Life in a Medieval Village Reissue Edition

“The authors allow medieval man and woman to speak for themselves through selections from past journals, songs, even account books.” - Time

Praise for Life in a Medieval City and Life in a Medieval Castle: “Some particular books I found useful for A Game of Thrones and its sequels deserve mention . . . Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval City, both by Joseph and Frances Gies.” - George R.R. Martin, author of the series A Song of Ice and Fire

“An excellently written account of what is known of the life of medieval burghers....a delightful introduction to the subject.” - Library Journal

“The Gieses succeed in making a remote and unfamiliar world accessible.” - Kirkus Reviews

Reissued for the first time in decades, Frances and Joseph Gies’s classic bestseller on life in medieval villages

In Life in a Medieval Village Reissue Edition, acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies reveal what life was actually like in the Middle Ages. 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. Life in a Medieval Village Reissue Edition 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. We learn the clothes villagers wore, their (sometimes lacking) standards of personal hygiene, and the bizarre treatments they devised for a variety of medical maladies. 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.

Though the main focus is on Elton, circa 1300, the Gieses supply general historical context for the origin, development, and decline of the European village. Meticulously researched and vividly told, Life in a Medieval Village Reissue Edition illustrates the captivating world of the Middle Ages and demonstrates what life was like during a fascinating—and often misunderstood—era.