Booklist Review
This volume offers an overview of everyday life in medieval Europe via the examination of 45 objects from the era. The first part of the book covers the pre-Middle Ages (1100-1300 CE) through 1500 CE, with a chronology of the time period. There is also an introduction to the study of artifacts that defines the term and describes the methods and challenges in interpreting them. The artifacts are divided into eight categories, including Communications and Business, Domestic Items, Entertainment, and Religion. Each entry covers one individual artifact and contains an introduction, a description, and a discussion of the item's significance in everyday life. For example, the entry for the citole (a precursor to the modern violin) relates the importance of music as both a source of entertainment and of religious expression as well as exploring the social status of musicians in medieval times. Each entry includes a black-and-white illustration, a sidebar of primary source excerpts illustrating the main theme, and a bibliography. The narrative is on the academic side, making this volume a fine resource on the time period for undergraduate-level students.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2015 Booklist
Choice Review
This latest in the publisher's "Daily Life through Artifacts" series offers a selection of 45 objects (e.g., plow, trebuchet, printing press, chessboard, brassiere, eyeglasses) mostly dating from the High Middle Ages--around 1100 to 1300 CE. They were chosen by the author to educate students about ways that material culture can aid the study of history. Most of the artifacts had been in use for centuries and thus can serve to illuminate the entire Middle Ages (commonly considered to run from 500 to 1500 CE). Tschen-Emmons (Northern Colorado College) explains that the concept of "Middle Ages" was first used during the Renaissance, and he discusses historians' study and treatment of the time period, and methods of interpreting artifacts and assessing their significance. The entry for each object offers a black-and-white photograph, introduction, description, significance, and bibliography, giving information on the object itself and its owner's place in society. Some entries also highlight the pertinent primary sources. Organized thematically by topics of agriculture, art, business, domestic life, transport, science, and war, the volume also features a selected bibliography and index. Color images might have better helped to engage readers' interest, however, as the series is explicitly written for high school and junior-college students. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. --Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora University
Library Journal Review
Tschen-Emmons (history, North Idaho Coll.; mythology, Northern Virginia Community Coll.; Artifacts from Ancient Rome) presents life in medieval times in this work arranged according to a table of contents of nine wide-ranging topics, including agriculture and animal husbandry, communication and business, entertainment, and religion. Entries supply information on such artifacts as horse collars, garderobes, -penannular pins, bone ice skates, chessboards, and icons, with each accompanied by an introduction, a description, and a discussion of the object's significance. A list of titles for further information and sometimes the address of a related website are also offered. Though color photos would have been better, each article contains one black-and-white photo of the object under consideration. An occasional line drawing is also included. Quoted primary sources are identified and highlighted in gray boxes. While the informative text isn't particularly scholarly, it often assumes prior knowledge of the subjects. In other instances, the work could benefit from term explanations, a pronunciation guide, or a glossary. Chapters contain cross-references where appropriate. VERDICT A secondary purchase for upper high school and junior college students where medieval history serves as part of the curriculum.-Eldon Younce, Anthony P.L., KS © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
