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Medieval Woman: Village Life in the Middle Ages Paperback – November 1, 2018

by Ann Baer (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 552 ratings
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A year in the life of a peasant woman in medieval England is vividly evoked in this extraordinary portrait of Marion, a carpenter’s wife, and her extended family. Based on years of research, Ann Baer brings to life the reality of a world that has been lost. Rising before dawn in a tiny village to a day of grueling hard work, Marion and her husband face the daily struggle for survival. Starvation is never far away and travel to the next village is virtually unheard of. Existing without soap, paper or glass and with only the most basic of tools, sickness, fire and natural disaster ever threaten to engulf the small, tightly knit community. At the mercy of the weather and the Lord of the Manor, each equally unpredictable and inescapable, Marion’s life is burdensome but also displays an admirable dignity and fortitude in the face of adversity. The little village is at one with the natural world around it and each member has a role to play and a place in the hierarchy. Simple people, living unrecorded lives in remote villages not on the way to anywhere are brought back into focus in Medieval Woman. Ann Baer defines and celebrates the woman at the heart of the community.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Michael O'Mara
  4. Publication date
    November 1, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.9 x 7.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    178243898X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1782438984
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Completely persuasive and ringing with truth. If a medieval peasant woman had ever written a diary it would be like this." —Philippa Gregory

About the Author

Ann Baer is former director of the fine art publishers Ganymed Press. She hand-illustrated Medieval Woman, and has maintained a lifelong interest in medieval England.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Michael O'Mara (November 1, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 178243898X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1782438984
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.9 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 552 ratings

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Ann Baer

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
552 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jean Mader Booklover
5.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable & Lovelt Book
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
A truly beautiful story that chronicles one year in the life of Marion, a wife and mother living in Medieval times in England. The book, by Anna Baer, begins in March, and then proceeds chapter by chapter through the year.

Marion is married to Peter Carpenter, and he is a carpenter and a nice man and father. Marion has 2 living children. A cat, chickens, and a goat complete the family, although the reader of the book is also present in the small cottage, too. That’s how realistic this book is!

Written in a lovely, lyrical way, we see the changing of seasons, we follow Marion through her daily tasks, and we are privy to her inner thoughts. We also get to know the other village families and we celebrate the community events with them.

Life is hard, and death is perilously close. But the village bands together to survive the weather, and poor harvests. Marion gets some joy from the beauty of the changing seasons, the antics of her children and the strength of her husband. Still, she knows that her life is mainly day to day with endless work and worry.

A poem starts each chapter, and the writing in this book is almost poetic itself. This is a book to savor.
I do wish there had been some author’s notes to explain some of the events and to indicate the year and location of the village.
5 people found this helpful
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Book reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good historical nivel
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2019
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This is not a straight history book, but an historical novel. The book focuses on the daily life of one woman, throughout the year, describing her activities, those of her relatives and friends, and sometimes larger events and influence from outside her village. It was an interesting, readable and listenable book, but I was startled by the novelization approach.
4 people found this helpful
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K. H. Cooler
5.0 out of 5 stars Great buy!
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2023
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Good price, good condition, good service. Entirely satisfied.
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spudboy100
5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Age well imagined.
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2021
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The medieval period sometime after the Norman invasion, deduced simply by the naming of the characters. Intensely imagined, deeply researched, set in the secluded world of a medieval village, where journeying much farther than 15 miles from The Manor was difficult for most villagers to comprehend. Endurance was the only way to survive.
One person found this helpful
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R1mahem
5.0 out of 5 stars Expands upon the female mindset in this time period.
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2019
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I love this book. It’s told from a fictional viewpoint but is historically accurate and it expounds upon the mindset and held ideas a female would have had during this time period. There’s a lot of loss in this book. Some parts are sad, but it really makes you think about how viral would have had to been to service.
One person found this helpful
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Sweater lover
5.0 out of 5 stars HISTORIC ENTERTAINMENT
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020
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I read all things Medieval and this brought out some interesting facts I hadn’t read before. It’s an old book, but well worth reading now and then when one feels “needy” of more consumerism, technology and a fat wallet.
One person found this helpful
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karen16660
4.0 out of 5 stars a good read
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013
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very informative but very enjoyable to read. Makes you appreciate running water, inside loos, instant heat and the convenience of supermarkets!!!!!!!!!!!
One person found this helpful
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Reader reader
2.0 out of 5 stars Not history and not a novel
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2023
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Do not expect a history here. There are no specifics such as time or place, only sometime during the centuries that made up the Medieval period and probably in some part of England, to judge from the few place names and most of the personal names. Neither is it a story as a story requires a plot. It’s not a bad read, but the story is not the view of the woman supposedly speaking about her life. It is the interpretation of that life by an author who is focused on the “Dark Ages.”
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Top reviews from other countries

