Magical Musings

This historical reference work is really tailor-made for writers. Ian Mortimer couldn’t be a more qualified source of information, as a member of the Royal Historical Society, and the recipient of their prestigeous Alexander Prize in 2004.

What I love most about this book is the way it’s written, as if you really were travelling back in time to the medieval period, with chapter headings like What to Wear, What to Eat and Drink, and most delightfully, What to Do.

Under the chapter heading of Landscape, Mortimer discusses London in some detail, and includes a list of Ten Places to See in London. For example, Sight number 6 is The Strand. Apparently it affords the visiting time traveller, or just plain traveller, the best view of the river, and is were the most prestigious houses are located. Sight number 9 is Tyburn. It is THE PLACE to go if you want to see a good execution. Roll up, roll up, there is one nearly every day!

But Mortimer understands the curious time traveller may want to leave the stench and refuse-filled ditches of London behind him or her, and wander throught the countryside, stopping at the small towns and villages they pass along the way. He offers plenty of insight and advise to those wishing to experience the bucolic delights of the medieval countryside.

And if you’re confused about who is who in the zoo when it comes to people, he gives the perplexed time traveller a nice little graph so you can see the social hierarchy at a glance. He also splits things up helpfully into those who work, those who fight, the clergy and then, of course, women. I found his information on how women were treated, discriminated against and how that situation was almost impossible to reverse because of the social order and conditions of the time very interesting.

He also gives an extremely interesting chapter on the character of the medieval person. How they thought, what their perceptions of the outside world and each other were. He also gives some handy information on the price of goods, and wages and salaries.

This is the kind of history text I love. Social history at its best, well-written, often amusing, and yet backed with a great deal of research. If you’re writing about the medieval period, and medieval England in particular, I highly recommend this book.