Medieval Gems

This book offers a window into medieval life through a compilation of extracts from a vast array of original sources, ranging from chronicles to law code and from rules of etiquette to letter collections. The extracts have been selected for their intrinsic interest and, in many cases, for their sheer humour; a number of them will resonate with modern readers and will hopefully help to dispel the myth that the medieval period lacked both interest and relevance.



Many of the sources that have been cited refer to ‘ordinary people’ rather than kings and emperors and we are introduced to cooks and butchers plying their wares and sometimes peddling substandard food in an attempt to scratch a living, to enclosed nuns who entertained men in their rooms, to impecunious university students writing home to their fathers for money, and to an inebriated youth being burnt alive in his bed.

Aceasta carte ofera o fereastra catre viata medievala printr-o compilatie de extrase dintr-o gama larga de surse originale, variind de la cronici la cod de lege si de la reguli de eticheta la colectii de scrisori. Extractele au fost selectate pentru interesul lor intrinsec si, in multe cazuri, pentru umorul lor pur; unii dintre ei vor rezona cu cititorii moderni si, speram, vor contribui la disiparea mitului conform caruia perioada medievala nu avea atat interes, cat si relevanta. bucatarilor si macelarilor care isi desfasoara marfa si, uneori, se ocupa de mancare necorespunzatoare in incercarea de a-si zgaria existenta, de calugarite inchise care distreaza barbati in camerele lor, de studenti impeciosi care scriu acasa parintilor lor pentru bani si de un tanar in stare de ebrietate ars in viata in patul lui.