bookworm101
5.0 out of 5 stars Chillingly authentic
Reviewed in Germany on December 18, 2023
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If you want to appreciate how much you have and how good you've got it, this engaging book follows the everyday life of a mediaeval peasant woman over the course of a year. The author has produced a story of unflinching detail that's hard to put down, and whose end you reach with a feeling of great regret. It's rare nowadays that I get to the end of a book and cry, "Oh no!" But I did here and felt a bit bereft when it was finished.
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Elizabeth C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in Canada on March 14, 2021
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It reads really easy and gives a glimpse of what life was like as a peasant woman in what I think is the early Middle ages. It really opens up the mind and allows us to see how the challenges and situations shaped the people back then. I recommend for anyone who likes to study every day life in different time periods! There are a lot of descriptions but it reads like a novel, though a slow-paced one.
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Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars The Past is Another Country
Reviewed in Australia on June 19, 2020
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What can I say about a fictionalised account of a mediaeval woman’s life over the course of a year as written in this book? I can’t say how accurate- I don’t know. I can’t say how detailed, I don’t know. How true is Marion’s life? I don’t know.
What I do know is that the amount of reading and research that went into this book was enormous. From baking to shearing, from coppicing to gravedigging, the education of priests to the supply of salt to a small inland village.
Did she have a time machine and nip back to visit, I don’t know, but at points the very aching strangeness of the life led by the women rang true. Strip back our lives to the bare bones physically and you still cannot fully appreciate or comprehend the lives of mediaeval peasantry. Their very minds and souls were different, and the author has conveyed this so well, the best I have ever read.
By the time you have read this, you will be glad for a well stocked larder, rain proof walls & roof, heating, weatherproof shoes, medicine....
I LOVED this book. I am now begging her to write another. Unfortunately it will probably take years to amass enough research, I can wait if it is as good as this.
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H. A. Weedon
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Readable Gem of a Book..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2014
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Medieval Woman by Ann Baer is one of the most fascinating, carefully researched, well written and readable historical works ever written. That said, it needs to be understood that this is a work of fiction based on fact. Ann Baer doesn't claim to be an historian: she's simply writing about medieval everyday folk for modern everyday folk to read. The book takes the reader through the experiences of medieval village life over the period of one year, beginning in March and ending in February.

I bought my copy of this work soon after it was first published and I've cherished it ever since. I'm only sorry that Ann Baer has not written more books because she's a first-rate story teller. Here we have a supreme example of how to write history for non-historians. It's good to know that this gem of a work is still available from several sellers and also on Kindle. I've read my copy of it several times over the years and I never tire of it. It makes you feel that you're truly there living out life as it was then with the variety of fascinating characters.
5 people found this helpful
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Silure Dumnonii
4.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected
Reviewed in Australia on December 13, 2016
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I hadn't realised that this was a fictionalized account of a medieval woman's life when I bought it and was initially disappointed. None the less the story was engaging and I found myself reading through to the end.
The life of a medieval peasant woman (not the wealthy woman displayed on the cover) seems unimaginably hard, dreary and exhausting, something I'd always imagined to be the case but this book brought the facts to life. Hard work and tragedy are interspersed with occasional high days and holidays, good fortune and love of family.
My only quarrels are some of the name choices and the seeming absence of religion and folk beliefs, other than attending compulsory mass on Sunday.
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