# The Time Traveller's Guide To Medieval England **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641 "2013-08-07T23:00:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/1 "2013-08-07T23:00:03Z")
Has anyone read this book and if yes, then what do you think of it? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/2 "2013-08-07T23:05:12Z")
I had never heard of it until your post. Here is the [amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Guide-Medieval-England/dp/1439112908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375916515&sr=8-1&keywords=time+travelers+guide+to+medieval+england)page with reviews. I’m going to get it, as I find this period very compelling. It’s impossible for us to imagine living in such a small world, as we are exposed every day to so much (TOO much :rolleyes: ) of the rest of the world every minute of every day. Looking forward to delving into it! ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/3 "2013-08-07T23:17:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I had never heard of it until your post. Here is the [amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Guide-Medieval-England/dp/1439112908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375916515&sr=8-1&keywords=time+travelers+guide+to+medieval+england)page with reviews. I’m going to get it, as I find this period very compelling. It’s impossible for us to imagine living in such a small world, as we are exposed every day to so much (TOO much :rolleyes: ) of the rest of the world every minute of every day. Looking forward to delving into it! I just borrowed it from the library and began reading it, has some interesting points which most people tend to not know. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/4 "2013-08-08T02:03:03Z")
I enjoyed it, as did my wife the mediaeval-history major. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/5 "2013-08-08T02:14:32Z")
In checking for it at my library I found that the same author has a similar book on time traveling to Elizabethan England. I think if I could go to just one era that’s where I’d go, but Medieval would be fascinating as well. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/6 "2013-08-08T02:22:58Z")
There’s a 3 part TV (BBC) series associated with the book as well, it’s been on my list of shows to check out. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/7 "2013-08-08T13:43:21Z")
I haven’t read this one, but I really liked Ian Mortimer’s book about Edward III. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/8 "2013-08-08T14:28:39Z")
I enjoyed it and have passed it around to a few history buff friends who like it as well. My husband hasn’t read it but he did get the benefit of hearing most of the interesting parts read aloud to him, whether he wanted to hear them or not. I’ll probably read it again this winter. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/9 "2013-08-08T15:30:01Z")
I read it a few months ago, and enjoyed it. The chapter on the criminal justice system was frightening. When I was a kid, I would read stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur, and fantasize about living in the Middle Ages. After reading this book, and watching “Going Medieval” on the History Channel, I have given up on that notion. It’s kind of ironic that Karl Marx viewed feudalism as a primitive stage that society must evolve beyond. In the real world, medieval farming towns came much closer to the socialist ideal than most 20th Century communes ever managed. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/10 "2013-08-08T15:37:52Z")
I loved it; the particular STYLE of describing history was novel, and I think would translate well to any period in history. It gave a much more personal slant to how things were; reading about the ascendancy of Bruges as a wool trading center in the 14th century isn’t nearly so interesting as reading about how the sumptuary laws worked, or about the courts of the era, or the diet of various people in that era. The book sort of reminded me of an expanded written form companion to the “The Supersizers Eat” show for medieval England. (to those not aware, the book’s written much like a travel guide to 14th century life for a time-traveling modern man with dos, don’ts and things to be aware of) I’d particularly like to see a larger series of these books to include Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Dark Ages Europe, Byzantium, Regency/Napoleonic times (1760-1815 more or less), and even maybe some various decades of the 19th and 20th centuries. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/11 "2013-08-08T15:56:31Z")
Bought and paid for, both Medieval and Elizabethan. Only $10 apiece used including shipping on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/12 "2013-08-08T17:03:56Z")
That sounds fantastic. I’m really interested in that time period. I might just have to get the Kindle version! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england/665641/13 "2013-08-08T17:28:13Z")
I was disappointed, Though accessable I thought it was far too light on interesting material. Instead I’d recommend A World Lit Only By Fire as a fairly light read that does a better job of painting a picture of what life was like in mideval England.