Frances Gies

Joseph Gies

Correcting the omissions of traditional history, this is "a reliable survey of the real and varied roles played by women in the medieval period. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice

WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE

For students, researchers, and history lovers, a look at day-to-day life in a rarely explored era. "About life and death, midwives and funerals, business, books and authors, and town government."--Choice

Life in a Medieval City

A lively, detailed picture of village life in the Middle Ages by the authors of Life in a Medieval City and Life in a Medieval Castle. "A good general introduction to the history of this period."--Los Angeles Times

Life in a Medieval Village

Describes the evolution, architecture, and historical function of the medieval castle and the daily life, habits, and relationships of its inhabitants through a detailed study of England's thirteenth-century Chepstow Castle

Life in a Medieval Castle

An overview of women in the early Middle Ages and attitudes towards them is followed by in-depth studies of the living conditions, expectations, roles, and accomplishments of real women of the high Middle Ages, ranging from peasant to merchant's wife to q

Women in the Middle Ages

The fascinating story of the fortunes of one medieval family over the course of a century, from bestselling historians Frances and Joseph Gies. The Pastons were members of the English gentry—a tiny group of roughly 1,000 households sandwiched between the ruling nobility and the peasants, and a rough analog for the contemporary “middle class.” Their existence was fairly typical, but for the fact that it was recorded in an extraordinary collection of nearly 1,000 letters which have survived to this day. Through these letters, which cover the years from 1421 to 1484, and the lives of three generations of Pastons, bestselling historians Frances and Joseph Gies provide a rare window into the day-to-day life of this family, and the broader political and social goings-on of medieval England. A Medieval Family first tells the story of Judge William Paston (1378-1444), the patriarch of the family, a lawyer and judge who bought up land in Norfolk and left his son a sizeable estate, which was later forcibly seized by a neighboring baron. We then follow the family through its ups and downs over several generations, learning of their feuds with neighbors, the frequent instability of 15th century England, and significant historical events, such as the Siege of Caister and the Battle of Barnet. There are also many letters of more personal significance, including a series of Valentines sent to John Paston III. The work of acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies has been used by George R.R. Martin in his research for Game of Thrones. In A Medieval Family, they have woven a compelling intergenerational saga that is essential reading for anyone seeking insight into the medieval period. “The Gieses, who specialize in making the Middle Ages accessible to nonspecialists, have done a wonderful job of linking and amplifying the Pastons’ words.” –New Yorker

The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England

A Medieval Family

The reissue of Joseph and Frances Gies’s classic bestseller on life in medieval villages. This new reissue of Life in a Medieval Village, by respected historians Joseph and Frances Gies, paints a lively, convincing portrait of rural people at work and at play in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the village of Elton, in the English East Midlands, the Gieses detail the agricultural advances that made communal living possible, explain what domestic life was like for serf and lord alike, and describe the central role of the church in maintaining social harmony. Though the main focus is on Elton, c. 1300, the Gieses supply enlightening historical context on the origin, development, and decline of the European village, itself an invention of the Middle Ages. Meticulously researched, Life in a Medieval Village is a remarkable account that illustrates the captivating world of the Middle Ages and demonstrates what it was like to live during a fascinating—and often misunderstood—era.

An illuminating look at the monumental inventions of the Middle Ages, by the authors of Life in a Medieval Castle.

Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel

Traduit pour la premiere fois en France, La Vie dans un chateau medieval est un classique qui a initie des millions de lecteurs anglophones aux secrets du monde medieval. Et qui a profondement inspire George R. R. Martin, le createur de A Game of Thrones. A partir du remarquable chateau de Chepstow, a la frontiere de l'Angleterre et du Pays de Galles, mais aussi des plus admirables chateaux forts francais, les grands medievistes Frances et Joseph Gies nous offrent un portrait saisissant de ce qu'etait la vie quotidienne de l'epoque et nous montrent l'importance du role qu'y jouait le chateau fort. Les Gies ont le don de rendre a la vie les hommes et les femmes qui vivaient dans et autour du chateau, le seigneur et la dame, les chevaliers et les soldats, les serviteurs et les paysans, les troubadours et les jongleurs. Nous y decouvrons comment les seigneurs et les serfs se vetaient et se lavaient, ce qu'ils buvaient et ce qu'ils mangeaient, quels etaient leurs loisirs et leurs occupations, leurs codes de conduite sexuelle, leurs principes d'ordre et de solidarite. Nous y apprenons le role essentiel que jouait l'honneur dans la culture medievale, le processus d'initiation auquel se soumettaient les chevaliers, l'importance des fetes religieuses et des liens personnels, et pourquoi le chateau fort etait autant un rempart contre les violences qu'une source de conflit et un enjeu de pouvoir. Remarquablement documente, et aussi plaisant a lire qu'un roman, La Vie dans un chateau medieval est l'ouvrage de reference pour quiconque a envie de se plonger, l'espace de quelques heures, dans cette epoque fascinante.

