Customer Reviews

Daily Life in Chaucer's England (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)

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This book will take you right away in what life raelly was in Medieval England. It covers all social classes and let you know the differences between them, not only on wealth amount, but also on diet, pastimes and clothing. It also contains some clothing patterns and recipes of the time.After you read it, you'll be able to understand the mentality of these people and how it is reflected in their literature.

This is a good book as a general introduction to the mid-late 14th century. It is well organised with a nice assortment of information to get you started on the wonderful road of re-enactment.

This book is a well presented look at medieval life in the late 14C. I doesn't dwell for long on any particular subject, so if you need more in depth information on a subject you will need another moe specific book to compliment this one. It does however, touch on, as the title implies, the things that everyday people did, most books are either about the nobility or the combat, great for the high medieval re-enactor.

Having trudged through literally dozens of books on the fourteenth century, it was delightfully refreshing to read _Daily Life in Chaucer's England_. I do Medieval Re-creation in my spare time, and found this one of the best resources in print. No more searching through dozens of books to find what a peasant's shoes look like, or what a wealthly merchant would be wearing. From the Lord's Prayer in Latin and Olde English, to the rules for a medieval version of backgammon, this book has it all. With just enough detail to give a thorough idea of the times, and a detail bibliography, this book should be the launch pad for anyone interested in the fourteenth century

This second edition reflects more recent research, has more illustrations, and includes lively, contemporary quotes. It provides a scholarly, very readable background for anyone interested in this period of the later Middle Ages. There are hands-on sections for those interested in in making clothes or creating an authentic medieval meal - from pork dumplings to Hippocras. In passing a number of myths - such as the percentage of women dying in childbirth, or early marriage ages -are demolished. All is not serious; there is a contemporary description of a knight overheating in his armor and dying. This sending me back to re-reading the Canterbury Tales with greater enjoyment.

Disclaimer; the reviewer is related to he author, but stands by her comments

This is most probably the most definitive volume describing the daily life and routines of the masses, and clergy, the nobility,and the reality of their daily grind, to life, especially in his prose,being a lesser government functionary,a building inspector, he was familiar with all walks of life, and incorporated the attitudes and foibles of them in his tales. Great book.