Customer Reviews

Down the Common: A Year in the Life of a Medieval Woman

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One reviewer commented on the presence of "corn" in Marion's village, and pointed out that "corn" is a New World crop that would not have been present in England until the 17th century, but she's only partly correct.

Maize is a New World crop. The word "corn," when used by a British author, actually simply means "grain," which is probably wheat, or possibly another grain crop.

I am a medieval historian, and found the book quite realistic. I agree with the critical reviewer that it is possible or even probable that a woman like Marion would have had more experience with nearby markets, though I doubt how many of those would have had "traveling minstrels." As for the inability of the reader to ascertain the date of the book, I think that is actually quite telling and appropriate (and personally, I date the "beginning of the Middle Ages" to sometime in the 6th century or so!).

For those who would like a less fictionalized book about the experience of a woman in a medieval English village, I strongly recommend Judith Bennett's A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock.

This book, which details the life of an ordinary woman living in a remote, poor medieval village is extraordinary. I had it from the library, but I am buying a copy to send to my daughter who is in China for her Junior Year Abroad. I cannot remember when I last read a novel with such moving power, and one which I was so reluctant to end, for all that I stayed up until 2 am this morning to finish it. It is simply remarkable.

We learn only as much as Marion herself knows about her village and its communal life. It is certainly medieval, but she does not understand that years have dates, nor does she understand geography. From the internal evidence her nameless village seems to be in Kent, some time after the Norman invasion (1066) as is evidenced by the names, but probably before the beginning of the Hundred Years' War (circa 1340). My best guess is that it takes place in the thirteenth century, give or take a few decades.

In English medieval (and later) parlance, a "corn" was any grain kernel, not American maize. In Marion's village this is wheat - barley is called barley. I wish those whose knowledge of medieval Europe comes primarily from movies and romance novels would read actual history, so as not to mislead others through their ignorance.

Marion's village is remote, backward, and poor. Sir Hugh, the local landowner, is such minor gentry that he does not seem to be a knight. The village receives supplies from the outside world in return for its wool once a year, and the only other visitor it might have is a tinker who occasionally appears to mend broken pots, knives, and the like. It is tremendously difficult for modern people to understand how extremely isolated some places were, and how slow things were to change. Still, the first glimmerings of change appear in the village that year, which I will not mention as I do not wish to spoil the pleasure of new readers.

Marion herself is a wonderful creation; a fully actualized woman, with ideas of her own, skilled in housewifery, kind to others, but not a fool. She has a hard life, and she knows it, but she also has many pleasures, and is constantly aware of the beauty around her. John Wain, in his masterful biography of Samuel Johnson remarks that those of us who live after the Industrial Revolution can only imagine how physically beautiful England was, and Marion appreciates the world she knows. She has a strong attachment to her home village, and its people, even though she is quite clear-sighted about many of their faults. Seeing her year and her home through her eyes was a marvellous experience for me, and I am glad I had the chance.

Ann Baer's 'Down The Common' is one of the best anecdotal pieces of historical fiction I have read in a long time. A a former college instructor I long for more books like this to whet the interest of students today who often have no background and little patience with history. Her attention to detail overall is good and her books should be required reading for both students of history and for those who play characters in medieval Renaissance Faires, even if the time period is a bit later. A rattling good yarn!

This book chronicles a year in the life of a medieval village woman, bringing to life a time for which we have very little documentation. The author has woven a tapestry of family life which lets us see medieval life through the eyes of a serf rather than those of a nobleman. The book is a great find. I hated to finish it, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Middle Ages.

I am a student of Medieval history, and I understand that some people feel the need to make everything historical authentic to within an inch of its life. But, I believe that this is one of those novels that is excellent, despite a few anachronisms. Just shut off the part of your brain that says, "That's not what such-and-such wrote in his annals about rural life," and enjoy a good story with a very strong Medieval feel.

Every time has had people who live a day-to-day mundane life without respite. Try reading women's letters from the Victorian era if you think Marion's life is boring.
Not everyone had fairs, markets, pilgrims, and visitors. Even today, you are lucky if you find someone in my home town with cable TV. There will always be communities that are isolated, or even just a bit more out of touch than others.

Just stop over-analyzing and read the book.

Ann Baer's "Down the Common - A Year in the Life of a Medieval Woman" is a unique experience; here we are given an unvarnished account of the daily life of a lady of the middle ages that contains the profoundest beauty, and which manages to remind the reader of what the necessities of life really are. It is a harsh world at times, but one which simultanenously has us longing for its authenticity and simpler elements. The gratitude expressed for the appearance of the sun on a pleasant day, the ecstasy of a stolen bit of honey, the rainfall, fills the modern reader with the desire to penetrate to the core of real happiness - we are somehow reconnected to the essential joy(s) that attended the primeval and innocent world of Eden.

This book truly captures the essence of "life" in medieval times. It is not overly romantic as are many stories of this era, rather it offers insight into the daily activities and thoughts of an ordinary peasant woman. The physical, emotional and social challenges that she faces, while they take place in a time long ago, have relevance for our times today. Aside from the "story" of Marion and her perspective of her small world, the prose of the book is so well done, that the reader is able to see, smell, taste what life must have been like centuries ago. One could also sense the frustrations, the hopes, the joys, and fear of life for Marion. I finished the book with an appreciation for the life of this woman and for how far we have come since then.

Not a romanticized story with a plot of medieval politics, monks or kings. The reader never even learns the year of the story because the peasant woman from whose perspective the tale is told isn't aware of such things. Even life outside the confines of the 30-person village is unknown and therefore completely feared. Life was cold, tiring, perilous, and stinky. After reading this book, you'll gain great insight into what real life was like, but you'll never wish you lived then. A tough book to put down. The worst part is that it is so short, would that it were another 100- or 200-pages.

This book is written from the perspective of a medieval woman in a small village. It is well written and very readable. The descriptive words along with the small illustrations help your mind picture the way life was in those times. It was an eye-opener. I really enjoyed the book and was sorry when it ended.

I first read this book in 1997, it is still one of my favorites, and I have never come across anything quite like it again. I read for pleasure a great deal and enjoy fiction with some historical fact, that has a believable character I can relate to, and isn't just written in the same usual formula. For me, this book has stood the test of time.