Customer Reviews

Lady in Medieval England

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This book is a remarkable piece of scholarship. Coss
never makes a claim that he can't give solid examples
for. It is extremely insightful in the 'real' life,
and looks at real women's lives, not just popular
lore. It's detailed nature can be slightly hard to
'get into', but if one keeps reading, it is yields
fascinating information and becomes immensely
engrossing!

This excellent book is best read as a pair with his previous, equally good _The Knight in Medieval England_ (1996). A knight must have a lady, but while many books have been written about medieval women, few have focused on the knight's female counterpart in society. Again, emphasis is on the aristocracy, since that's where the records are, though Coss depends heavily on surviving letters and contemporary literature as well as household accounts, and he even employs such sources as monumental effigies and brasses. Both books are stimulating studies with many examples drawn from noble families of the period.