Daily Life in Medieval Europe - (Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History) by Jeffrey Singman (Paperback)

About the Book

Explore the Middle Ages, a complex and often misunderstood period in European history, through this vivid examination. Details of everyday living recreate the time period for modern readers, conveying the foreignness of the medieval world while bringing it into focus. The volume provides a two-pronged approach to history beginning with a broad sketch of the general dynamics that shaped the medieval experience while at the same time creating a detailed and clear portrait of what life would have been like for real individuals living in specific settings at the time.

The reader is introduced to medieval society in the first three chapters, which include information on the life cycle, material culture, and the economy. These chapters provide an understanding of what people ate, what their social lives were like, what they wore, what kinds of jobs they had, and much more. Following are portraits of life in four specific medieval settings, offering in each case a particular example of the type: the village (Cuxham in Oxfordshire), the castle (Dover), the monastery (Cluny) and the town (Paris). Extensive use of documentary sources from each place sketch the broad contours of the social setting and provide details of the everyday experiences of real individuals. The volume concludes with an exploration of how ordinary people perceived the world in which they lived. Original games, recipes, and music are also provided to round out this rich introduction to life in medieval Europe.

Book Synopsis

Explore the Middle Ages, a complex and often misunderstood period in European history, through this vivid examination. Details of everyday living recreate the time period for modern readers, conveying the foreignness of the medieval world while bringing it into focus. The volume provides a two-pronged approach to history beginning with a broad sketch of the general dynamics that shaped the medieval experience while at the same time creating a detailed and clear portrait of what life would have been like for real individuals living in specific settings at the time.

The reader is introduced to medieval society in the first three chapters, which include information on the life cycle, material culture, and the economy. These chapters provide an understanding of what people ate, what their social lives were like, what they wore, what kinds of jobs they had, and much more. Following are portraits of life in four specific medieval settings, offering in each case a particular example of the type: the village (Cuxham in Oxfordshire), the castle (Dover), the monastery (Cluny) and the town (Paris). Extensive use of documentary sources from each place sketch the broad contours of the social setting and provide details of the everyday experiences of real individuals. The volume concludes with an exploration of how ordinary people perceived the world in which they lived. Original games, recipes, and music are also provided to round out this rich introduction to life in medieval Europe.

Review Quotes

"Singman's book with it's accessible, straight forward, almost personal style and its well defined goals will be of interest to anyone who wishes to know more about the Middle Ages." --European Studies Journal

"A vivid introduction to the medieval world, providing a general understanding of everyday living with detailed portraits of specific settings." --Media & Methods

"The wealth of fascinating information presented in interesting prose will teach junior high, high school, and adult readers a great deal about the Middle Ages." --VOYA

"An intriguing view of life and thought in medieval society and the world of that time....This book and others in the series are recommended for public, high school, and college libraries." --American Reference Books Annual

"Daily Life in Medieval Europe is a must for living historians of this time period, as well as educators dealing with the subject matter in middle school and high school settings....The reader will find the material presented to be quite easy to follow yet highly informative and historically accurate and helpful." --Smoke & Fire News

About the Author

JEFFREY L. SINGMAN is the author of several works on medieval and early modern Europe, including Daily Life in Chaucer's England (Greenwood, 1995), Daily Life in Elizabethan England (Greenwood, 1995), and Robin Hood: The Shaping of the Legend (Greenwood, 1998). Dr. Singman has worked at various living history sites, including Greenfield Village and Plimoth Plantation, and is now the Paul S. Morgan Curator at the Higgins Armory Museum and Adjunct Professor of Humanities at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.