Barbara W. Tuchman

The emphasis on sorcery reflected accusations by the authorities more than it did actual practice. Being threatened, the Church responded by virulent persecution.

The ills and disorders of the 14th century could not be without consequence. Times were to grow worse over the next fifty-odd years until at some imperceptible moment, by the some mysterious chemistry, energies were refreshed, ideas broke out of the mold of the Middle Ages into new realms, and humanity found itself redirected.

In the midst of events there is no perspective.

Nothing is more certain than death and nothing uncertain but its hour.

The social damage was not in the failure but in the undertaking, which was expensive. The cost of war was the poison running through the 14th century.

For belligerent purposes, the 14th century, like the 20th, commanded a technology more sophisticated than the mental and moral capacity that guided its use.

If all were equalized by death, as the medieval idea constantly emphasized, was it not possible that inequalities on earth were contrary to the will of God?

Governments do not like to face radical remedies; it is easier to let politics predominate.

As the era of the sword was ending, that of firearms began, in time to allow no lapse in man’s belligerent capacity.

To put on the garment of legitimacy is the first aim of every coup.

The Hundred Years' War, like the crises of the Church in the same period, broke apart medieval unity.

To admit error and cut losses is rare among individuals, unknown among states.