Voices of the European Middle Ages

An insightful examination of citizens' experiences-ranging all classes of people-during the Middle Ages using primary source documents.

It can be difficult to accurately imagine life hundreds of years ago. Voices of the European Middle Ages: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life serves to help 21st-century students and general readers understand what life in Europe during the Middle Ages was really like by describing the daily experiences of people across the social strata, covering politics, religion, domestic life, and food and clothing, as well as providing insight into the life and activities of members of the ruling class like Charlemagne. By providing access to a diverse collection of some 50 primary documents, this book enables readers to distill factual information direct from historical sources.



The single-volume work addresses the period from the fall of Rome to approximately 1450, an era that served as a bridge between classical antiquity and the rise of the early modern world during the Renaissance. Intended as a resource for building critical thinking skills as well as a history reference, it provides instruction on how to read primary documents critically. The author-a university-level history instructor-provides provocative questions on the documents to further an in-depth understanding of the subject matter. The primary text is also supplemented by a chronology, bibliography, glossary, index, and sidebar content.


* Offers high school students and public library patrons a series of primary source documents that directly connect them to the lives of Europeans during the Middle Ages

* Includes a chronology, bibliography, glossary, and index as well as interesting sidebars that help make connections between topics and documents

* Explores the ways in which Christianity was practiced among all classes

* Provides tools and techniques for in-depth analysis of primary source documents to assist readers in personal research and study projects