Customer Reviews

Medieval People

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eileen Power's Medieval People sets out to study the Middle Ages not from the viewpoint of an Historical abstraction, but rather from that of the people who lived during the age. It is an account of six individuals who lived during the MA's; Bodo, a Frankish Peasant; Marco Polo, the famous Venetian merchant; Madame Eglentyne, prioress of Chaucer; an anonymous middle-class Parisian housewife; and two English merchants, one engaged in the wool trade and the other a clothier in Essex. The author has illustrated various aspects of social life of the era by drawing on such sources as account books, diaries, letters, records, and wills. She starts the work with a previously unpublished essay entitled "The Precursors," which describes the barbarian conquest of Rome. In this, she describes the lives of three men, Ausonius, Sidonius and Fortunatus and uses them to foreshadow the life that would re-emerge in the Middle Ages.
She starts by imagining a day in the life of the Peasant Bodo, in the time of Charlemagne. From her study of primarily economic documents from the Middle Ages of this time, she not only extrapolates but truly brings to life Bodo and his wife Ermentrude. From there, she goes on to the better documented life of Marco Polo, and also describes how he served as an inspiration for Columbus. Madam Eglentyne is next. Here, Power humorously details the inner workings of a gossipy nunnery and how Eglentyne would have gone about her life as an aristocratic women of God. She next details the life of a middle class Parisian housewife by studying the contents of the Menagier's Wife and validating many of it's points by citing other documents. She concludes by detailing the lives of the two Thomases; Betson and Paycocke of Coggeshall. Both are merchants and provide a chance for Power to really show off her grasp of medieval economics as well as an ability to compile disparate correspondences into a story of a life. This is a rare scholarly work that truly entertains while being read. One of the best books I've ever read.

Eileen Power studies the Middle Ages, not from an abstract historical point of view but from simple and real people and what we can know about them. I particularly like her study of Marco Polo, from his notes and diaries, which gives us a materialistic and realistic vision of what they saw of the world, and not what we want to see of what they saw. I also loved Madame Eglentyne, a prioress taken from Chaucer but at once identified to one particular prioress through real life archives and descriptions. A very interesting and useful book to enable us to capture the density of everyday life in the Middle Ages.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Wonderful scholarship in a most readable written style. Goes beyond institutions to discover real people of the "middle" ages.

A Medieval Home Companion: Housekeeping in the Fourteenth CenturySadly, what medieval history is taught in our high schools concentrates only on what the aristocracy did in England, with the occasional nod to Charlemagne. "Medieval People" succeeds in giving the reader a more balanced look, with sections on France, Italy, China, the Levant, in addition to Merrie Olde. I particularly enjoyed the section on Bodo and Ermentrude, peasants on an estate owned by a French monastery; and the section on The Householder of Paris. Instead of showing peasant life as merely nasty, brutish, and short, the author gives 3 dimensions to Bodo as he works for himself and the monks, how he and his wife spend their respective days (note: Ermentrude did NOT merely stay home and "raise the children"), their enjoyment of festivals and fairs, their relationships with other peasants and landlords, etc. The author's summary of the Householder of Paris' treatise on marriage to his young wife was concise and entertaining. Suggestion: If this section piques your interest, have a look at Tania Bayard's outstanding translation, "A Medieval Home Companion".

I cannot say more than what the other reviewers have said in their positive reviews about this book. The Middle Ages have always fascinated me, and I would recommend this little book highly to anyone who wants an introduction to that time period, without having to worry about Kings and Queens and dates of battles. While those are important--of course--the author emphasizes the lives of several people at different time periods during the Medieval era.
Thinking of how long the Medieval era lasted, depending on what source is followed, it could be from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance...this was not a static time period. Just like our own era there was constant change and a steady growth in science, and in rediscovering what had been lost during the worst of the "Dark Ages". This book, while short, gives the feel of the movement, the forward progression that was occuring during this era.
Her chapter on Marco Polo is one of the most interesting ones; it is not quite in keeping with all the others, in that he is someone famous then and now, and his discoveries changed beliefs in his own time and after. She ends that chapter with a little known sailor, Christopher Columbus, referring to Marco Polo's books and maps while planning his voyage to India...
Otherwise the majority of the five individuals profiled are average people of their time. Certainly the author could have chosen any differnt five to make similar points, but overall the book gives a good look at that era and whets the appetite for more.

This was very interesting for the first half of the book; however it does get boring as time goes on. For a very serious historian this book is something close to essenial but for the average reader it may not be as expected.

Since this book attempts to describe the daily lives and lifestyles of people living during the Medieval period, the concept behind it is brilliant, so I had high expectations. Unfortunately, this book fails miserably in its execution.

I read the first chapter, the one on Bodo. It was OK, so I thought the book had potential. The next person was Marco Polo. After pages and pages in English, and also in Latin and French too (which I do not know), describing places, people, rulers, dates, trade-routes, and exotic merchandise connected with Venice (and still no mention of Marco Polo), it became difficult to decipher what she was saying since it was all so unfamiliar to me.

The author's narrative is difficult to follow, unless you are an academic scholar already well versed in the historical and literary events, people, and places she refers to in her work. The positive reviewers are most likely more learned and read than I, and could therefore follow the storyline and enjoy the book. However, for me, it became a chore to plow through the seemingly endless and unfamiliar references that form the basis of this book. I had to skip all the Latin and French parts, which are not translated into English. In the end, I gave up. Even though I did not enjoy the book, I gave it two stars because the Kindle edition is free, if you want to try.

If you are knowledgeable about the Medieval Period and its history then you might enjoy this narrative. If you want more down-to-earth descriptions about the people and lifestyle of the Medieval period, I suggest you search for a book that is easier to read.

I found this very skimpy on the lives. Day to day of medieval people. Incredible amount of space on Marco Polo. The most enjoyable section was on Bodo. Very little on medieval women and children. So for me while interesting. Failed. To meet my criteria of a real look at medieval life

This book describes the probable lives of few types of people who lived in France, Venice and England in the Middle Ages. The author sometimes inserted words or phrases in other languages, without translation, and she inserted many sentences and paragraphs of the old English style, which were difficult to interpret mainly due to spelling differences. The book is interesting historically but not very easy to read.

This book is the catharsis of all books. Very good to read. It is a book that will allow you to read it in any position at any place where you can see the pages and words. Excellent.