Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction

by Danièle Cybulskie

HAVE YOU EVER FOUND yourself watching a show or reading a novel and wondering what life was really like in the Middle Ages? What did people actually eat? Were they really filthy? And did they ever get to marry for love?In Life in Medieval Fact and Fiction, you’ll find fast and fun answer to all your secret questions, from eating and drinking to sex and love. Find out whether people bathed, what they did when they got sick, and what actually happened to people accused of crimes. Learn about medieval table manners, tournaments, and toothpaste, and find out if people really did poop in the moat.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Historical

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 8, 2021

About the author

Danièle Cybulskie is a historian, author, TEDx speaker, and medieval coach, who has been sharing her love of the Middle Ages with readers worldwide for over a decade. Her book, The Five-Minute Medievalist, debuted at #1 on Amazon’s Canadian charts (Western History), and her featured articles at Medievalists.net, as well as in several international magazines, have reached over half a million readers, and counting.

A former college professor, Danièle worked as the subject matter expert on OntarioLearn’s The Middle Ages and the Modern World: Facts and Fiction, now being offered at nine Ontario colleges. She earned her MA in English literature from the University of Toronto, where she specialized in medieval literature and Renaissance drama. Her mission is to make history fun, entertaining, and engaging, and to draw attention to our shared human nature across the centuries. When she’s not reading or writing, Danièle can be found drinking tea, practicing archery, or sometimes building a backyard trebuchet.

Reviews

[verbava · Rating 3 out of 5]

непоганий вступ до середньовічного повсякдення, який мені особливо подобається наголосом на тому, що середньовічні люди були чистіші й ліпше пахли, ніж а) ми думаємо; б) наступні покоління: As with many distasteful habits that are popularly referred to as ‘medieval’, you’re much more likely to find advice on getting ‘clean’ by wiping with linen – not bathing – beginning in the sixteenth century. It was Early Modern people who began to avoid bathhouses for fear of disease, especially syphilis and plague.

і це була б зовсім хороша книжка, якби не.

перше «якби не» – це обмаль прикладів і брак пояснень для тих прикладів, які є. скажімо, цибульські пише про воєнні звичаї: Contrary to popular belief, people did not just throw down their weapons the second someone captured a king: battles were fought to the bitter, bloody end, as the recently discovered body of Richard III bears witness. Medieval people were not playing with sticks and stones, and they were not always noble; they were fighting to the death, and they did whatever they needed to do in order to make it out alive. чим і про що свідчить річардове тіло, читачка так і не довідується. може, просто треба уважніше стежити за новинами британської медієвістики.

друге «якби не» – це дрібні неточності, наприклад, про святу катерину александрійську, whose body was broken on a wheel, хоча насправді (тобто за легендою – однією з найвідоміших легенд про ранньохристиянських мучениць) трапилося не так: колесо, на якому святу збиралися стратити, розлетілося на друзки, і їй довелося відрубувати голову. потім ангели перенесли катеринине тіло на синай (кажуть, дорога забрала два тижні – ангельська кур'єрська служба оперативністю не вирізняється, вочевидь).

третє й найбільше «якби не» – це страшне бажання лаятися на людину, яка викладає курси про факти й вигадки щодо середньовіччя і розвінчує міфи, але пише, що церква забороняла розтини (тому з медициною було так собі). і їй, мабуть, подобається про це розповідати, бо про заборону розтинів у тексті згадано тричі. ну тобто я готова визнати, що в якомусь сенсі так і було: приблизно в тому самому, як держава сьогодні забороняє вам узяти перший-ліпший труп і влаштувати йому розтин на кухонному столі. навряд чи це прописували так само суворо, як у сучасних законах, but it was definitely frowned upon. але проти бальзамувань, для яких покійників розрізали, ніхто нічого не мав, розтини в межах розслідувань відбувалися (іноді їх замовляли самі церковні ієрархи), а статути медичних університетів (де вчилися самі клірики) вимагали від студентів присутності на одному розтині щороку. не таємниця, звідки береться цей міф (звідти само, що й міф про те, що церква забороняла науку загалом), але велика загадка, чому його поворюють ніби адекватні медієвісти.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...

I thought that this book was excellent!

I loved the length of the chapters and the snippets of information and detail that the author shared, it was a fun and really easy read that was packed full of useful facts.  I do love books like this and they give you the opportunity to be able to go off and do further reading around topics if you want too. 

