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Daily Life in the Middle Ages

by Paul B. Newman (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 91 ratings
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Although life in the Middle Ages was not as comfortable and safe as it is for most people in industrialized countries today, the term "Dark Ages" is highly misleading. The era was not so primitive and crude as depictions in film and literature would suggest. Even during the worst years of the centuries immediately following the fall of Rome, the legacy of that civilization survived.

This book covers diet, cooking, housing, building, clothing, hygiene, games and other pastimes, fighting and healing in medieval times. The reader will find numerous misperceptions corrected. The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography and a listing of collections of medieval art and artifacts and related sites across the United States and Canada so that readers in North America can see for themselves some of the matters discussed in the book.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0786408979
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0786408979
  3. Publisher
    McFarland & Company
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2001
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    7 x 0.61 x 10 inches
  7. Print length
    301 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Written in a style that is accessible to junior-high-school students and up, this book shows that life during the Middle Ages was neither as dark nor as primitive as novels, movies, or earlier historians have depicted it. In seven long chapters, the author, a lecturer on medieval history, analyzes "Eating and Cooking," "Building and Housing," "Clothing and Dressing," "Cleaning," "Relaxing and Playing," "Fighting," and "Healing." Each of these topics is broken down into its major components, with numerous aspects of daily life treated under each of the headings. "Clothing and Dressing," for instance, starts with a discussion of the sources for reconstructing what people wore, followed by sections on fabrics, clothing, fashions, and accessories. The section on fashions, to take one example, has subsections for tunics and doublets, capes and cloaks, and other items of apparel. Black-and-white drawings and photographs are used throughout. Though the book synthesizes a wealth of material from all over Europe, Newman rarely discusses the differences in daily life in the various countries of Europe, painting a general picture instead.

Daily Life in the Middle Ages is similar to Jeffrey Singman's Daily Life in Chaucer's England (Greenwood, 1995), which also divides the subject into topics such as clothing and accessories, arms and armor, food and drink, and entertainment. However, Singman's book focuses only on life in England, and each chapter is shorter and less detailed. Singman discusses bread in one paragraph, while Newman takes two pages to talk about not only bread but every grain that was used in bread.

Because of its greater detail and modest price, this is an excellent resource for school and public libraries that need accessible secondary sources for students doing papers on the Middle Ages. Even if libraries have Daily Life in Chaucer's England, they will want to add Daily Life in the Middle Ages to their collections. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“a wealth of material...great detail...excellent”―Booklist; “very readable...appealing”―Mediaevistik.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ McFarland & Company (March 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 301 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786408979
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786408979
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.24 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.61 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 91 ratings

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Paul B. Newman

Paul B. Newman

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
91 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Anime Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars If you only buy one book, it must be this one
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2012
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This book covers virtually EVERYTHING you could possibly want to know about like in the middle ages - food, clothing, arms and armour, castles, towns, peasants, just OODLES of details left out or ignored in other books. If you need to know some obscure detail about, say, medieval cooking, or blacksmithing, how swords and armour are made (and how much they really weighed), housing, sanitation, healing, harbors, bridges, farming or damn near anything else - IT'S IN HERE, trust me. A absolute MUST-HAVE if you are thinking about writing a historical or fantasy novel that is set in the Middle Ages or the equivalent. About the only areas NOT covered in detail are history, religion, and military tactics, however just about any other book on Medieval times can fill you in on history and religion. CRAM-PACKED with USEFUL and INTERESTING material I've never seen in any other book to date... the only other area I wish this book covered was prices for items. (For those, see "Daily Life in Medieval Europe" and "Daily Life in Chaucer's England, among others.)
8 people found this helpful
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MagnoliaSouth
4.0 out of 5 stars If you're a stickler for details, then this is the book for you!
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2013
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This is an excellent book. The author (not the same Paul Newman that is a movie star) is clearly an expert on the subject of the middle ages. The pages are loaded with information that most of us would not even think about. It is clear and concise, and written in a very understandable way.

Mr. Newman is very meticulous with every last detail. There are sketch examples of many things, but admittedly those are very few in comparison to its content. It is not simply about clothing, for example. It is about the dye for the clothing, the many cloths that were available (which were made in Europe vs those imported), who could afford which cloth (nobles vs peasants), how theses cloths were actually made and even how they made the thread or string that they sewed it with. That's only a very small part of the clothing chapter and there is just so much more. It's is an exhaustive encyclopedia, in my opinion. After reading this book, I feel like I earned an actual degree on the subject and you likely will too!

