Medieval Life - by Roberta Gilchrist (Paperback)

About the Book

An examination of daily life in the Middle Ages which reveals the intimate relations between age groups, between the living and the dead, and between people and things.

Book Synopsis

The aim of this book is to explore how medieval life was actually lived - how people were born and grew old, how they dressed, how they inhabited their homes, the rituals that gave meaning to their lives and how they prepared for death and the afterlife.
Its fresh and original approach uses archaeological evidence to reconstruct the material practices of medieval life, death and the afterlife. Previous historical studies of the medieval "lifecycle" begin with birth and end with death. Here, in contrast, the concept of life course theory is developed for the first time in a detailed archaeological case study. The author argues that medieval Christian understanding of the "life course" commenced with conception and extended through the entirety of life, to include death and the afterlife.
Five thematic case studies present the archaeology of medieval England (c.1050-1540 CE) in terms of the body, the household, the parish church and cemetery, and the relationship between the lives of people and objects. A wide range of sources is critically employed: osteology, costume, material culture, iconography and evidence excavated from houses, churches and cemeteries in the medieval English town and countryside. Medieval Life reveals the intimate and everyday relations between age groups, between the living and the dead, and between people and things.

ROBERTA GILCHRIST is Research Dean and Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading.

Review Quotes

A significant book that has potential to open new areas of study and to bring innovative approaches to a wide audience of medievalists from different disciplines.-- "ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL"

A very original work of analysis and synthesis. [...] An unusual, and unusually interesting study.-- "NORTHERN HISTORY"

A very welcome paperback version.Gilchrist shows us in strong detail throughout how much the archaeology can `talk' and inform us of people of all ages and classes in this period.-- "MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY"

A vital and innovative contribution to our understanding of how medieval people interacted with and comprehended the world they inhabited. . [It] is an exemplary model of interdisciplinary history.-- "JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY"

A wonderful bringing-together of archaeology with standard history.-- "BIBLIOBUFFET"

A worthy addition to the shelves of any student of medieval life.-- "FACHRS NEWSLETTER"

Gilchrist draws from an impressively wide range of evidence with skill. The volume is a detailed interrogation of the personal objects that furnished Medieval life [and] as a result it is a notable contribution to a growing body of complex interdisciplinary social archaeologies.-- "CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY"

If you prefer your medieval studies written with sustained brilliance, elegant, concise prose and frequently ravishing insight, then this is the book for you.-- "MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY"

In accessible language and compelling prose, Roberta Gilchrist applies a substantial corpus of archaeological evidence and anthropological theory on material culture to the social construction of the medieval life from c. 1050 to 1540. This book is essential reading for medievalists already working with material evidence, and provides an elegant example for historians and religious scholars of all periods interested in how material theory can shape their own projects.-- "RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVIEW"

The great merit of Roberta Gilchrist's volume is that it shows us a past that was infinitely more complicated, and often complicated by people whose voices have left no articulate trace.-- "TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT"

This important book is well written and supports every conjecture with evidence and citations. By organizing the book along thematic questions as opposed to categories of objects, Gilchrist gives a stimulating new perspective on the interdisciplinary topic of life cycles in medieval England.-- "MEDIEVAL REVIEW"

This is an important book. The scope of the work is impressive [and] the presentation is excellent.-- "ANTIQUITY"

Vivid and rich in humanity. [...] For anyone who wishes to sense what being medieval meant, it is a key text.-- "BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY"