{"product_id":"the-problem-of-unbelief-in-the-sixteenth-century-the-religion-of-rabelais-9780674708266","title":"The Problem of Unbelief in the Sixteenth Century: The Religion of Rabelais","description":"\u003cp\u003eLucien Febvres magisterial study of sixteenth century religious and intellectual history  published in 1942  is at long last available in English  in a translation that does it full justice. The book is a modern classic. Febvre  founder with Marc Bloch of the journal Annales  was one of Frances leading historians  a scholar whose field of expertise was the sixteenth century. This book  written late in his career  is regarded as his masterpiece. Despite the subtitle  it is not primarily a study of Rabelais; it is a study of the mental life  the mentalit  of a whole age.  Febvre worked on the book for ten years. His purpose at first was polemical: he set out to demolish the notion that Rabelais was a covert atheist  a freethinker ahead of his time. To expose the anachronism of that view  he proceeded to a close examination of the ideas  information  beliefs  and values of Rabelais and his contemporaries. He combed archives and local records  compendia of popular lore  the work of writers from Luther and Erasmus to Ronsard  the verses of obscure neo-Latin poets. Everything was grist for his mill: books about comets  medical texts  philological treatises  even music and architecture. The result is a work of extraordinary richness of texture  enlivened by a wealth of concrete detailsa compelling intellectual portrait of the period by a historian of rare insight  great intelligence  and vast learning.  Febvre wrote with Gallic flair. His style is informal  often witty  at times combative  and colorful almost to a fault. His idiosyncrasies of syntax and vocabulary have defeated many who have tried to read  let alone translate  the French text. Beatrice Gottlieb has succeeded in rendering his prose accurately and readably  conveying a sense of Febvres strong  often argumentative personality as well as his brilliantly intuitive feeling for Renaissance France.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67600020406325,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674708261","price":46.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674708266.jpg?v=1790963535","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-problem-of-unbelief-in-the-sixteenth-century-the-religion-of-rabelais-9780674708266","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}