Medieval Woman: Village Life in the Middle Ages

(Paperback)

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Description

Rising before dawn in a tiny village to a day of gruelling hard work, Marion and her husband face the daily struggle for survival. Starvation is never far away and travel to the next village is virtually unheard of. Existing without soap, paper or glass and with only the most basic of tools, sickness, fire and natural disaster ever threaten to engulf the small, tightly knit community.

At the mercy of the weather and the Lord of the Manor, each equally unpredictable and inescapable, Marions life is burdensome but also displays an admirable dignity and fortitude in the face of adversity.

The little village is at one with the natural world around it and each member has a role to play and a place in the hierarchy.

Simple people, living unrecorded lives in remote villages not on the way to anywhere are brought back into focus in Medieval Woman. Ann Baer defines and celebrates the woman at the heart of the community.

This is a unique approach to history, compressing decades of in-depth research on the Middle Ages into one single, immersive, compelling narrative.

Reviews

[A] month-by-month account of a medieval woman's life, completely persuasive and ringing with truth. If a medieval peasant woman had ever written a diary it would be like this. -- Philippa Gregory * The Times *
It is history at its readable best * Yorkshire Gazette & Herald *

Author Bio

Ann Baer was born in April 1914, and was a Director of the fine art publishers Ganymed Press, alongside her husband Bernhard. Previously, she attended Chelsea School of Art before working as a civil servant during the Second World War. She hand-illustrated Medieval Woman, and has maintained a lifelong interest in medieval England.