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A review by versmonesprit
Women in the Middle Ages: The Lives of Real Women in a Vibrant Age of Transition by Frances Gies, Joseph Gies
informative
slow-paced
3.0
This is a book I wish I did not read in a very short timespan before it was taken off Everand, because every line brims with information. That is of course the dream for a nonfiction book, but it can also become overwhelming and tiring when you do what I had to.
I’ll get the bad out of the way: After the second chapter of the second part, the material becomes far less interesting and the presentation much more chaotic. The writing becomes overdrawn when it could have been so much more concise, and the previous organisation of the initial chapters is swapped with a messy, looping, repetitive format that could have used a lot more editing. These chapters were thus gruelling to read, especially after the initial magic…
Because at first this book was profoundly enjoyable to read, not to mention so touching the way it got you to witness the vivid tapestry of medieval life. The chapter on Blanche of Castile was nothing short of exquisite! The material was thrilling to learn, and the writing was so absorbing that by the end of the chapter, I was actually crying at Blanche’s death. That is a feat to accomplish for a nonfiction book! Being able to present that much information in a manner that historical fiction often fails to do is truly remarkable. I just wish this extended to the entirety of the book!
Either way, this is an indispensable resource — not only for those interested in the Middle Ages, but maybe even more so for those who are not. I saw some shockingly ignorant takes on how Romans and then Christians ruined everything for women, which were clearly based in a complete delusion about historical facts. Because as you will see in this book, pagan and tribal societies were not gender equality havens, while the Roman Empire granted unprecedented rights to women, and Christianity sometimes provided a step up for women from their conditions in pagan communities. Add to these takes the overall Enlightenment propaganda against the Middle Ages that is served and gobbled up at every turn, I would even say we’re in dire need of reliable, well-researched, factual sources on the medieval period.
I will happily pick up other books by the Gies, which I hopefully will be able to read at a much more leisurely pace.
I’ll get the bad out of the way: After the second chapter of the second part, the material becomes far less interesting and the presentation much more chaotic. The writing becomes overdrawn when it could have been so much more concise, and the previous organisation of the initial chapters is swapped with a messy, looping, repetitive format that could have used a lot more editing. These chapters were thus gruelling to read, especially after the initial magic…
Because at first this book was profoundly enjoyable to read, not to mention so touching the way it got you to witness the vivid tapestry of medieval life. The chapter on Blanche of Castile was nothing short of exquisite! The material was thrilling to learn, and the writing was so absorbing that by the end of the chapter, I was actually crying at Blanche’s death. That is a feat to accomplish for a nonfiction book! Being able to present that much information in a manner that historical fiction often fails to do is truly remarkable. I just wish this extended to the entirety of the book!
Either way, this is an indispensable resource — not only for those interested in the Middle Ages, but maybe even more so for those who are not. I saw some shockingly ignorant takes on how Romans and then Christians ruined everything for women, which were clearly based in a complete delusion about historical facts. Because as you will see in this book, pagan and tribal societies were not gender equality havens, while the Roman Empire granted unprecedented rights to women, and Christianity sometimes provided a step up for women from their conditions in pagan communities. Add to these takes the overall Enlightenment propaganda against the Middle Ages that is served and gobbled up at every turn, I would even say we’re in dire need of reliable, well-researched, factual sources on the medieval period.
I will happily pick up other books by the Gies, which I hopefully will be able to read at a much more leisurely pace.