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Rating: 
Summary: Highly entertaining but scattered
Review: This book ranges across lots of seeming unrelated inventions and discoveries and ties them together into brief glimpse into the middle ages. The research seems to have focused primarily on italian inventions. The informative and entertaining text is generously interspersed with large, well subtitled, topical period images (many that this reviewer hadn't seen in other sources).For the general reader interested in the origination of things, this is a highly entertaining read with lots of pretty pictures. For the serious researcher this book provides only a glimpse into many different subjects. That said the text is also generously footnoted with very nice bibliographical references.
Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining but scattered
Review: This book ranges across lots of seeming unrelated inventions and discoveries and ties them together into brief glimpse into the middle ages. The research seems to have focused primarily on italian inventions. The informative and entertaining text is generously interspersed with large, well subtitled, topical period images (many that this reviewer hadn't seen in other sources). For the general reader interested in the origination of things, this is a highly entertaining read with lots of pretty pictures. For the serious researcher this book provides only a glimpse into many different subjects. That said the text is also generously footnoted with very nice bibliographical references.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting rummage thru a medievalist's clutter drawer
Review: When we think of the Middle Ages, we often tend to think of them in terms of cathedrals, crusades, inquisitions, and plague. But common sense tells us on further reflection that of course there was plenty of ordinary getting along in life, too. This book is a miscellany of everyday items and institutions that were invented or came into widespread use during the Middle Ages. Professor Frugoni provides details of many gorgeous medieval illustrations, showing things like eyeglasses, forks, and clocks. She also quotes at length from manuscripts for the same purpose. We flit from one invention to the next, in no seeming order--not that any is really needed--and get a brief explanation of where it came from, when experts think it came into use, and some enjoyable examples, both written and pictorial. A very handsome coffee table book and an interesting few days' browse, too.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting rummage thru a medievalist's clutter drawer
Review: When we think of the Middle Ages, we often tend to think of them in terms of cathedrals, crusades, inquisitions, and plague. But common sense tells us on further reflection that of course there was plenty of ordinary getting along in life, too. This book is a miscellany of everyday items and institutions that were invented or came into widespread use during the Middle Ages. Professor Frugoni provides details of many gorgeous medieval illustrations, showing things like eyeglasses, forks, and clocks. She also quotes at length from manuscripts for the same purpose. We flit from one invention to the next, in no seeming order--not that any is really needed--and get a brief explanation of where it came from, when experts think it came into use, and some enjoyable examples, both written and pictorial. A very handsome coffee table book and an interesting few days' browse, too.
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