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The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century Paperback – October 25, 2011

by Ian Mortimer (Author)

308 customer reviews

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Now in paperback, a literary time machine that takes readers into the sights, smells, and tastes of the fourteenth century—a book that is revolutionary in its concept and startling in its portrayal of humanity.

The past is a foreign country. This is your guidebook. A time machine has just transported you back into the fourteenth century. What do you see? How do you dress? How do you earn a living and how much are you paid? What sort of food will you be offered by a peasant or a monk or a lord? And more important, where will you stay?

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England is not your typical look at a historical period. This radical new approach shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived.

Through the use of daily chronicles, letters, household accounts, and poems of the day, Mortimer transports you back in time, providing answers to questions typically ignored by traditional historians. You will learn how to greet people on the street, what to use as toilet paper, why a physician might want to taste your blood, and how to know whether you are coming down with leprosy.

The result is the most astonishing social history book you’re ever likely to read: revolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail, and startling for its portrayal of humanity in an age of violence, exuberance, and fear.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this compelling volume, Mortimer transports his readers. . . . Gives readers a seamless sense of being there. . . . An impressive accomplishment, turning 600 years of history transparent to give 21st-century readers a clear view of medieval life.” –Publishers Weekly

“Mortimer addresses every aspect of medieval life, from the mundane to the bizarre. . . . Travel guides are designed to deliver helpful information about faraway places, but this one gets to the heart of a different time zone.” –The Washington Post

“Chock-full of surprises, this is exceptional social history, compellingly told; there should be ‘travel books’ like this for every century. Start reading, and you won't want to stop.” –Library Journal

"The endlessly inventive Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian of our time." --The Times (UK)

About the Author

Ian Mortimer is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and was awarded the Alexander Prize in 2004 for his work on the social history of medicine. He holds a Ph.D. in history and a higher doctorate from the University of Exeter. He has penned five other medieval books, most recently the revolutionary study Medieval Intrigue: Decoding Royal Conspiracies. He has also worked for several archive and historical research organizations in the UK, where he lives with his wife and children. Visit Ian at IanMortimer.com.

Product details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Touchstone; unknown edition (October 25, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439112908
ISBN-13: 978-1439112908
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 308 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias & Subject Guides > History
- #5 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Reference
- #18 in Books > History > Europe > Great Britain > England

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My Favorite Historian

April 2, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If I could give Ian Mortimer a dozen stars, I would do so. Not only for this remarkable book but for his books on Edward III and Henry IV. He makes the fourteenth century so accessible and easy to understand that even those with little knowledge of medieval England will be captivated. As a historical novelist, who in comparison to Mortimer, knows nothing about the fourteenth century, I am ever grateful for his fine scholarship and elegant prose.His books are my personal bible to the period and have made my research not only easier, but a pleasure to undertake.

Thank you, Ian Mortimer. And please...keep writing!

8 people found this helpful

Comment

Informative and Fun

November 27, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." -- L. P. Hartley

Take this book along on your next trip to Medieval England to help ensure your travel experience is a smooth one. Some things you might need to know for your journey:

-- If you are from Australia, you might be impressed that even in the 1300s people have some vague concept of existence of the continent. However, you should keep in mind it's considered much too hot for man to inhabit, and instead is the home of creatures that hop around on a floppy, oversized foot that they use to shade themselves.

-- Don't eat meat on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. The Church forbids it. Seafood is permitted, but good luck finding some outside the nobility. Water loving species like badgers and puffins count as seafood (but please don't eat puffins!).

-- Hospitals are for the sick, but also travelers. If you stay there you might get the fun experience of sleeping in the same bed as someone with leprosy.

-- Speaking of lepers, try not to come down with a rash of any sort in the 1300s or you might be declared one and forced to wear a bell around your neck (ask your cat about how this can damage your self esteem).

-- You might notice more blind horses wondering around than you'd expect (which would probably be no blind horses at all). Blinding horses was the Medieval equivalent of scratching off vin numbers, meant to insure stolen beasts didn't make their way back home.

This book is the slice-of-life history study I've been searching for. It's everything I'd hoped Ruth Goodman's "How To Be a Tudor" would be but wasn't. I've never had a strong interest in Medieval times or English history, but that's not required to enjoy this fast paced and fun book. If I had one critique it would be to add more information about the Church and the Plague, both of which dominated 14th century life but were absent throughout most of the book. Highly recommended to fans of history.

4 people found this helpful

Comment

February 17, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Chock full of info. The way it's written is sort of tongue in cheek, as in an actual 'travel guide', but not in a way that it's annoying. Someone mentioned that it wasn't written well, that a kid could have written it better. strongly disagree. Ive read hundreds and hundreds of books in my young life including many history books, i guess this reads more like a history book rather than a 'novel'. It is actually written PLENTY well. I enjoyed it and was STILL thoroughly entertained. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in medieval England.

7 people found this helpful

Comment

Very very interesting!!!

October 15, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I am really enjoying this book. I watch a lot of historical films and go to the Ren Fairs and make costumes for them as well. I happened to come across this book while I was shopping for costume information. I would never have thought of looking for such a book otherwise. The author has a way of making you feel like you are time traveling. And there is just so very much information here. For example the forests of England had limited types of trees; virtually no conifers. So in winter things looked very bleak. And if you should find a home with pine in it you would know that it was imported from Scandinavia. How about London Bridge being 28 feet wide, but on either side there were buildings taking up 7 feet. So that would mean that the thoroughfare was only 14 feet wide. Imagine 2 way traffic in that amount of space. In the middle of the 14th century a way of thatching roofs was perfected to the extent that some of them still exist to this day. I could go on, but you get the idea of the wealth of information the author includes. I didn't want to put it down. If you are a history buff you will love this edition.

16 people found this helpful

Comment

IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE IN THE 14th CENTURY, YOU BETTER READ THIS!

February 15, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

After reading several novels based in medieval times, I became VERY interested in how exactly people lived daily life back in those centuries. I wanted to know things like: how did they wash their clothes, how they used "bathrooms" (per se), what kind of houses they built, what "medical science" was at that time-the kinds of ways and means of how people lived in their day-to-day lives. Seldom do historical novels mention those things. THIS BOOK DOES!! Mr. Mortimer has extensively studied all possible references about the living conditions in the 14th century, so his book is based on facts. WHAT AN INTERESTING READ!!! if I were to travel back in time, the only way I would survive is to bring this book with me!

8 people found this helpful

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March 18, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Love this book! So many details about life in medieval times that you wouldn't find in a textbook of boring dates and names. He really fleshes out what life, landscape, and relationships looked like through the eyes of people at that time. Cultural differences highlighted between contemporary and modern perspectives.

5 people found this helpful

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