life in a medieval village by francis and joseph gies

But it wasn't all bad: the medieval village was one of the first functional modern societies, and its surprisingly advanced legal system and code of conduct helped lay the groundwork for contemporary civilization. We learn the clothes villages wore, their (sometimes lacking) standards of personal hygiene, and the bizarre treatments they devised for a variety of medical maladies. Life in a Medieval Village takes modern readers through every aspect of day-to-day life, describing the villagers' diet (centered around a bland stew called pottage lacking in nutrients), how they harvested crops, and the central role of the church in maintaining social harmony.

Focusing on the village of Elton, in the English East Midlands, the Gieses detail the agricultural advances that made communal living possible and the social and economic divisions that separated lord from serf that made life so difficult for so many. In Life in a Medieval Village, acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies reveal what life was actually like in the Middle Ages. But it wasn't all bad: the medieval village was one of the first functional modern societies, and its surprisingly advanced legal system and code of conduct helped… ( tovább)

Life in a medieval village by francis and joseph gies