Share to Pinterest

Share to Twitter

ISBN: 0060908807

ISBN13: 9780060908805

Life in a Medieval City

By Isao Yoshikawa

No Customer Reviews

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 FireMedieval history comes alive in Frances and Joseph Gies's Life in a Medieval City, used as a research resource by George R. R. Martin in creating the world of Game of Thrones.Reissued for the first time in decades, Life in a Medieval City is the classic account of the year 1250 in the city of Troyes, in modern-day France. Acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies focus on a high point of medieval civilization--before war and the Black Death ravaged Europe--providing a fascinating window into the sophistication of a period we too often dismiss as backward.Urban life in the Middle Ages revolved around the home, often a mixed-use dwelling for burghers with a store or workshop on the ground floor and living quarters upstairs. A developed economy, focusing on textiles, farming, and financial services, could be found in the town center, where craftsmen competed for business while adhering to the guilds' codes of conduct. There were schools for the children, though only boys could attend and the lessons were taught in Latin by a priest. The church was a hub of both religious and civic life; services were lively and filled with song, and baptisms and other special occasions brought neighbors together to celebrate. The weddings of wealthier townsfolk were lavish affairs full of song and dance and drinking that could sometimes last for weeks."An excellently written account of what is known of the life of medieval burghers."--Library Journal This description may be from another edition of this product.

Format:Paperback

Language:English

ISBN:0060908807

ISBN13:9780060908805

Release Date:September 1981

Publisher:Harper Perennial

Length:288 Pages

Weight:0.57 lbs.

Dimensions:0.7" x 5.3" x 8.1"

You Might Also Enjoy

Medieval History: The Life and Death of a Civilization

Norman F. Cantor

from: $5.59

Uppity Women of Medieval Times

Vicki León

from: $4.79

The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England

Barbara A. Hanawalt

from: $7.59

Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England

Juliet Barker

from: $6.69

Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London

Liza Picard

from: $5.59

1066: The Year of the Conquest

David Howarth

from: $4.29

Medieval Women

Eileen Power

from: $5.29

The Horizon Book of the Middle Ages

Morris Bishop

from: $4.19

1215: The Year of Magna Carta

Danny Danziger, John Gillingham

from: $4.29

Histoire de la vie privée 2: De l'Europe féodale à la Renaissance

Georges Duby, Arthur Goldhammer, Philippe Ariès

from: $5.89

The Time-Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century

Ian Mortimer

from: $7.69

Magic in the Middle Ages (Canto)

Richard Kieckhefer

from: $7.39

Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

Terry Jones

from: $23.10

The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium

Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger

from: $4.29

The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice

Michael Krondl

from: $7.89

In Search of the Dark Ages

Michael Wood

from: $5.39

Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen. Studie over levens- en gedachtenvormen der veertiende en vijftiende eeuw in Frankrijk en de Nederlanden

Johan Huizinga

from: $5.19

Life in a Medieval Village

Frances Gies, Joseph Gies

from: $5.89

Life in a Medieval Castle

Joseph Gies, Frances Gies, Frances & Joseph Gies

from: $4.69

Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500

Henrietta Leyser

Out of Stock

Related Subjects

Gardening Gardening & Landscaping

Customer Reviews

0 customer rating | 0 review

Write a Review

Rated 5 stars
As reliable as a time machine..

By Thriftbooks.com User, March 6, 2005

I didnt know what exactly to expect as i went into this book. All i really aimed for was getting an insightful account on how living in a medieval city would be and had no idea how an author would go about presenting this. Having mentioned that, "Life in a Medieval City" exceeded my expectations and then some! It's a brilliant and carefully detailed book on how the every day routine rolled around the 11th century in the city...

2Report

Rated 5 stars
History made accessible

By Thriftbooks.com User, April 21, 2004

First of all, the authors set out to simply enlighten the modern reader as to the daily life of a Medieval city-dweller. They had no hidden agenda, just the report of the facts, as best as they could determine from existing documents and sources. Their work represents a fairly accurate representation of what life might have been like for the average city dweller during the Middle Ages.Second, they focus on one, particular...

1Report

Rated 5 stars
Best on subject.

By Thriftbooks.com User, May 16, 1999

I have been researching the Middle Ages for a number of years and this is one of the most even -handed books I have come across. The authors are researchers par excellence, and have presented their findings in an imminently readable form. If I were not already a student of the Middle Ages, however, I might have found the wealth of detail somewhat overwhelming and some of the terms and references obscure. This is a book...

2Report

Rated 5 stars
An intriguing book about life in the middle-ages.

By Thriftbooks.com User, January 17, 1998

I read this book out of curiosity and I am glad I picked it up. The book's description of Troyes is quite detailed, complete and at times truly engrossing. The authors cover most aspects of life in the middle-ages and provide some insight in the developments during that time, as well as their significance (although this isn't the book to read if you are mostly interested in detaileed, scholarly historical analyses of the...

2Report