Genealogy Books - Life in a Medieval Village

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: An Interesting Flavor of Life in the Middle Ages
Comment: The Gies have made a career out of filling a niche in the medieval history market. Life in a
Medieval Village gives a very detailed view of everyday medieval life to the casual reader. As a
result, they walk a fine line. Some casual readers may find the text to be dry, and to lend too much
detail to seemingly trivial matters, while specialist historians may find the work too general and
superficial (not scholarly).

I find their work to be engaging, and to provide a fairly good
picture of the subject matter. In terms of medieval studies, it's useful to provide a general
knowledge base prior to more detailed analysis.

I recommend this book as well as their other
works.

Customer Rating:

Summary: No meat
Comment: Gies and Gies provide a superficial treatment of medieval life, with the work lacking scholarship to
provide it with any substance. The only benefit to this book is that it did lead to others trying
to provide a true perspective.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Life in a Medieval Village
Comment: This book is a great introduction into the lives of the common people in the middle ages. The
concept of focusing on one village (Elton) throughout a protracted period of time provides a common
thread throughout the dissertation and allows for the reader to identify with the people.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Profusion of Details: Lacking Significance
Comment: This book is so densely packed with miniscule details and examples that the information's
significance becomes blurred, if not obsolete. The authors show they are very knowledgable on the
subject, but they fail to analyze the information they present. The reader is left to interpret the
meaning of details and ponder why they are included. The authors also use repetitive examples that
become tiring and ineffective. The only minutely important information is presented in the topic
sentences of each paragraph, and the book can be reasonably well understood just by reading the
introductory sentences. While this book could be a treasure house for someone researching the
relationship between manors and their respective villages, the average reader's attention is never
captured. Students, beware! Before embarking on an excruciatingly dull explaination of medieval
village life, reconsider your other options of reading material. (One option is another book by
these authors that has gotten better reveiws.)

Customer Rating:

Summary: So good I bought it.
Comment: Years ago I checked this book out of the library. I bought a copy the day the book was returned to
the library. I have used it so much for my research that it is now held together with tape and glue.
(I am a published author of short fantasy stories that have as their framework some of the
information on village life from this book.) Thanks are due to these fine people for opening up the
past to our modern eyes.

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