A Parisian Journal, 1405-1449

by Janet Shirley

France was the scene of continual strife in the first half of the fifteenth century. Beset by English armies and their Burgundian allies, interminable conflict brought the French to near ruin. Paris suffered along with the rest: famine, want, crime and rioting culminating with the insult of an English occupation of the city between 1420 and 1436. The hardship of these dark times was captured by an anonymous eyewitness who noted everything in a highly detailed journal. This fascinating book gives a remarkable glimpse into life in the city during the Hundred Years' War and is a frank and immediate account of the misfortunes of the capital's citizens. Evidently a figure of authority and intelligence, our eyewitness guides us through political events, gossip and rumour to matters of everyday importance. He records the weather; the price of corn and want of bread; the evils of the soldiery and suffering of the poor; and, inevitably, the bad faith of the great and the good. He notes the arrival of gypsies, jots down popular songs and stories and recounts the visitations of the plague. He ponders Joan of Arc and reflects on the horrendous cooking of the English occupiers. Above all, his account is rich in anecdote and serves as a splendid source for any modern reader interested in the trials and tribulations of medieval life.

Genres: History

418 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968