Fran Rutherford’s two-volume Old World Europe (Student Book and Teacher’s Guide) provides an ideal course for parents who homeschool high school students and for teachers of secondary education who wish to introduce their students to the great books of Western civilization, the best that has been thought and said, in Matthew Arnold’s famous phrase. The choice of great books is appropriate, balanced, and coherent-each book illuminating an important facet of Medeival thought and culture and embodying the moral wisdom of the Medeival mind. The course covers Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Beowulf, St. Benedict’s Rule, Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne, Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, The Song of Roland, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote - a rich banquet for the mind that integrates history, literature, and philosophy for a beginning humanities student. Comprised of brief but substantive introductions to the authors and to the works, the book then poses simple but penetrating questions about each chapter or major part of the book It also presents probing questions for further reflection and discussion. The Teacher’s Guide of course offers the answers to the factual questions, but it provides special insights to address the Questions for Further Thought. The questions and answers are always lucid, straightforward and penetrating. In short, these two volumes provide a bone fide traditional, classical liberal arts education that introduces students to the reality of philosophical or universal truth, to the unchanging natural moral law that explains the nature of tragedy and the events of history. For students to know these perennial truths about human nature and the human condition is the beginning of wisdom-the goal of all true education. This study guide is written for high school curriculum, grades 9 through 12. Its simple question-and-answer format breaks down the barriers to undertanding the texts for both student and teacher. Vocabulary development, research topics and frequent Questions for Further Thought, the hallmark of Fran Rutherford’s Questions for the ThinkerTM Series, are included throughout. A complete answer key is found in the campanion volume Teacher’s Guide. It is recommended that a book be purchased for each student. Not only will it facilitate writing answers for the questions, it will serve for years as a valuable resource for other high school and college classes. Five Units of Study Epic Poetry History Philosophy Poetry Novel Study Titles -The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri -Paradise Lost by John Milton -Beowulf -The Rule of St. Benedict -The Life of Charlemagne by Einhard -The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli -The Song of Roland -Selections from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