Which brings me to what this book is not. This is not a stylized written book with a flair for words and rich content such as artwork or poetry. It is anything but that. Some reviewers have called his writing dull and boring, but even if I thought that were true, his writing does not make it any less informative. You wouldn't tell your professor that his lecture was boring because even if it were, it would still be information that you need to know. If you want to learn about the middle ages, then you must deal with whatever style it is. Sure, he is no great story teller, but there is no story to tell since this is a reference book after all.

Now let's talk about the 4 stars. Why only 4 stars? I would have given it 5 stars until I read a comment (a comment in the Kindle edition extras) about not noting sources. I had not even noticed that, but the commenter was right. On the other hand, the introduction pretty much explains his credentials in that he has "studied" art and literature of the time. Unfortunately there is not much known about this author, except that he has written several non-fiction books about the middle ages (it's worth noting that at the time of this writing, the other books are not yet available on Kindle), so he appears to be knowledgeable. That said, the reader was absolutely correct though on his sources of information. They are not listed at all.

I'm not saying that I don't trust his judgement or information, it's just that those who would like to learn more about the details Newman describes will be sorely disappointed. There is no way to know how he drew his conclusions. For this reason, and ONLY this reason, it gets 4-stars instead of 5.

All in all, I highly recommend this book and look forward to the Kindle editions of his other books.
7 people found this helpful
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JC
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Research Source for Me
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2020
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This book was perfect for it's intended purpose. It discusses many aspects of life in the middle ages--probably less of the early middle ages and more mid-later middle ages. But it covers so many things. I liked it so well I got the companion book by the same author that covers growing up in the middle ages. Just a good basic resource for me, with limited knowledge around this expansive period of time. I feel much better grounded now and look forward to some additional follow-up reading on some of the topics.
4 people found this helpful
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Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars Factually Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2019
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I bought this book for myself and my daughter to do some research on ordinary life in the Middle Ages. This time period was my area of study in graduate school. She was unfamiliar with it. We both found the book full of good information which was very helpful in our research. I would love to have had this during graduate school to help connect all kinds of dots. Whether you are doing graduate research or just want to know more about this time period, this is a Very Good book to read.
3 people found this helpful
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desertwiffie
3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of dull
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2013
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I ordinarily love books about this timespan, but I have to agree with some other reviewers, this writer made me crazy trying to convince me the Middle Ages were not bad at all. I don't see the point. He wasn't there, so how does he know anyway? Beyond that aggravation, the chapter headings sounded fascinating, but with this writer's treatment they ended up seeming dull and uninspired. Not awful, just not fun.
One person found this helpful
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Rexine (Gina) Bryant
4.0 out of 5 stars A much more comprehensive view than commonly defined--
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2013
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This describes Anglo-Saxon daily life in the Middle Ages (roughly 900 - 1200 C.E. I minored in history, with a special enjoyment of the Middle Ages - however I graduated in 1961. The History in most State universities was more of pointing out significant historical persons, significant battles fought, bickering over who really was heir to such and such a kingdom, and did not have the accompanying anthropology and archaeology that today's historical studies embraces.

It managed to fill-in some rather gaping holes in my knowledge in an easy to read format. I enjoyed it.
2 people found this helpful
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pure_predat0r
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2012
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This book is set out in a way that makes it incredibly easy to find the information you need. The author provides great detail about each of the topics covered without being boring. It has greatly assisted my research of the era and I highly recommend it.
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Joy G Gould
5.0 out of 5 stars Daily Life in the Middle Ages
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2013
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Daily Life in the Middle Ages was much more rich and colorful than I would have imagined. Paul Newman has answered a lot of the questions I would not have thought to ask about, and given me a new appreciation for that chunk of history.
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Cliente Kindle
3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good but...
Reviewed in Brazil on April 25, 2024
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It's a really good book, full of great informations, but I must say it's a little bit difficult to read and keep it going. However, I'd totally recommend it.
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Nathan369
5.0 out of 5 stars Molto dettagliato e interessante
Reviewed in Italy on January 4, 2021
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Parla della vita nel medioevo trattando aspetti molto pratici e spesso poco considerati sia dai libri di storia che dalla fiction ambientata nel periodo. Non è una lettura leggera o scorrevole.
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