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The Middle Ages
Examines daily life in the Middle Ages, covering such aspects as chivalry, the great cathedrals, medieval technology, country life, and pilgrimages.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 17, 2025
Same cover as the paperback.
This is a good, if dry, account of life in the Middle Ages and how things evolved from then to more like the life we enjoy today. I mostly read this to have a better perspective of why the setting is so popular for high fantasy stories, but I think it's still mostly the simpler concepts and social structures: The king is at the top, lords in the middle, knights below the lords, and peasants at the bottom (with women and slaves subservient at every level). Plus, you want something, you just go take it by force, whether food (hunting) or land (war).
The more modern the setting, the more complicated things get: a lot of books I read when I was younger, set in a period generally between the 1930s(?) and 1990s, would be less impactful or at least ring differently in the age of GPS, smartphones, and WiFi—for instance, almost any young person would have at least SOME kind of internet access, even if it's just "go to a library and use the internet there for free" rather than be stumped because they don't know where or whether there's a Great-Aunt Cilla in Bridgeport, say.
Still, I find myself actually bored reading the book, as well-researched as it seems to be (not that I spent a lot of time fact-checking, since that's even MORE like homework than just reading), since I don't find the "rather be a big fish in a small pond than a little fish in a big pond, even if bigger as the little fish" mindset that appealing; even the poorest contemporary person is better off by far than the richest royal in the Middle Ages! I personally would probably already be dead at my age had I been born in the Middle Ages, much less enjoying the rich (but actually modest) life I have now. So reading about how things were then just make me that much more appreciative of current times. I can't understand who would want to "go back" to that time, especially the ones who somehow think they would be kings/queens instead of the much more likely peasants/slaves.
Good read for younger readers interested in the Middle Ages. Still a lot like homework, though.
This is a good, if dry, account of life in the Middle Ages and how things evolved from then to more like the life we enjoy today. I mostly read this to have a better perspective of why the setting is so popular for high fantasy stories, but I think it's still mostly the simpler concepts and social structures: The king is at the top, lords in the middle, knights below the lords, and peasants at the bottom (with women and slaves subservient at every level). Plus, you want something, you just go take it by force, whether food (hunting) or land (war).
The more modern the setting, the more complicated things get: a lot of books I read when I was younger, set in a period generally between the 1930s(?) and 1990s, would be less impactful or at least ring differently in the age of GPS, smartphones, and WiFi—for instance, almost any young person would have at least SOME kind of internet access, even if it's just "go to a library and use the internet there for free" rather than be stumped because they don't know where or whether there's a Great-Aunt Cilla in Bridgeport, say.
Still, I find myself actually bored reading the book, as well-researched as it seems to be (not that I spent a lot of time fact-checking, since that's even MORE like homework than just reading), since I don't find the "rather be a big fish in a small pond than a little fish in a big pond, even if bigger as the little fish" mindset that appealing; even the poorest contemporary person is better off by far than the richest royal in the Middle Ages! I personally would probably already be dead at my age had I been born in the Middle Ages, much less enjoying the rich (but actually modest) life I have now. So reading about how things were then just make me that much more appreciative of current times. I can't understand who would want to "go back" to that time, especially the ones who somehow think they would be kings/queens instead of the much more likely peasants/slaves.
Good read for younger readers interested in the Middle Ages. Still a lot like homework, though.
November 27, 2011
nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@&nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$%
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews