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567 reviews for:
The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Ian Mortimer
4.02 AVERAGE
567 reviews for:
The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Ian Mortimer
4.02 AVERAGE
What a delight. Cleverly written with an empathic understanding for every single person in this fascinating era of history. Laughed a lot and cried at the end.
A great step back in time, with a walk through the pages into the medieval age. The author gives a true account and a real view of life as a medieval man/woman. Discussing towns and cities, medieval manners, clothing, travel, law, medicine and things to do to name a few.
This is a history book like no other, in the sense that it isn’t a monotonous reeling of historical events or facts but a time travelling journey through all things medieval. Imagine you’re dumped into the middle of the 14th century, what would you see? Where would you go? What’s it like in the country or in the city? How would you travel from one place to another? What will you wear and how do you greet a fellow medieval traveller?
This book is a great way of communicating history (which many would argue to be boring) however this is no way near the case with this book. I found it incredibly interesting and had a lot of great information. I think a lot of people have a romantic idea about travelling into the past and if this book has done anything it is to reinforce how happy I am currently staying with this century!! Where you don’t have to wear clothing that befits your station, suffer inequality of class systems, sexism, violence and questionable medical practices ! Although I was rather surprised at the intricacies of the Law system (I assumed they had very little!) and the hospitality as well as the theme of humour, joy and fun that ran throughout the medieval period and it’s people.
I also really enjoyed the look into literature and medieval poets/ writers and shared some of their works which were beautifully written.
I would recommend to anyone who had an interest in the period or just wanted to learn a bit more about our history. Really enjoyed!
This is a history book like no other, in the sense that it isn’t a monotonous reeling of historical events or facts but a time travelling journey through all things medieval. Imagine you’re dumped into the middle of the 14th century, what would you see? Where would you go? What’s it like in the country or in the city? How would you travel from one place to another? What will you wear and how do you greet a fellow medieval traveller?
This book is a great way of communicating history (which many would argue to be boring) however this is no way near the case with this book. I found it incredibly interesting and had a lot of great information. I think a lot of people have a romantic idea about travelling into the past and if this book has done anything it is to reinforce how happy I am currently staying with this century!! Where you don’t have to wear clothing that befits your station, suffer inequality of class systems, sexism, violence and questionable medical practices ! Although I was rather surprised at the intricacies of the Law system (I assumed they had very little!) and the hospitality as well as the theme of humour, joy and fun that ran throughout the medieval period and it’s people.
I also really enjoyed the look into literature and medieval poets/ writers and shared some of their works which were beautifully written.
I would recommend to anyone who had an interest in the period or just wanted to learn a bit more about our history. Really enjoyed!
informative
slow-paced
A delightful book. Extremely entertaining and full of fascinating information. If you'd like to get away to the 14th Century for a few hours, this is the way to do it.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
I learned a lot from this book, but must point out that as a woman of color, I still have very little idea how my time-traveling self might have been received. Mortimer says almost nothing about ethnic diversity (though I know there was some and possibly much more than we typically assume), and although I realize this is also a limitation of the sources, I disliked seeing women essentially lumped into sidebars the way we have been in so many history books.
In short, though this book in some ways brought to life the great richness of lived experience versus the dry recountings of history books, in many other significant ways it does no better than other books in conveying the complexity of human trajectories.
In short, though this book in some ways brought to life the great richness of lived experience versus the dry recountings of history books, in many other significant ways it does no better than other books in conveying the complexity of human trajectories.
Fascinating. An amazing tour through the literature. A great example of cultural evolutionary development. (thankfully!)
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
This book is the first in this series of Time Traveler's guides. I read this one third, and I will say the others outshine the Medieval guide. In this book I felt less connected to the century, or perhaps it is because I have heard most of it before in the other versions of this book. I still strongly recommend this series. It does all depend on what era in history you find the most fascinating. I do recommend the Regency area to be your next pick up if you are reading this review.
I liked the way this book was set up, as a travel guide rather than a history. I love medieval history & have made my way through quite a lot of scholarly books - tho my main interest is the 15th, rather than 14th century - but this just sounded like fun & I always like to find an opportunity to learn things in new ways, tho I feel my knowledge of medieval life is fairly good. Sure enough, there was plenty of new information for me here! Cleanliness was more important and achievable than you might think. Manners were also very important. The median age was 21 - which means half the population was age 21 or under. Though few people received formal schooling, in the towns about 20% of men were literate, and in the countryside about 5%. Members of the clergy could read/write, as could wealthy merchants - but also physicians, lawyers, scriveners, surgeons, and schoolmasters, and about 20% of tradesmen. You could buy an amazing variety of food, spices and goods at the market if you lived in a town.
If you have any interest in the period - including if you're a reader of medieval-based fantasy lit - or if you're a fan of travel writing & you're looking for something a little different - I highly recommend this book. Interesting, informative and fun.
If you have any interest in the period - including if you're a reader of medieval-based fantasy lit - or if you're a fan of travel writing & you're looking for something a little different - I highly recommend this book. Interesting, informative and fun.