Medieval Lives
What am I reading this week?
This week it’s
Medieval Lives: Eight Charismatic Men and Women of the Middle Agesby Norman F. Cantor. I’ve read the first section and so far, it’s pretty good.
Obviously, it’s a study of several people from the Middle Ages. Generally, they’re famous people, but “famous” is a relative term. If one is a scholar of Medieval history, they’re well known. If you are new to the subject, this is a fairly easy introduction to some of the movers and shakers of the Middle Ages Europe. Each chapter focuses on a different personality, showing how they might have acted and what their lives might have been like in a fictionalized way. Some liberties have been taken with the fine details of speech and mannerisms to make the subject more accessible to the modern reader, but I don’t think anything really suffers in the translation.
Again, I haven’t finished this book yet, but, so far, it’s pretty good. Easy to read for a book on such a heavy, and occasionally dusty, subject. I wouldn’t rely on this book for a scholarly study or paper, but it’s a breezy introduction for the lay person.
