Book Log 16/2013 - Terry Jones: Medieval Lives

[jacey]

A popular history book that accompanied a BBC series (which I did not see) It makes no pretence of exploring any subject in depth, however Jones manages to debunk a lot of common ideas about the medieval period, including the very definition itself.  He argues that the Middle Ages are a construct of later historians and show as much change from beginning to end as can be found in the years between the two Queens Elizabeth.

He takes various professions: minstrel, monk, damsel, knight, king and teases out some interesting, though maybe random, facts about specific personages as well as general facts about the profession. There wasn't much here I didn't know, but it was great as a memory stirrer.

Light, light-hearted and informative this is a history that can be dipped into casually or read from cover to cover.

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Jones is making what can only be described as a: 'statement of the bleedin' obvious' as all historical periods are constructions- the people living in them only thought of them as 'now' not 'the Middle Ages' or whatever.

I study what it known as the Early modern period which stretches from something like the Henrician Reformation (although Henry VIII can also be seen as the last Mediaeval king) to the start of the Industrial Revolution.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Bleeding obvious to historians. Not always bleeding obvious for the audience Jones is aiming at. I'm prpobably halfway between because I'm interested in history without being a trained historian. I don't read weighty tomes from cover to cover. As I said, there wasn't much new here for me, but it was a pleasant book to dip into. And I suspect for some people it was as close as they'll get to a history book in their lives, in which case stating the bleeding obvious is not a bad thing.