It was well researched and the author clearly knows her topic and it shone through in the book and I loved that it had a more informal style.  I love a good reference guide and this was excellent and one that will be kept on my bookcase for years to come!

It is 5 stars from me for this one, I really enjoyed it and it is a recommended read for me for those interested in medieval history - very highly recommended!

[ConstantReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect if you want to have a list of quick but well-researched facts about the Middle Ages. Have you ever wondered how often medieval people bathed? Or what courtship looked like? This book answers many questions without being too heavy. It's a quick fact-sheet based on the author's experience as professor and writer. A joy to read. Highly recommended.

[Natasha Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting and short read! I loved how this book was separated the chapters into different topics and then the chapters were divided into answering different questions. Definitely taught me a lot of facts I hadn’t heard before and changed my perspective on the medieval period. This was a fun read!

[Heidi Malagisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book, either historical fiction or nonfiction, about medieval Europe and wondered if what the author was writing about was true? What about historical movies or dramas? You know that they probably have the facts about the important people and events correct, or at least you hope, but you wonder about the small details. What did they eat? How did they keep themselves clean and healthy? How did religion and the criminal justice system work in medieval Europe? What was medieval warfare like? These questions and more are explored in Daniele Cybulskie’s enchanting book, “Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction”.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. I have spoken with Daniele Cybulskie on social media in the past about quite a few medieval topics, including when she spoke at the Tudor Summit, so when I heard about this book, I wanted to read it.

Cybulskie’s book is divided into chapters that explore numerous topics about average medieval life. As a reader, one would think that this book would begin with the birth and childhood of those who lived during this time. However, Cybulskie chooses to begin with how medieval people kept themselves and their cities clean. It may seem a bit strange compared to other books about medieval life, but the way she structures this book works in Cybulskie’s favor. Although this book is informative, it feels like you are having a casual conversation with the author about these topics.

By dividing the chapters into topic-based chapters, Cybulskie can explore numerous questions that fit into each topic. From cleanliness to religious life, warfare to pastimes, love to death, she can give her readers an experience that covers the thousand years of history that make up the medieval time period. Along the way, she includes little boxes that contain fun little factoids to provide even more trivia.

What is great about Cybulskie is that as a medievalist, she understands that there was a lot of diversity in the medieval world. It was not just fit European Christians. There were also Jews, Muslims, people with disabilities, rich and poor, and those who generally did not fit well into society. By including every type of person who lived in the medieval world, we can get a better understanding of how vast and colorful it truly was. Cybulskie also includes a simplistic overview of events like the Black Death and the crusades to show the dramatic and damaging effects that they had on medieval society as a whole.

To say that this book was fun to read would be an understatement. Cybulskie’s knowledge radiates in every page of this short book. I honestly did not want to stop reading this book, I wanted to learn more. It was educational and entertaining all at the same time. Simply a wonderful resource for novice medievalists and writers of historical fiction and nonfiction alike. If you want to learn the truth about different aspects of medieval life, I highly suggest you include, “Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction” by Daniele Cybulskie, to your book collection.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really solid, easily digested book of facts about Medieval Europe. It’s a great entry point for anyone want to learn about this time period in Europe. The author does a great job of illustrating how varied and colorful the Middle Ages were, and still can be.

