This book is fantastic. 🙂

The book is organized into sections on “Chaucer’s World” (social, religious, and economic aspects of life), “The Course of Life” (birth, childhood, and adolescence, education, marriage, and old age), “The Cycles of Time” (which concludes with a calendar of the medieval year describing the festivals and events of each month), “The Living Environment” (including houses, villages, towns, and travel), “Clothing and Accessories” (including instruction for making complete medieval male and female outfits and braiding authentic medieval lace), “Arms and Armor” (which describes medieval armor from the point of view of the wearer), “Food and Drink” (featuring a selection of recipes), and “Entertainments” (songs with sheet music and instructions for authentic games and dances of the period). A chronology of medieval England, a glossary, appendixes with information and ideas on organizing a medieval event, and suggestions for further reading complete it. This is an indispensable resource…I’m really quite surprised I hadn’t stumbled over it sooner. It looks to give a true understanding of what it would actually be like to live in 14th-century England.

Now I want the whole set. Maybe Bookfoole can offer me a deal. Some of these are more interesting than others, but I’m greedy and want them all. (it looks like they’re still making more, too..a few of them aren’t’ due out until next year, and the list continues.) Considering that they’re about $50 a pop, I’m probably going to end up with all of them in my library eventually.

Daily Life During the Holocaust (Soumerai)
Daily Life During the Spanish Inquisition (Anderson)
Daily Life in 18th-Century England (Olsen)
Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Nemet-Nejat)
Daily Life in Chaucer’s England (Singman) – This is the one I already have
Daily Life in Civil War America (Volo)
Daily Life in Colonial New England (Johnson)
Daily Life in Early Modern Japan (Perez)
Daily Life in Elizabethan England (Singman)
Daily Life in Maya Civilization (Sharer)
Daily Life in Medieval Europe (Singman)
Daily Life in Renaissance Italy (Cohen)
Daily Life in Traditional China (Benn)
Daily Life in Victorian England (Mitchell)
Daily Life in the Age of Sail (Volo)
Daily Life in the Inca Empire (Malpass)
Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939 (Kyvig)
Daily Life in the United States, 1940-1959 (Kaledin)
Daily Life in the United States, 1960-1990 (Marty)
Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians (Brier)
Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks (Garland)
Daily Life of the Ancient Romans (Matz)
Daily Life of the Aztecs (Carrasco)
Daily Life on the Nineteenth Century American Frontier (Jones)