The book, which covers everything from how to greet people in the street, through to what diseases and dangers a person might encounter, is guided into eleven chapters, covering the lives of both rich and poor in fourteenth century England.
Life in a Medieval Town
The author guides his readers throughout the book as if he was speaking to a friend who had just dropped into the fourteenth century. He explains the sights and sounds of medieval England in vivid detail, using all five senses.
The reader is guided along a typical medieval street, with Mortimer drawing his attention to the beggars pushing and shoving, an executed prisoner hanging from the gallows and the stench of sewage running along in an open beck.
Around one third of a typical medieval town is taken up with ecclesiastical buildings, the town’s population must squeeze into the rest of the available space. Mortimer lists the top ten sights to see in London, just as a modern guidebook would. These must-see attractions include The Strand, Westminster Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Character of People in the Middle Ages
The chapter on The Medieval Character is one of the most fascinating, because it contains information not found in a typical history book. The author explains how he believes medieval people saw the world; their beliefs, their sense of humour, how they related to each other and what made them laugh and cry.
He presents several role-plays, for example, a conversation between a traveller arriving at an inn and the innkeeper, or a shopper bargaining at a market stall, to show how people related to each other and the type of language they used.
Manners in Medieval Times
The chapter on medieval manners demonstrates how easy it was to offend others in the Middle Ages. Being a house guest is one example of how a person could easily breach the rules of courtesy. Simply to sit in the wrong seat, take too much food from a bowl or not bow deeply enough to a superior would be enough to cause serious offence.
Simply to walk down the street as an unaccompanied female would be enough to give a woman a bad reputation, but a man could openly shed tears over a lost business deal without causing comment.
Food and Drink in the Middle Ages
Mortimer provides an interesting and thorough look at what different classes of people ate in medieval England. It is clear that no one, apart from the very rich, were immune from the threat of starvation.
When harvests were good, food could be cheap and plentiful. But at times of disease or bad weather, food could quickly become scarce and people who lived in towns were particularly vulnerable to loss of supplies and high prices caused by scarcity.
The diets of different classes are described in detail, from a multi-course banquet a rich man’s table, with exquisite song birds served as one of many courses, through to the simple but hearty fare of a medieval peasant, with slices of hardened bread used instead of plates.
Summary
The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England is beautifully presented, with an attractive cover featuring illuminated letters and details of medieval people going about their everyday lives. There are two sections of colour illustrations in the book, featuring maps, people and animals.
The chapters are divided into sub-headings, which break up the text and make it easy for the reader to find information easily.
Ian Mortimer is an accomplished authority on the Middle Ages and this is an excellent addition to his list of medieval books, which include The Fears of Henry IV. He writes in a lively and enthusiastic style which really brings this fascinating century to life. This is the perfect book for someone who is just learning about medieval history, but it will also re-ignite the enthusiasm of anyone who has even the slightest interest in this period of history.
Publication Details
Mortimer, Ian The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century [Bodley Head, 2008]
(ISBN 9780224079945, 342 pages)