“The merchants of Venice,” by Max Sligh

“The merchants of Venice,” by Max Sligh

Periodization, for all the fleeting satisfaction it provides, can cause severe headaches for a historian. “Among the many and various dangers that beset the would-be writer of history,” writes John Julius Norwich in A History of Venice, “one of the most insidious is the temptation to adjust . . . events in order to fit them more neatly into a prearranged scheme.” A particularly well-known example of this tendency is the argument over the precise…