Life in a Medieval Village by Gies

Life in a Medieval Village by Gies

Reissued for the first time in decades, Frances and Joseph Gies's classic bestseller on life in medieval villages

In Life in a Medieval Village, acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies reveal what life was actually like in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the village of Elton, in the English East Midlands, the Gieses detail the agricultural advances that made communal living possible and the social and economic divisions that separated lord from serf that made life so difficult for so many. Life in a Medieval Village takes modern readers through every aspect of day-to-day life, describing the villagers' diet (centered around a bland stew called pottage lacking in nutrients), how they harvested crops, and the central role of the church in maintaining social harmony. We learn the clothes villagers wore, their (sometimes lacking) standards of personal hygiene, and the bizarre treatments they devised for a variety of medical maladies. But it wasn't all bad: the medieval village was one of the first functional modern societies, and its surprisingly advanced legal system and code of conduct helped lay the groundwork for contemporary civilization.

Though the main focus is on Elton, circa 1300, the Gieses supply general historical context for the origin, development, and decline of the European village. Meticulously researched and vividly told, Life in a Medieval Village illustrates the captivating world of the Middle Ages and demonstrates what life was like during a fascinating--and often misunderstood--era.

Contributor Biography - French Ecrivains et historiens, Frances Gies (1915-2013) et Joseph Gies (1916-2006) ont ecrit plus de vingt ouvrages sur le Moyen Age, dont beaucoup ont ete des best-sellers. Ont ete traduits aux Belles Lettres: La Vie dans un chateau medieval (2018), La Vie dans une ville medievale (2019), et La Vie dans un village medieval (2020).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780060920463
ISBN 10	0060920467
Title	Life in a Medieval Village
Author	Gies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Year published	1991-01-30
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.