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Lost Country Life
Page edges tanned, bookseller's marks. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.
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First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 8, 2015
I'm not even crazy about medieval times - but I loved this book. Dorothy Hartley is s m a r t. She knows you need a hook and an anchor to get and keep a reader, and she did it for me with her method of organizing the information. She used a poem to create a story-frame for the information to construct itself on. And so clever! - a poem about The Work of the Year, so we have each month opened by a selected part of the poem "Thomas Tusser: His Good Points of Husbandry". January begins with these lines -
"When Christmas is ended, bid feasting adieu,
go play the good husband, thy stock to renew.
Be mindful of rearing, in hope of a gain,
dame profit shall give thee reward for thy pain.
Who breaketh up, timely, his fallow or ley,
sets forward his husbandry, many a way:
This tilth in a tilture, well forward doth bring,
not only thy tillage, but all other thing."
The chapter goes on to describe the kind of farming that was done, the kind of land that was available, and what would have been happening in that month - Common Pasture, Mountain Pasture, The Saltings or Marsh Lands, Water Meadows, Land Meadows, Field Names, In and Out Fields, Ponds and Water, 'Camping", Grass, Weeds, Use of Hay, Lambing. If that all sounds unutterably boring, too bad for you, get thee hence from this review. It turns out that Medieval ways and methods were far more diverse and eclectic and weirdly interesting than many of the ones we have now.
For instance.
"In mediaeval cities cows were driven around and milked at the door of the customer."
This is a practice I wish we had still. Can you imagine? Fresh milk, with the foam on the top. Sheer magic. It might stress the cow a bit though.
And then there's the language. We call a bunch of sheep a "flock". back then it was more complicated.
"The hirsel, the herd, or the flock, all denote different groups. A flock is just a lot of sheep; a herd is a lot of sheep of the same breed; a hirsel is much larger, and more mixed than a herd and is sometimes an entire breeding settlement."
(Okay, that might not be electrifying - I admit, it's partly the words themselves that interest me.)
Regarding words, here's a sentence that gives me great happiness -
"Workers valued volume and made all manner of wooden shawms and sharamells, capable of bassoon-like bellowings."
I won't tell you what that's about - read it for yourself, you silly.
I realize that I sound like a complete fool. I can't help it. Reading this book (and the other one, Ruth Goodman's "How to be a Victorian") has made me see that the past is like Mars, completely alien, weird, and thrilling in a horrific way. It's more ugly and more beautiful than I imagined.
Only one more thing - I love this. (It's describing newly shorn fleece.)
"The fleeces were still alive and warm. Each fleece was ivory white, and if the summer night was cold after a hot day, a mist, like the bloom on fruit, clouded the wool, and the cooling fleeces stirred slightly all night through. Most live materials have tension. The fibers of wool, in tension, are locked together like the plume of a bird's feather, and in an old wool-room you could hear the fleeces stirring; a faint sound like soft breathing."
*shakes head in wonder*
It's a great book. I am so impressed with Dorothy Hartley. Highly recommended.
"When Christmas is ended, bid feasting adieu,
go play the good husband, thy stock to renew.
Be mindful of rearing, in hope of a gain,
dame profit shall give thee reward for thy pain.
Who breaketh up, timely, his fallow or ley,
sets forward his husbandry, many a way:
This tilth in a tilture, well forward doth bring,
not only thy tillage, but all other thing."
The chapter goes on to describe the kind of farming that was done, the kind of land that was available, and what would have been happening in that month - Common Pasture, Mountain Pasture, The Saltings or Marsh Lands, Water Meadows, Land Meadows, Field Names, In and Out Fields, Ponds and Water, 'Camping", Grass, Weeds, Use of Hay, Lambing. If that all sounds unutterably boring, too bad for you, get thee hence from this review. It turns out that Medieval ways and methods were far more diverse and eclectic and weirdly interesting than many of the ones we have now.
For instance.
"In mediaeval cities cows were driven around and milked at the door of the customer."
This is a practice I wish we had still. Can you imagine? Fresh milk, with the foam on the top. Sheer magic. It might stress the cow a bit though.
And then there's the language. We call a bunch of sheep a "flock". back then it was more complicated.
"The hirsel, the herd, or the flock, all denote different groups. A flock is just a lot of sheep; a herd is a lot of sheep of the same breed; a hirsel is much larger, and more mixed than a herd and is sometimes an entire breeding settlement."
(Okay, that might not be electrifying - I admit, it's partly the words themselves that interest me.)
