Utilizes primary sources to interrogate popular beliefs about early modern Europe and reveal the true story behind such movements and events as the Scientific Revolution, the Crusades, and the European witch hunts.

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter One: The Italian Renaissance ended the Dark Ages and ushered in the modern world -- Chapter Two: Christopher Columbus proved that the Earth was round -- Chapter Three: Early modern women were uneducated and uninfluential -- Chapter Four: Humanists introduced secularism to early modern Europe -- Chapter Five: The Pope was an all-powerful ruler in early modern Europe -- Chapter Six: The moral failures of the Catholic Church made the Reformation inevitable -- Chapter Seven: Torture and superstition drove the witch-hunts -- Chapter Eight: A few geniuses sparked the scientific revolution -- Chapter Nine: The Crusades ended in the Middle Ages -- Bibliography -- Index