<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent introductory book to medieval peasant life
Review: Designed as a basic introducton to peasant life in late medieval England, this is an excellent book for undergraduate students,high school students, and anyone interested in medieval history. Entertaining, informative, and well written, it focuses on a single peasant woman to illustrate daily life in an ordinary village: including work, marriage, gender relations, religion, ritual, and death. It also provides an excellent introduction to fourteenth-century England. Written to be accessible to the general public, the author has chosen to append short reading lists to the end of each chapter instead of bogging the reader down in cumbersome (and often distracting) footnotes that so frequently fill history books. All in all, this book is a must for any college introductory course to medieval history and should also be used by high school teachers wanting to give their students a better understanding of medieval life.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Primer for Medieval History
Review: I recently read this book for a history class and have to say that the book is very enjoyable. It's brevity and clarity make it a great introduction to medieval history. Cecilia Penifader was a well-to-do peasant woman living in Brigstock, England in the early 14th century. Bennett uses Cecilia to introduce the reader to all aspects of peasant life in this time period. There are in-depth studies of economics, religion, living conditions, and gender roles, as well as other interesting facets of peasant life. Bennett also makes sure to include some interesting little tidbits, such as the role of contraception during this period.One of the best things to be said about this book is how Bennett highlights terms that the reader is most likely to not be familiar with. These words are listed in a handy glossary in the back of the book. Most people aren't familiar with terms such as heliot, so this addition to the book is very helpful. As mentioned above, the brevity and clarity of the book go a long way to making the text more enjoyable. The book foregoes footnotes and endnotes, which would certainly help the non-scholars who can't stand wading through tons of citations. There are also some nice diagrams that help the reader visualize various aspects of peasant life. The lack of footnotes and endnotes is a problem for the historian and student, such as myself. I wouldn't go so far as the other reviewer here and pan the entire book, but that reviewer certainly has a point. Bennett also relies on inference more than she probably should. Although her deductions seem sound, her conclusions, backed up with more evidence and properly cited, would have been much appreciated. I think this is an excellent survey text that would make a nice addition to any library. After reading the book, the reader can readily picture Cecilia and feel as if they almost know her, and any book that can accomplish that is always worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Price is nuts
Review: Its a good book, but they're nuts to think a 120 page paperback is worth 28 dollars. I was going to assign this to my class, but no way at that price.
<< 1 >>
| 
