Although life in the Middle Ages was not as comfortable and safe as it is for most people in industrialized countries today, the term “Dark Ages” is highly misleading. The era was not so primitive and crude as depictions in film and literature would suggest. Even during the worst years of the centuries immediately following the fall of Rome, the legacy of that civilization survived. This book covers diet, cooking, housing, building, clothing, hygiene, games and other pastimes, fighting and healing in medieval times. The reader will find numerous misperceptions corrected. The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography and a listing of collections of medieval art and artifacts and related sites across the United States and Canada so that readers in North America can see for themselves some of the matters discussed in the book.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

A lecturer on medieval history, Paul B. Newman holds degrees from the University of Maryland and George Washington University. He lives in Maryland.

Paul B. Newman
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 301
Bibliographic Info: photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2001
pISBN: 978-0-7864-0897-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5052-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     1
1. Eating and Cooking     3
2. Building and Housing     37
3. Clothing and Dressing     93
4. Cleaning     137
5. Relaxing and Playing     159
6. Fighting     191
7. Healing     241
Appendix     271
Bibliography     277
Index     283

“A wealth of material…great detail…excellent”—Booklist

“Very readable…appealing”—Mediaevistik