Customer Reviews

The Goodman of Paris (Le Menagier de Paris): A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by A Citizen of Paris, c.1393

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"The Goodman of Paris" is a good representation of LATE fourteenth century life in Paris. The work is written by a gentleman (not a noble) of Paris as a guide for his fifteen year old wife; morality, cooking, etc... This work does not represent the great noble houses of the same time period and is not indicative of the Middle Ages as a whole, it is a snap shot into the life of a 14th century household in Paris.

The caveat of this work is that it is incomplete. The section of selection of servants and horses is not included (the author notes this in the end notes of the book). For a complete work, I highly recommend "The Good Wife's Guide (Le Menagier de Paris): A Medieval Household Book" that was published this year (2009). It is the most complete version in English.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in daily life in the medieval era. Written by a gentleman as an instruction book for his much younger wife, it is a guide to moral conduct and contains instructions on how to run and maintain a medieval household. Provides insight into the medieval mind and helps to cast aside the modern belief that the medieval woman had no significant role in society aside from making babies.

This book gives you a little glimpse of what people ate in a typical home in Paris at the latter end of the 14th Century. What did they eat and why? You will see lenten foods and discussions on how things should be done.

This was written for a new bride (One can only assume the Groom did not have female family members she could work with) and it gives you a glimpse into the past.

Absolutely Awesome Source on how people lived in Medieval Paris a jewel of a book.