La vie dans un château médiéval

Compiles the Gies' three books Life in a Medieval Castle , Life in a Medievality and Life in a Medieval Village to provide a broad social history of4th-century Europe. They draw from both literary and archaeological sources.he illustrations, though plentiful and colorful, remain subordinate to

A Vivid, Detailed Account of Birth, Marriage and Death; Food, Clothing and Housing, Love and Labor in the Middle Ages

Daily Life in Medieval Times

From bestselling historians Frances and Joseph Gies, authors of the classic "Medieval Life" series, comes this compelling, lucid, and highly readable account of the family unit as it evolved throughout the Medieval period--reissued for the first time in decades. "Some particular books that I found useful for Game of Thrones and its sequels deserve mention. Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval City, both by Joseph and Frances Gies." --George R. R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones Throughout history, the significance of the family--the basic social unit--has been vital. In Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages, acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies trace the development of marriage and the family from the medieval era to early modern times. It describes how the Roman and barbarian cultural streams merged under the influence of the Christian church to forge new concepts, customs, laws, and practices. Century by century, the Gies follow the development--sometimes gradual, at other times revolutionary--of significant components in the history of the family including: The basic functions of the family as a production unit, as well as its religious, social, judicial, and educational roles. The shift of marriage from private arrangement between families to public ceremony between individuals, and the adjustments in dowry, bride-price, and counter-dowry. The development of consanguinity rules and incest taboos in church law and lay custom. The peasant family in its varying condition of being free or unfree, poor, middling, or rich. The aristocratic estate, the problem of the younger son, and the disinheritance of daughters. The Black Death and its long-term effects on the family. Sex attitudes and customs: the effects of variations in age of men and women at marriage. The changing physical environment of noble, peasant, and urban families. Arrangements by families for old age and retirement. Expertly researched, master historians Frances and Joseph Gies--whose books were used by George R.R. Martin in his research for Game of Thrones--paint a compelling, detailed portrait of family life and social customs in one of the most riveting eras in history.

Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages

Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel

Reissued for the first time in decades, this ambitious work of Medieval scholarship by bestselling historians Frances and Joseph Gies traces the stories and fates of women in Medieval Europe over the course of a millennium. Medieval history is often written as a series of battles and territorial shifts. But the essential contributions of women during this period have been too often relegated to the dustbin of history. In Women in the Middle Ages, Frances and Joseph Gies reclaim this lost history, in a lively historical survey that charts the evolution of women’s roles throughout the period, and profiles eight individual women in depth. We learn of Hildegarde of Bingen, an abbess who was a noted composer and founded two monasteries; of Eleanor de Montfort, a 13th century Princess of Wales who was captured by Edward I and held as a political prisoner for three years; and women of somewhat more modest means, such as the spouse of an Italian merchant, and a peasant’s wife. Drawing upon their various stories, talented historians Frances and Joseph Gies—whose books were used by George R.R. Martin in his research for Game of Thrones—offer a kaleidoscopic view of the lives of women throughout this tumultuous period. “A wealth of solid information.” –New York Times

The Lives of Real Women in a Vibrant Age of Transition

Every aspect of life in a prosperous thirteenth-century city is explored in this representative study of Troyes in 1250 A.D.

This illustrated text provides a detailed account of birth, marriage and death; food, clothing and housing; love and labour in Europe during the Middle Ages.

A Vivid, Detailed Account of Birth, Marriage and Death; Food, Clothing and Housing; Love and Labor in the Middle Ages

A biography of the thirty-third President of the United States from childhood, through his years as Vice-President to Franklin D. Roosevelt, to his sudden rise to the office of President, to the decision to drop atomic bombs, and the beginnings of the Cold War.

Harry S. Truman, a Pictorial Biography

Chcesz wiedzieć, jak wyglądało życie kobiet w średniowieczu? Musiały walczyć o swoje prawa, dbać o ognisko domowe, a na temat ich ciała najwięcej do powiedzenia mieli... księża. Brzmi znajomo? Codzienność średniowiecznych niewiast w pewnych aspektach niewiele się różniła od realiów znanych współczesnym kobietom. Dwoje cenionych historyków zabiera nas w fascynującą podróż śladami średniowiecznych kobiet. Przedstawia nam sylwetki niewiast spełniających się w roli matek, sprawujących z mężami władzę i tych uciekających przed zalotnikami do zakonów. Królowe i służące. Mniszki i morderczynie. Żony i kochanki. Femme fatale wykorzystujące swoje ciało do zdobywania tytułów i majątku. Niektóre z nich nie cofały się przed najpodlejszymi intrygami i po trupach dążyły do celu. Inne wykazywały się nieprzeciętnymi zdolnościami, wpływały na decyzje polityczne swoich mężów albo spełniały się jako opiekunki ogniska domowego. Historia tych kobiet to porywająca wyprawa w świat średniowiecznych układów. Oglądasz Grę o tron? Czy Daenerys lub Cersei mogły istnieć w rzeczywistości? Tworząc fascynujące i silne kobiece charaktery, George R.R. Martin czerpał garściami z historii średniowiecza. Opisy dworskich intryg, walki o władzę i nieposkromionych kobiecych ambicji zostały oparte na prawdziwych wydarzeniach. *** Życie średniowiecznej kobiety to kolejna książka wybitnych badaczy, których pozycje inspirowały Georga R.R. Martina przy tworzeniu Pieśni lodu i ognia. Jest to lektura obowiązkowa dla jego fanów oraz miłośników historii średniowiecza. Powyższy opis pochodzi od wydawcy.

Joseph Gies

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