[Olga Miret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thank Rosie Croft from Pen & Sword for providing me an ARC paperback copy of this non-fiction book that I freely chose to review.
We all have some image in our minds of the Middle Ages. We’ve read novels and/or historical texts, watched movies and TV series, visited castles, churches and cathedrals of the period, and imagined what it must have been like. Images of a king sitting at his throne, knights fighting in tournaments, princesses being courted, minstrels, big banquets, mixed with the Black Death, dirt, ignorance, religious intransigence, torture and violence. It can be difficult to disentangle truth from fiction, but the author of this book, Danièle Cybulskie, does a great job of covering a wide range of topics and dispelling many of the myths and misconceptions about the era within a fairly small volume.
The book is divided into seven chapters: A dirty little secret (about hygiene, cleanliness, and the disposal of waste); Farming, fasting, feasting (about food, diets, drinks…); the Art of love (sex, marriage, LGBTQIA, contraceptives, childhood); Nasty and brutish (about battles, combats, the justice system, torture, weapons, slavery…); the Age of faith (about religious belief, pilgrimages, convents and monasteries, Christianity and other religions); In Sickness and in health (about doctors, midwives and healers, treatments [more or less scientific], women’s medicine, Black Death…), and Couture, competition, and courtly love (about people’s clothing, entertainment, sports, games, reading materials…). The author also includes ‘a final word’ where she reminds us of how varied the life of the people in that era would have been (after all, it was a very long period, over a thousand years), and encourages us to think of them as people in their own right, as varied, individual and interesting as we are.
The text also includes a set of images, colour photographs of locations, objects, and manuscripts (many from the British Library, gorgeous), a bibliography (books, articles, and websites), a section of notes with details about the sources of information the author has used for each chapter, an index, and her personal acknowledgements.
This is an easy book to read from cover to cover, and can also be used as a general resource, to dip in and out of, for people interested in the period. It offers a good overview and plenty of information for the casual reader. I don’t think experts will find anything new here, but it is a solid entry level volume for those looking for an introduction to the history of the period, and it offers advice on other resources for those who might want to study any of the topics covered in more detail. I was particularly intrigued by the mention of the medical treatments and treatises in use, and enjoyed learning about a society that was far more varied and complex than we generally give it credit for.
Here a brief quote from the chapter on the age of faith, commenting on the role of convents on some women’s lives.
Convents were places in which women’s learning was encouraged too, so that they could better understand holy texts. For many women who did not wish for a life of marriage and children, convents were a sanctuary in which they could spend their days learning and discussing theology… For these women, many of whom would have been literate, having lifelong access to a convent’s library must’ve seemed a heavenly option, indeed. (80-1)
In sum, this is a great book for people interested in Medieval Europe who are not looking for a historical text full of dates, battles, and royal dynasties, but rather want to get sense of what everyday life would have been like. A good resource for writers, amateur historians looking for further information, and a gift for those who enjoy a balanced and well-informed account of a historical period most of us don’t know as well as we think.

[Elena Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and lively summary of answers to the main questions any intelligent person might have about life in the Middle Ages. The answers are definitely geared toward us, the modern readers, and draws appropriate contrasts and connections between then and now. It also busts many myths that we have been taught in school or picked up from books and movies. Very helpful place to start if you’re interested in the time period - and you should be because it’s absolutely fascinating!

[Catarina Zidde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads easily, well researched and so interesting. recommend it to everyone who likes medieval stuff!!

[Kirstine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty decent place to start for people who are curious about, well, life in Medieval Europe and know absolutely nothing to start with (like me).

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

TFW you’ve been playing a lot of Crusader Kings and are obsessed with historically accurate role playing possibilities like a nerd.

[Sandra Huerta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well documented facts, easy to read and very entertaining. Just didn’t like the illustrations at the middle of the book and not in their context chapter.

[Prima Agustina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this. History wasn't my favorit subject in school, but i bet i would have different opinion if my text book was written like this.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining, informative and fast read. Medieval people were mostly just living more or less like we do now., working, living with their families, and trying to make their way in life.

[Andrew Clay Pauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5:

5 out of the seven chapters were outstanding! 2 of them were a bit, meh. It would have been nice to have included why historians generally don't use the word "feudalism" anymore. I wonder if the author knows of this debate or not. There's a pretty accessible summary of it in the Medieval Sourcebooks.fordham.edu; a website she cites quite frequently... (edit: apparantly this has only been accepted by many American but not Continental Medievalists. To my understanding, there is no concrete consensus on the matter.)

Still, the info on cleanliness, medicine, courtly love, games, food, clothing, literacy, persecution, and tolerance, is great! Overall, this is a good introduction to the Middle Ages. Myths of the "lord's first night" are put to rest, and one gets a very colorful view of Medieval Europe.

I felt the info on the Fourth Lateran Council and how it effected Jews could have been more precise. Plus I would have liked some stuff said about the "rough tolerance" of the Crusader States. Still, the info is meant to be pretty general, and I like how she notes there was both tolerance and intolerance.

This is a great book. It reads like a fun professor's lecture. The stuff about wool, clothing, and fashion, was particularly informative.

The bibliography is amazing as well for those of us cursed with pursuing rabbit holes.

A must read for beginners, and a valuable read for specialists and enthusiasts alike!

