The axe and the oath : ordinary life in the Middle Ages / Robert Fossier ; translated by Lydia G. Cochrane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fossier, Robert.

Standardized Title:

Ces gens du Moyen Âge. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civilization, Medieval.

Middle Ages.

Europe--Social life and customs.

Europe.

Europe--Social conditions--To 1492.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (399 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In The Axe and the Oath, one of the world's leading medieval historians presents a compelling picture of daily life in the Middle Ages as it was experienced by ordinary people. Writing for general readers, Robert Fossier vividly describes how these vulnerable people confronted life, from birth to death, including childhood, marriage, work, sex, food, illness, religion, and the natural world. While most histories of the period focus on the ideas and actions of the few who wielded power and stress how different medieval people were from us, Fossier concentrates on the other nine-tenths of humanity in the period and concludes that "medieval man is us.? Drawing on a broad range of evidence, Fossier describes how medieval men and women encountered, coped with, and understood the basic material facts of their lives. We learn how people related to agriculture, animals, the weather, the forest, and the sea; how they used alcohol and drugs; and how they buried their dead. But The Axe and the Oath is about much more than simply the material demands of life. We also learn how ordinary people experienced the social, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of medieval life, from memory and imagination to writing and the Church. The result is a sweeping new vision of the Middle Ages that will entertain and enlighten readers.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Part One. Man and the World

Chapter 1: Naked Man

Chapter 2: The Ages of Life

Chapter 3: Nature

Chapter 4: And the Animals?

Part Two: Man in Himself

Introduction

Chapter 5: Man in Himself

Chapter 6: Knowledge

Chapter 7: And the Soul

Conclusion

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9786612645099

9781282645097

1282645099

9781400836147

140083614X

OCLC:

650876244