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Accessible book about life in medieval Britain?

29 replies

wavingfuriously · 06/01/2025 22:19

Interesting book about medieval life in uk needed please. Really bored by dry old intellectual tomes... something to being the era alive!

Thank you

OP posts:
aramox1 · 08/01/2025 19:26

@SprigatitoYouAndIKnow Janina Ramirez's Femina might be a good start on the women's history

AlmostCutMyHairToday · 08/01/2025 19:28

It's not just about medieval times, but I've just started At Home by Bill Bryson and it's v interesting!

Inaflummox · 08/01/2025 19:53

The Paston Letters - a real insight into how people thought.

Gifu · 10/01/2025 21:49

David Mitchel's Unruly is very good, but isn't really a book about life in Medieval Britain. Great background reading for that time though - it chronicals the succession of monarchs in a very light and entertaining way.

Ken Follet is fabulous in the way he describes life in Medieval Britain. He writes extremely well informed fiction. However I struggle to recommend him because he is such an old letch. All his women are "aware of their breasts under their smocks". No, Ken, I think you are aware of their breats, mate. He also loves a violent rape and punctuates his fabulous medieval descriptions with degrading sexual assault of his breasty female characters.

For medieval peasant life, I quite liked Medieval Woman by Ann Baer. A short book about the life of a peasant woman.

Also highly recommend The Anglo Saxons by Marc Morris. This spans from the time the Roman administration left through to the Norman Conquest, by choosing various important people or events per chapter. I especially loved his chapters on saints and intend to read The Private Lives of the Saints by Janina Ramirez next (I haven't read Femina yet but it's on my list).

Do you enjoy podcasts, OP? I get huge milage from podcasts on this time - all free on Spotify. I like Dan Snow's History Hit, In Our Time, History Extra - there are loads. GoneMedieval and The Rest is History are also popular. I just listened to a very short one about urban pigs in medieval towns. I fall down rabbit holes about a particular person all the time.

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