[Scott Overton · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of what we were supposed to learn in History class, most of our views about the past and its people have been shaped by books, movies, and TV. Needless to say, much of that is sensationalized misinformation and outright fantasy. But if you have a genuine interest in learning about life in a bygone era, Life In Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction is a great place to look. Cybulskie has anticipated every question you're likely to ask about the Middle Ages, and the followup questions too, and answered them with both authority and humour. Cybulskie's prose is so natural and straightforward it feels like a conversation with a good friend. And while you compulsively turn the pages, she weaves a rich tapestry of facts and trivia that will open your eyes and put a smile on your face.
A treasure for writers, history buffs, and those who simply have curious minds, Life In Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction will leave you with a new view of the people of the Middle Ages, and maybe even a greater understanding of the people of our age too.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

What comes first to mind when you think of Europe in the Middle Ages? Unending violence and unspeakable tortures? Babies and young children dying so often that parents would never dare to love them? Medical and surgical procedures so barbaric that ill or wounded people would have been better off without any treatment at all? If this is your conception of life in Europe then, you might devote two or three hours to reading medievalist Danièle Cybulskie’s breezy little medieval social history, Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction. In just 144 pages, she’ll disabuse you of these and many other modern misconceptions about the period.

AN EMPHASIS ON THE SECOND MILLENNIUM
First, a bit of context. The author subscribes to the standard definition of the period we’ve come to call the Middle Ages. Scholars tend to agree that it’s the thousand-year period from the year 500 CE, when Rome’s influence had sharply waned, to 1500 CE, when the Reformation and the Renaissance had ushered in the Early Modern Period. Of course, those periods only describe developments in Europe. The dividing lines and the term “the Middle Ages” have little meaning in the history of other parts of the world.

In Life in Medieval Europe, Cybulskie dwells largely on the High Middle Ages (1000 to 1300 CE) and the Late Middle Ages (1300 to 1500 CE). The distinction is significant because, modern stereotypes of stagnation notwithstanding, change was unrelenting throughout those thousand years. And the change accelerated beginning roughly around the year 1000 in all aspects of medieval life. Cybulskie’s one glaring fault is that she fails to acknowledge her emphasis on the later years of the period.

A SURVEY ENCOMPASSING PERSONAL HYGIENE TO FAITH, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
Life in Medieval Europe consists of seven chapters, with “a final word” on medieval social history. Each chapter deals with a subject such as personal hygiene, food, love and marriage, violence, faith, health and healthcare, and fashion. Along the way, Cybulskie debunks one misconception after another, asking and answering the questions that any curious person might pose about the period. Here are three examples:

“DID MEDIEVAL PEOPLE TAKE BATHS?”
In Cybulskie’s response to this question, she describes the bathhouses left behind by the Romans and others more recently built in the cities. City-dwellers frequented them (although sometimes for sex as well as cleanliness, as both men and women used the bathhouses). “People in rural areas bathed in lakes, rivers, and streams, and even the urban poor who were not able to afford a visit to the bathhouse tried to get clean when they could.” The fear of cleanliness we associate with medieval Europe came later, Cybulskie notes. “It was Early Modern Period people who began to avoid bathhouses for fear of disease, especially syphilis and the plague.” In other words, that fear of cleanliness we associate with the Middle Ages only developed later.

“WERE THE CITIES FILTHY?”
The author answers, “In a word, yes.” But don’t imagine people tossing the contents of their privies into the streets, as many seem to believe. That practice was frowned upon and could earn the household a fine. “Houses and shops often had their own latrines in the cellar or in the backyard . . . [and] public latrines were accessible to everyone.” Perhaps surprisingly, too, “some medieval cities, like London, had street cleaners on the payroll and regular garbage removal services for their citizens, just like today.” Surprised? I was.

“WHAT DID PEOPLE DRINK?”
The conventional wisdom about the Middle Ages is that nobody drank water, only ale, beer, mead, cider, and wine. Not true, Cybulskie asserts. Of course, they did drink all those things. But they drank water, too. “Everywhere in medieval Europe, people sank wells to provide themselves with the water they needed for drinking, cooking, washing, and watering gardens.” And “cities provided central fountains and wells for their citizens.” Although they did drink a lot of alcohol, “people often drank what is known as ‘small ale’ which was lower in alcoholic content, and they did water their wine.”