Regarding words, here's a sentence that gives me great happiness -
"Workers valued volume and made all manner of wooden shawms and sharamells, capable of bassoon-like bellowings."
I won't tell you what that's about - read it for yourself, you silly.
I realize that I sound like a complete fool. I can't help it. Reading this book (and the other one, Ruth Goodman's "How to be a Victorian") has made me see that the past is like Mars, completely alien, weird, and thrilling in a horrific way. It's more ugly and more beautiful than I imagined.
Only one more thing - I love this. (It's describing newly shorn fleece.)
"The fleeces were still alive and warm. Each fleece was ivory white, and if the summer night was cold after a hot day, a mist, like the bloom on fruit, clouded the wool, and the cooling fleeces stirred slightly all night through. Most live materials have tension. The fibers of wool, in tension, are locked together like the plume of a bird's feather, and in an old wool-room you could hear the fleeces stirring; a faint sound like soft breathing."
*shakes head in wonder*
It's a great book. I am so impressed with Dorothy Hartley. Highly recommended.
May 11, 2019
I read this book many years ago.
It's a fascinating look at lives in the 16th century in particular the rural life.
I still have my copy and pick it up every now and then to re-read a bit.
It's a fascinating look at lives in the 16th century in particular the rural life.
I still have my copy and pick it up every now and then to re-read a bit.
July 6, 2020
Really interesting, contains a TON of information you aren’t likely to find elsewhere. Author clearly knows her stuff. Great for niche trivia or as a reference for medieval-early 20th century english agriculture. My only complaint is that Hartley tends to ramble and will switch topics mid-paragraph with absolutely NO explanation or segue.
June 15, 2009
Anyone with an interest in medieval life or writing a fantasy-type novel will definitely benefit from this read. Dorothy Hartley tells a nonfiction tale of medieval farm life with lyrical prose with poems and diagrams from that time period.
May 6, 2021
For the purpose of context, British author Dorothy Hartley tells American readers “America begins where this book ends.”
“Lost Country Life” is an encyclopedic guide to how British life and trade evolved from Roman to medieval times. Seemingly no subject is left unmentioned and the origins of many phrases in use today are explained; “by hook or by crook” and “to give an inch” are examples.
I found this a very useful book for understanding farming methods of yore and why pubs and taverns are often called The fill-in-the-blank Arms. Fascinating reading!
“Lost Country Life” is an encyclopedic guide to how British life and trade evolved from Roman to medieval times. Seemingly no subject is left unmentioned and the origins of many phrases in use today are explained; “by hook or by crook” and “to give an inch” are examples.
I found this a very useful book for understanding farming methods of yore and why pubs and taverns are often called The fill-in-the-blank Arms. Fascinating reading!
May 11, 2018
This was a very informative read. I have had it on my shelf for awhile but it seemed a bit intimidating. It actually was not. However, it is probably more useful as an encyclopedia or reference book than it is needed to be read straight through. I'll definitely be keeping this on a shelf close by when I'm writing my fantasy novels!
December 27, 2019
Going to get myself some guard geese now.
December 10, 2012
One of my favorite books to re-read is Dorothy Hartley's Food in England Food In England. Lost Country Life was written many years after, and is in a similar vein; a clear-eyed observation of human interaction with the natural world. Where Food in England was a collection of recipes, recollections and ways of life that were no more or quickly disappearing in 20th century Britain, Lost Country Life is a month by month accounting of life for one medieval farmer, a window into the world he and his family lived in. Animal husbandry, farming and business practices, the endless, multilayered job of maintaining a household are all covered in Hartley's warm but level-headed style.
Ultimately I didn't get as hooked into this book as much as 'Food'; she's tackling a wide range of experiences here and so it felt more diffused. But it helped me appreciate that life was as complex (if not more so) half a millennium ago as it is now.
Ultimately I didn't get as hooked into this book as much as 'Food'; she's tackling a wide range of experiences here and so it felt more diffused. But it helped me appreciate that life was as complex (if not more so) half a millennium ago as it is now.
August 22, 2007
Fascinating fiber information, but when I got to the animal husbandry and farming I was a little out of my league. A lot of British vocabulary that lost me as well.
December 14, 2010
Sometimes a little random, but lots of interesting information about the way people lived in England between about 1300 and 1600.
March 29, 2011
This is a great resource for anyone who is interested in writing fantasy in a rural setting.
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August 9, 2011Invaluable guide to England's rural past.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews