Life in a Medieval City

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 909.2 EAN: 9780060908805 ISBN: 0060908807 Label: Harper Perennial Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: 1981-10-30 Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: 1981-09-30 Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Reviews: For students, researchers, and history lovers, a look at day-to-day life in a rarely explored era. "About life and death, midwives and funerals, business, books and authors, and town government."--Choice
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Authentic and Superb Account Comment: I had previously read these authors' take on the middle ages in a Rural setting; LIFE IN A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE. My major complaint with that book was that it was very dry and specific to an English Countryside in a very specific timeframe. LIFE IN A MEDIEVAL CITY, although referring specifically to urban life in 1200's France, is much more what I was looking for as a general description of social structure in the middle ages. Moreover, it is much more enjoyable to read. Gies (Husband and Wife) describe traditional roles in a city, such as the Baker, Butcher, Cooper, Smithy, etc. In contrast to the dire and overcast life of a farmer in a village, this book feels lively and vital. You can almost smell the conflagration of scullery stoves, livestock, and less than hygenic sewage systems as you read. The various political strata are also explained in detail. The clergy, the merchant class, the noble houses, and the trade guilds all get their fair share of the spotlight (or should I say lamplight?). What also makes this account so lively as a social setting is the various nationalities influencing central europe at the time. We have brief descriptions given of the early Roman occupations and the infrastructure they left, the Normans influences, the Saracens and their vast trade empire, and many other political forces who all mingled in this area in the past and in the present (of the book). I could not have asked for a better overview of a functioning medieval city as a reference for understanding it's use in most fantasy books, as well as anyone interested in the slow advancement of Western Civilization through the post-roman era. Once you have read this book you will be able to appreciate historical fiction and fantasy so much more. I would urge anyone who wants to either expand their knowledge of the middle ages, better appreciate books set in that time (or by extention nearly all fantasy works), or is attempting to write about a subject that would relate to this time to read this book and keep it on their shelf for reference. Customer Rating: Summary: Everything you know about life in a medieval city is wrong. Comment: This book informs readers of the facts of how every day people (nobility, clergy, burghers, and peasants) lived. Moreover, it brings to light many facts we do not hear much about. It's almost as if medieval Europe is one of those things "everybody knows" but no one truly knows. This book helps fill in some of those gaps. On the negative side, it's too short for my appetite on the subject and the treatment of everyone as solely seeking ways to increase their revenue (and not exploring the social work done by the Church) is disappointing. Also recommended: Everyday Life in Traditional Japan (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature) (Paperback) by Charles J. Dunn Customer Rating: Summary: Troyes portrait circa 1250 Comment: Short, informative, and entertaining. Taking Troyes in 1250 as its singular point of reference, the authors describe what life was like then and there. They depict home life, social customs, business life (commerce and trade were booming), science and education, bookmaking, wars and other disasters, and, of course, the church. Scientific advancement, especially in medicine, is hindered more by numerology and astrological concerns than by religious prohibitions; women work at a number of crafts and professions outside the home; scholars attending schools sit on the floor during lectures; there are two major trade fairs held every year - one in summer, the other in winter - and people from all over Europe attend; the law favors the rich over the poor man, "a situation," the authors remind us, "not confined to the Middle Ages." These are just a few of the many fascinating facts revealed by the authors in this excellent short introduction to life in a Medieval city. Highly recommended. Customer Rating: Summary: Life In A Medieval City Book Review Comment: Life In A Medieval City was a great book. First, it was filled with facts. Rather than just giving you a list of facts, they gave you examples and realistic opinions of what it would be like to live in medieval times. They also gave you facts that you probably didn't know already. Second, in each chapter, it only focused on one topic in each chapter. This made it easy to comprehend. It also gave you more insight on that one topic. This helped me tremendously to understand the book. Last, this book was filled with loads of maps, diagrams, and pictures. This also helped me to understand the book better. Especially with all of the advanced vocabulary, when you flipped to a map, diagram, or picture, you could distinguish what was what. Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent, accessible social history of the High Middle Ages Comment: The Gies excell in taking good research by historians and presenting it in a very accessible and straigforward manner. Their trilogy, which consists of Life in a Medieval City, Life in a Medieval Village, and Life in a Medieval Castle, manage to neatly distill many important themes and concepts in a lively, easy-to-digest format that is perfect for Honors middle school or regular high school students. The authors do much to dispell the myths about the Middle Ages and to present the times in all their color and variety. Life in a Medieval City focuses upon one particular French town but can be generalized, to a greater or lesser extent, to many places in northern Europe. It deals with the economic and social realities of the times with excellent clarity. Not to be missed. More Reviews