If the medieval period interests you—for instance, from reading the Cadfael Chronicles or other novels set during that era—you’re likely to learn a great deal from this intriguing little book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Danièle Cybulskie‘s website notes that “As a writer, professor, TEDx speaker, and podcaster, Danièle has been making the Middle Ages fun, entertaining, and accessible for over a decade. She is the author of How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life, Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction, and The Five-Minute Medievalist, which debuted at the top of Amazon’s Canadian charts. Through her featured articles at Medievalists.net, as well as those she’s written for several international magazines, Danièle’s work has reached over a million readers worldwide.

“Danièle is the creator and host of The Medieval Podcast, a weekly show on which she interviews experts on the Middle Ages about a wide variety of topics. Her writing, videos, and podcast have been used as resources in elementary schools, secondary schools, and universities across North America, including The Middle Ages and the Modern World: Facts and Fiction, a course she co-created for college students across Ontario via OntarioLearn.”

The references to Canada suggest that the author lives and works in Canada, but her website includes no personal information.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Life in Medieval Europe: Fact or Fiction" by Danièle Cybulskie is a readable and humorous book on everyday life in the Middle Ages. Cybulskie explores the preconceived notions on topics ranging from bathing and marriage to medicine and warfare. She includes a bibliography of selected sources, along with illustrations. The book was overall an enjoyable read and I will enjoy exploring some of the topics more closely.

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction for those with limited knowledge. Easy to read, well-written and informative. Split into sections on different aspects of medieval life and covering as much as possible in such an introductory text for such a large continent.

[Jancee Tabacnic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this made me think of all my hours spent playing nine men’s morris in the Assassin’s Creed games and made me want to play again!

Loads of interesting facts that I found myself reading aloud to my wife, who thought I was quite odd for reading a book of random facts about the Middle Ages.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting but most of the information in this book I have learned in my British lit 1, Chaucer, and my courtly love in the middle ages courses.

[Bogdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cum se trăia în Europa medievală? Adică, mai precis în partea occidentală a acesteia, care nu-și făcea prea multe probleme din cauza invadatorilor nomazi, ca tătarii, sau cu continua extindere a Imperiului urmașilor lui Osman Gazi. Și asta "doar" în destul de vasta perioadă de 1000 de ani, de la prăbușirea Romei până la completa prăbușire a Imperiului Roman, concentrat în actualul Istanbul.
Cu alte cuvinte, aceasta este o carte de generalități, de puncte comune, despre o zonă relativ restrânsă din Europa și de-a lungul unei lungimi de timp respectabile. Cu toate acestea, informațiile sunt corecte (conform actualelor dictoane academice), extrem de concentrate și cu o putere mare de alungare a miturilor medievale, precum eternele "cavalerii nu se puteau mișca în armură, toată lumea bea bere și vin că apa era prea murdară, toți aruncau fecalele pe geam, biserica ardea eretici în fiecare zi, medicina lor era practic anti-viață, credulitatea oamenilor medievali era la nivelul pueril și cruzimea lor era demonstrată de plăcerea cu care participau la execuțiile publice" și aș mai putea continua lista. Din acest punct de vedere, cartea este excelentă, autoarea pasionată de istorie, este și profesoară, are un podcast despre istorie medievală și nu este la prima sa carte pe acest subiect. Bibliografia este bine pusă la punct, afirmațiile care dezmint eternele mituri fiind temeinic documentate cu referiri la izvoarele vremii. Bineînțeles, dpdv profesional, academician, cartea nu poate satisface, fiind ținută pe loc de dimensiunea relativ restrânsă și de informațiile generale, dar este probabil cel mai bun manual anti-mituri medievale la momentul actual. Iar dacă mai mulți autori/realizatori de filme istorice ar citi-o, probabil am avea mai multe filme corecte dpdv istoric.

[Kathy Boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone with an interest in medieval life would enjoy this book. Many fascinating details are included on such day-to-day topics such as their diets, dating, life expectancy, religion, health, fashion, and entertainment. It’s set up in a question and answer format.

Some answered questions are, “Did medieval people take baths?”, “Weren’t all marriages arranged?, and “Did many people go on pilgrimages?”. As for eating turkey legs with bare hands as we do at Medieval Times, they did eat some foods this way, but there were no turkeys then. They originated from yet-undiscovered America.

Historical information covered the roles of the king, knights, serfs and vassals as well as the use of longbows, crossbows and trebuchets in defense of their castles. “Medieval people were not playing with sticks and stones, and they were not always noble; they were fighting to the death, and they did whatever they needed to do in order to make it out alive.” Black Plague was rampant in these times. It was not unusual for them to throw an infected, decapitated body over castle walls to infect those inside.

