naiapard's review
5.0
This book was really something else. I should have started with the first book in the series but it is quite a hard to find, even in better circumstances (than a frecking pandemic).
It is preoccupied by the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and how those periods helped the concept of privacy develop into what has become today. It may have stemmed from the way politics were done (figures!).
They followed the evolution of certain laws that gradually introduced in their vernacular concepts that entailed property-privatization—(and more than that) the self. The individual became a thing .
One was represented by his own deeds and actions and not so much by his community (that is a crass simplification because people still identified with a community- for example their recognized themselves as Catholics, but they started being more weary of those with which they made contact—you were no longer able to just stroll in one`s courtyard and expect lodging over night and/or food).
Another factor is the growing alphabetization of the population (this book is a study based on the French society-history), but do not imagine that those numbers were sky rocketing to the level of the current statistics. They are talking of people able to sign themselves (and that did not necessarily mean that they could write if they could read).
If you find yourself in need of a non-fiction that is both pleasantly read and at the same time quite informative this may be it.
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It is preoccupied by the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and how those periods helped the concept of privacy develop into what has become today. It may have stemmed from the way politics were done (figures!).
They followed the evolution of certain laws that gradually introduced in their vernacular concepts that entailed property-privatization—(and more than that) the self. The individual became a thing .
One was represented by his own deeds and actions and not so much by his community (that is a crass simplification because people still identified with a community- for example their recognized themselves as Catholics, but they started being more weary of those with which they made contact—you were no longer able to just stroll in one`s courtyard and expect lodging over night and/or food).
Another factor is the growing alphabetization of the population (this book is a study based on the French society-history), but do not imagine that those numbers were sky rocketing to the level of the current statistics. They are talking of people able to sign themselves (and that did not necessarily mean that they could write if they could read).
If you find yourself in need of a non-fiction that is both pleasantly read and at the same time quite informative this may be it.
Instagram\\my Blog\\
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
4.0
A really lovely book, rich in detail, crazy in scope. If there's anything I can possibly reproach it for, it's these two things: the chapter on literature isn't as interesting as the others (nor is it as clear, in my opinion); and also, that it explains the situation in only a few places in Europe, without much mention of other areas.
It's good to know, as the authors caution us again and again, that they do not have the ambition to describe all of Medieval Europe at once, but at the same time I felt that a few words about the situation elsewhere or how typical some of the aspects were for the rest of the world would have been useful.
Overall, however, it was a fascinating read, with a lot of interesting little details and very concrete information which is an absolute pleasure to read. I highly recommend it.
It's good to know, as the authors caution us again and again, that they do not have the ambition to describe all of Medieval Europe at once, but at the same time I felt that a few words about the situation elsewhere or how typical some of the aspects were for the rest of the world would have been useful.
Overall, however, it was a fascinating read, with a lot of interesting little details and very concrete information which is an absolute pleasure to read. I highly recommend it.
firerosearien's review against another edition
4.0
Parts were absolutely fascinating, other parts bored me, not because of bad writing or poor scholarship (quite the opposite) but just because there's only so much interest I have in the physical architecture of the Roman Domus. Reading this was certainly a commitment, but I definitely learned a lot about the private live of the Ancient Romans and the early Franks, so that makes it worth it.
firerosearien's review against another edition
4.0
Some of this was an absolute chore to get through but the chapter on Tuscan nobility and the elaboration on the symbolism of medieval costume are well worth the read.
innashtakser's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant (and brilliantly written) overview of private life in Rome and then in Byzantium and in early medieval Europe. I learned a lot.
kristick's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as the previous 4 volumes of this series, but still pretty interesting.
kristick's review
4.0
This is the best volume of the 3 I've read. I found interesting parallels between the young men of the chirivari and the Taliban in one section. Also, it was interesting to read how reading as changed over the centuries.
kristick's review against another edition
3.0
Second volume of 5 volume series - interesting view of life in Medieval Europe.
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