisely three approaches to historical narrative.

The first is the existing history book, which is written simply by listing only facts.
This approach reduces history to dead knowledge in books rather than stories.
The second is a history book that pursues vividness like a photograph.
These historical books portray people in history as if they were characters in a novel.
Great men, heroes, and villains of all time become embroiled in conspiracies and conflicts, fall in love, and engage in mundane conversations, creating a page in history.
At least in terms of interest, this method can be particularly fascinating to read for younger readers, but Lawrence counters that this method has the negative effect of removing historicity from history.
Shakespeare's Caesar is an Elizabethan Caesar, not a Roman Caesar, and Bernard Shaw's Caesar is a Victorian Caesar, and neither of these, however charming, is the real Caesar.
And the third is a history book that emphasizes logic and causality, just like science.
After uncovering each incident, the historian creates a large chain that runs through the incidents.
If a great scholar works, the result is a perfectly logical history.
The cause, effect, and development of the incident are all 'logically' flawless.
If only we could ignore the problem that all that logic is not factual but merely the result of inference.
According to Lawrence, scientific history is nothing more than a forced argument that says, "Even if something is not true, it is plausible, so accept it as fact."
The saying, “There is more than one truth in history,” is common sense these days, but even in this day and age, it is difficult to find a history book that strictly applies that saying other than Lawrence’s book, “Story of European History.”

As befits its ambitious introduction, the book is engaging yet rigorous, filled with vivid historical scenes and scenes.
The fact that Lawrence brings history to life with only dry historical records, without any of the fabricated scenes that novelists tend to use, makes us realize why, despite the stigma of being a pornographer, most critics do not hesitate to consider him a master of Anglo-American literature.
For example, the move to Constantinople, a major event in Roman history, is nothing more than fragments of fact despite the many historical sources available. However, Lawrence's Constantinople, depicted through these sources, is a vibrant scene of history, where ships laden with marble are anchored, merchant ships laden with timber enter, smoke rises from lime-baking cauldrons, thousands of slaves carry loads, and architects and engineers are at work.
In the background is Emperor Constantine, dressed in purple, watching the unloading, while beyond his vision is the moat of the walls of Constantine, which had just begun construction.
A loaded carriage enters the arched square, and when the covering is removed, Greek and Asian sculptures are revealed inside.

The power of a master that cannot be surpassed by 'overly textbook-like' history books
The place for lessons is not in history books, but in history itself.

But even more striking than these vivid descriptions are the long narratives that unfold from ancient times through the Middle Ages and into modern times, giving rise to nations we are familiar with today, such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
Lawrence, in short, says that in human history there exist two impulses, or motives for action, that alternate.
One is the desire for peace through prosperity through production, and the other is the desire for victorious war through military force.
These two desires apply themselves in turn to make humans fit for their time.
However, since history is created by a diverse group of people, it is difficult to explain all of this history with a single logic.
So, “there is no worldly reason for an event as massive and crazy as the Crusades.”
In the same sense, “there is no ‘reason’ for the Renaissance, just as there is no explanation for why a magpie cries.”
So, all we can do as descendants who did not live through those times is to observe history and be moved by the whirlpool of impulses created by humans, the very flow of history itself.
But in the midst of this, something happens within us, the observers, the posterity, and the readers of this book, that the existing 'overly textbook-like' history books have failed to accomplish.
By simply observing the sometimes rational and sometimes irrational dramas that humans create and their consequences, readers will be able to gain something truly historical, something beyond the commonplace lessons.
Some call it 'the lessons of history', others 'the wisdom of life' or 'insight' for short.

“Life creates its own great gestures.
Humans are a component of this gesture.
History repeats this gesture.
So, humans revive that gesture once again and realize themselves in the past.
“A person who does not understand the lessons of history is a person who has not realized himself in the past.”
- From the author's words