Medical care was basic at best and they had no concept of germs. Spider webs were used to cover wounds. “In addition to cutting your hair and removing troublesome limbs, barber-surgeons were also responsible for tooth-pulling and bloodletting.“ Leeches and maggots were a barber-surgeon’s allies when needed.

Setting aside political, religious and economic differences, medieval people wanted the same things for themselves and their loved ones as we do. An enjoyable read, recommended.

[Juanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who typically prefers the gratuitous feminine decoration of the Georgian era, I avoided medieval themed entertainment based on my own preconceived notion that it was miserable and dirty, and peasant life was dull and uninspiring. I picked up this book after watching Wolf Hall, because the show was so much less dramatic than most based in Henry VIII’s time, and showed people just being.. people. I began this book wanting to know about the basics of medieval life, and I ended up realising that medieval life and modern life really are more alike than I’d ever thought possible. This book gently applies empathy and context to lives I had never cared to think about. The book not only adds an element of humanity to an era that’s generalised as violent, but it compares and contrasts it with life today - and in some instances highlights the hypocrisy of viewing the medieval time as backward. There’s so many notes in each chapter that will make you immediately turn to the person beside you and say “did you know the reason we say this is because of THIS?!” It’s interesting, short, easy for an ADHD girl to read after a long day, and you’ll think more about yourself and why you do and say what you do.
This book is a factual and non-biased brief picture of life in those earlier, unappreciated times, and through its lens, truly is a love letter to our ancestors.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little book that covers a lot of ground, and tries to bust some myths about the Middle Ages. I would give it 5 stars, except for the fact that the author perpetuates the myth that Slavs (as in, Slavic peoples) are so named because so many of them were sold into slavery, by the Vikings, or others. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Slava" is "glory" in Russian, and in many other related languages, and many early rulers of Kievan Rus, Poland, Silesia, and other Slavic polities had names such as Boleslaw, Sviatoslav, Miroslawa, etc. Some of these predate the earliest Viking raids, and no one is going to name their child after slaves, least of all rulers and other important people. The word "slave" is translated "rab" into Russian, for example, so Slav would have no connection with "slave" to the tribes and people whose name was Slavs. Unless the author is suggesting that so many Slavs were sold into slavery by the Vikings, that the English, clear on the other side of Europe from the Slavs, picked out this self-name to mean "unfree". There were a lot more people that were sold as slaves by the Vikings and others in Europe, quite a few of them the English themselves, to make a connection from "Slav" to "slave" quite so simple and easy.

[Joanna Arman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book with short chapters on various subjects. I liked how it breaks down quite a complex subject into "bitesize" chunks. Not a book that would appeal to scholars, as such but certainly to the general reader with lots of relevant illustrations.

It would be a great book to give to budding historians or young history enthusiasts. Only one caveat though: there are a couple of historical errors.

One was that the author states John Wycliffe was executed for heresy. He wasn't. He died in his bed. His bones were dug up more than 2 decades after his death and his bones were burned, but unless you count that as an execution then that fact is wrong.

It was also repeatedly stated that the Medieval church banned human dissection, which was not in fact the case. This leads to the assumption that surgeons were basically butchers and physicians did a better job, but it was generally the other way around.

Thanks to Rosie Crofts at Pen and Sword for sending me a copy of this title. All opinions are freely expressed and my own.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been listening to Daniele Cybulskie's podcast- The Medieval Podcast- for several years, and I've been meaning to pick up some of her books. I thought this was a great little book debunking common stereotypes about the middle ages. This did a good job of introducing topics clarifying common misconceptions. It is not something I would use as a scholarly source (but it is not intended to be that way) but it offers a list of references and research.

If you want a good introduction to life in the Middle Ages, this is the book to start with!

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and clever read

This book speeds along, answering the questions that I and many others have asked about people during the Middle Ages. With great insights into things like the personal undergarments of the time, and what medieval tournaments actually were like, it’s obvious this author has done some extensive research and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it.
I finished it in a day, so definitely a quick read that’s hard to put down. I highly recommend it for everyone!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Although there were lots of interesting things, some observations were somewhat surprising. For instance, the author made a comment about how LGBTQ people were treated. That’s obvious, and it was a bit of a jolt to even see this in a book on the middle ages. It seemed pandering to me. The author seemed to have a bias against the church. I’m sure there are many books on medieval Europe that are much better.