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| Terry Jones' Medieval Lives | 
| Author: Terry Jones
Publisher: BBC Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.84
You Save: $6.11 (41%)
New (31) from $8.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 80353
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 0563522755
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780563522751
ASIN: 0563522755
Publication Date: May 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 12 | | NEXT » |
 Great Book November 15, 2007
I found the book to be a good idea of what Medieval Live was about. I'm going to be part of a local Ren Faire and found the book to be very helpful in putting together a character of a monk.
 Entertaining and provocative survey of medieval archetypes August 16, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
When Terry Jones joined Monty Python, he kept his day job. He is a scholar and professor of medieval studies. Which means, MEDIEVAL LIVES is serious history for general readers, but it is also history dished up in a fluent voice that chuckles over human folly, is appropriately stern at the abuses of power that caused incredible pain and suffering, and returns with awe at the lights of human achievement that managed to flicker in an epoch of constant bloodshed.
Nothing seems to annoy Jones more than the inaccuracies that have circulated as fact about the period he defines as beginning with the Norman Conquest in 1066 and ending when Henry VIII effectively dismantled the old church in 1536. The overarching inaccuracy is that the medieval period was static and primitive. Au contraire says Jones and developed a BBC series taking the 470 years archetype by archetype, looking at how things changed often dramatically in that long period, sometimes progressively, sometimes regressively for the likes of peasants, minstrels, monks, outlaws, scientists, knights, women and kings. He stomped forcibly on the inaccuracies and falsehoods largely promulgated in the Renaissance and Victorian eras. This book is the companion volume to that series. As someone who has not seen the television series, I can vouch that you never miss it. The book is a stand alone triumph.
Jones manages to pull together an amazing amount of material and information in a relatively short book, weaving social, political and religious history. As such, the book is like a survey course, which is not a bad thing at all. To see what Jones can really do when he throws all his scholarly resources and colleagues at a medieval subject, see WHO MURDERED CHAUCER? That is top-notch historical investigation and criticism that skimps on nothing.
The Dark Ages were anything but dark. July 3, 2007
Terry Jones always reminds us there are three sides to any story; this side, that side, and then the truth.
Like his book "Barbarians", "Medieval Lives", seeks to undo the one-sided story given in popular history.
We are reminded that history is in fact written by the victors, or in this case, those with the money.
The real story in history is often buried, sometimes quite literally, as shown in the excavations around England that Jones uses as evidence. He dispells the notion of the Dark Ages, as a fabrication of later times, and shows how Medieval Europe was anything but dark. In fact people lived quite rich, and innovative lives.
But more than anything, Jones tells his story in a warm, witty voice that reminds the reader of his wonderful work as a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Medieval Lives is a great read for the historian with an open mind, or for anyone who wants to learn a little and of course, laugh a little.
Vince Cook,
Chicago Illinois
I don't know how accurate this is but I loved this March 3, 2007
This was a wonderful debunking of the common view of the Middle Ages. I loved it. My only reservation is that the book is so England-centered that it mostly ignores the rest of the world. On the other hand, I think that was the original audience so who am I to complain.
Worth the time to read, and it's so engaging it won't take long.
A Scintillating Read February 18, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an excellent overview of an often misunderstood and underappreciated era. The authors present copious quanties of information, but never become pedantic or tiring. This book would be a good introduction to the era for those whose history education fell short in this respect. I've been a student of the medieval period for years and I learned a good bit that was new to me.
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