Medieval Life in Europe (Fig)

Author: [German] Hans-Werner Goetz
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-02-01
Features: "This is a very easy-to-read book that will surprise readers," commented the Berliner Morgenpost. "It begins by describing the general conditions of life, such as the seasons: medieval people were defenseless against natural disasters. A destroyed harvest meant hunger, and hunger often followed closely behind the plague." Goetz discusses medieval families, touching on marriage and sexuality. The following chapters cover the lives of monks, farmers, knights, and urban citizens, all of which are fundamental forms of medieval daily life history. In this regard, he distinguishes between mechanisms, spaces, and the concept of people. Goetz argues that feudal lordship is a mechanism, binding dependent villagers within the system. Space refers to the poor farmer's small hut or the experimental operation or village. Finally, he discusses people, who are not understood as individuals but as members of a group. Monastic ascetic group life differs from the daily labor life of farm villagers. Although both are notable for their courtyard-style living and occasional peaks—festivals and competitions—their life desires are contradictory: the apostolic life of the monastery, the honor customs of the knight, and the profit-oriented mindset of the citizen. Idealized norms in that era were often exceptions beyond mere habits. All of this is clearly explained in the book, and we are always told that the Middle Ages were "dark." This book will guide us out of this misconception. It is a work that describes the early and middle periods of European medieval history from the perspective of "daily life." In the decade after its publication, it was reprinted six times and was well-received by readers. Unlike traditional historical works that focus on political events and economic backgrounds in the "great political history" and economic history, this book centers on the "world of daily life": living conditions (food, clothing, labor, living environment), life stages (birth, education, marital life, death), and also raises completely different questions from cultural history that are related to social history. It aims to portray and explore people who are at the center of their environment and constrained by it. Therefore, family, monasteries, manors, knightly and noble life, urban life, and the lives of citizens became the main narrative content of the book.