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Life and Work in Medieval Europe
Erudite yet readable work traces the economic evolution of Europe from 5th to 15th century. Focusing on working people, it covers breakup of feudal estates, development of small craft industries and large capitalist enterprises, rise of wage laborers, development of technical advances in industry and agriculture, rise of international commerce and finance.
- GenresHistory
394 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1921
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 3, 2024
The only real value in this work is as a preserved relic of what used to be considered acceptable scholarship. The amount of racism, classicism, and sophistry present would likely surprise a lot of modern readers.
Said differently, if you played a drinking game based on how often “barbaric/barbarism” was used, you could have some liver problems about a third of the way in.
I would also argue that the quality of the work was lacking above and beyond the above issues. The Black Death, which had a massive impact on labor (at a minimum, the “work” part of the title) is given about a page of discussion, and most of that is just recounting mortality statistics.
Other risible statements include the lower classes not caring about the quality of housing, being content with “simple” food, and benefiting from “low cost” clothing. Oh, and apparently Rome was an “equal” society - which would likely have come as a shock to the slaves, lower classes, and women in that society.
In the plus column, the author did go to some lengths to detail just how messed up and exploitative the feudal system was in many places. I also found the discussions of things like land reclamation and road building to be pretty interesting.
There are now far far better works on the subjects this book attempted to cover. It’s useful as a monument to what used to be acceptable scholarship, and there are some interesting points here and there, but it’s a work that deserves to be forgotten into obscurity.
Said differently, if you played a drinking game based on how often “barbaric/barbarism” was used, you could have some liver problems about a third of the way in.
I would also argue that the quality of the work was lacking above and beyond the above issues. The Black Death, which had a massive impact on labor (at a minimum, the “work” part of the title) is given about a page of discussion, and most of that is just recounting mortality statistics.
Other risible statements include the lower classes not caring about the quality of housing, being content with “simple” food, and benefiting from “low cost” clothing. Oh, and apparently Rome was an “equal” society - which would likely have come as a shock to the slaves, lower classes, and women in that society.
In the plus column, the author did go to some lengths to detail just how messed up and exploitative the feudal system was in many places. I also found the discussions of things like land reclamation and road building to be pretty interesting.
There are now far far better works on the subjects this book attempted to cover. It’s useful as a monument to what used to be acceptable scholarship, and there are some interesting points here and there, but it’s a work that deserves to be forgotten into obscurity.
January 17, 2021
Life and work in medieval Europe is well... Life and work in medieval Europe
As far as history books go, I found it pretty interesting. Talks a lot about the economy but also mentions things about society during those times. Although a majority of it is taken up by talk of the economy as well as the development of businesses during those times. Covers a time frame between 5th to 15th century and helps make a clearer image of what it was like back then
As far as history books go, I found it pretty interesting. Talks a lot about the economy but also mentions things about society during those times. Although a majority of it is taken up by talk of the economy as well as the development of businesses during those times. Covers a time frame between 5th to 15th century and helps make a clearer image of what it was like back then
November 28, 2019
Well, the book is a product of it's time. The way the Germans are mentioned is outright reference to barbarism and being uncivilized. The only excuse I might find acceptable for this is that the author has twice seen the German army march through his country, including once less than a decade prior. Still, I shudder to think if he had discussed Muslims. He seems to switch between saying the rich exploit the poor and saying they're greedy. He tries to hide the fact that he's very partial to France since he's French, and for the most part he does, but it still shows. I suppose this is understandable, especially considering how much American historians buy into American exceptionalism.
My biggest criticism is that the book doesn't really tell a story. It mentions very few specific people, and instead has lots of numbers. It is useful, but I prefer a story to read. It's also very generalized, but it is a thousand years of history on an entire continent in 300 pages.
So, I'd say this is a book to read to see where the historiography of the period was, but to get a more accurate picture, there are better, more recent books.
My biggest criticism is that the book doesn't really tell a story. It mentions very few specific people, and instead has lots of numbers. It is useful, but I prefer a story to read. It's also very generalized, but it is a thousand years of history on an entire continent in 300 pages.
So, I'd say this is a book to read to see where the historiography of the period was, but to get a more accurate picture, there are better, more recent books.
April 1, 2009
This one is a total waste of time. Simplistic and irritating. Read the Gies' books. They are much better.
June 30, 2011
Life in the Middle Ages was hard but many advances were being made. It was definately a class society, but someworks of art and engineering were developed during this period.
August 29, 2012
An interesting read, particularly if you're looking to trace the history of the American economy, before the United States was ever born.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews