Book Review: The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind by Jason M. Baxter (InterVarsity Press, 2022)
What made C.S. Lewis unique?
It’s a question I’ve often pondered, as an avid Lewis reader and the author of a book about him. Goodness knows there are plenty of other Christian apologists around, but Lewis remains perennially popular in a way that very few of them have. He’s endlessly referred to, quoted and misquoted, and hauled into all kinds of debates and discussions, even by those who have significant theological differences from him.
Jason M. Baxter’s new book, The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind, holds a significant and rather surprising clue to the cause of this popularity. Baxter, who has previously written books on Dante and mysticism, is well-equipped to explore the medieval cosmological model that shaped Lewis’s thinking and for which he had a deep and lasting affection.
When Lewis referred to himself as a “dinosaur” and one of the last living examples of “Old Western Man,” he wasn’t joking. He felt himself more a denizen of the Middle Ages than of his own age. And he saw his career as a way of translating and popularizing the Middle Ages’ ideas and values for those mired in modernity.
You might not expect having one’s mind lodged in an era many centuries in the past to be the key to lasting success. But Baxter makes a very strong case that for Lewis, it was. His devotion to the past, Baxter explains, was no mawkish pining for “the good old days,” but rather a “nostalgia [that] … metamorphosizes into hope.” The medieval view of the universe both gave Lewis a solid foundation for belief and enriched his imagination in ways that in turn enriched his writing. And in Baxter’s glowing description of the medieval mindset, it’s easy to see why. He paints a universe saturated with meaning, where every star and blade of grass had its place and purpose in the divine design.
By contrast, our own highly mechanized age can’t help look as drab as Lewis himself found it. As scientific knowledge has increased, Baxter explains, “the sacred has felt to have withdrawn from the physical, visible world.” Or as Lewis put it, “we have gone from “the living universe where man meets the gods to the final void where almost-nobody discovers his mistakes about almost-nothing.”
If I have one critique of Baxter’s otherwise excellent book, it’s this: Just when you’re wanting to learn more about how to reconcile the scientific truths we know today with the old theological and philosophical beliefs that inspired some of our greatest minds—he breaks off, moves on to another subject, and doesn’t come back to that one until the last few chapters. I wasn’t sure he was coming back at all, and I hated being left hanging like that on such a pivotal topic. But when he does come back, he has a lot to say that’s helpful. His book is incredibly helpful in general, in highlighting recurring medieval themes in Lewis’s writings—from his children’s books to his apologetics to his literary criticism—and in pointing to the sources of his wisdom.
Being grounded in a long-ago age gave Lewis an invaluable perspective on ours. And the wonderful irony Baxter shows us is that what seems to us Lewis’s unique vision comes from his being a member of a great tradition—in other words, not unique at all.
(Cover image copyright InterVarsity Press. Thanks to InterVarsity Press for the review copy.)
Book Links:
The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis on Amazon
The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis on IVP
Other Links:
I wrote a piece on what the new film version of Cyrano de Bergerac leaves out, and what it brings forward, for Christ and Pop Culture.
A middle-grade novel that I endorsed, Son of the Deep by K.B. Hoyle, is now available for sale! It’s a charming retelling of The Little Mermaid that’s perfect for preteens and younger teenagers.
Two weeks from now is Easter Sunday, so I will be taking that week off. Happy Easter in advance, and see you May 1!