The book being reviewed this month is A Medieval Miscellany, selected and edited by Judith Herrin. This book is exactly what it claims to be, a selection of miscellaneous Medieval topics.
I find this book to be highly amusing. It is a selection of actual Medieval texts that deal with a wide variety of subjects, from mutual love to ugly feet to death and burial. There are fascinating little tidbits, like the “Miracle of the Testicles” and “A Miraculous Cure for Depression”. Although this is not necessarily a book that one can just pick up and read through, it is a wonderful source of interesting little pieces of information that provide a unique insight into the world we are trying to recreate.
The selections are taken from Medieval texts ranging from the sixth to the fifteenth century. There is a short introduction to the selection itself, usually explaining the text from which this selection was taken. The sources for all the texts are provided as well, so you can see exactly when and where something was written. If you are really interested in the source, you can try to find the full manuscript or book. Some of these are available online.
However, this book is not all words, it is also filled with illustrations from Medieval manuscripts (but of course we would all just read this for the articles and not the pictures). Every page has color reproductions of pictures or whole pages from period texts. Many are ones that I have not seen in other sources. The full source information for all illustrations is also provided in this book.
All in all, it is interesting and entertaining, at times funny, at times disturbing. It provides us with a glimpse through the eyes of the people who truly lived in and experienced the Middle Ages, the good and the bad, the mundane and the magical.
I would recommend this book as a good addition to any Medieval bookshelf. It is fun to be able to pull out an amusing tidbit to entertain your friends at feast or just to peruse the book and look at the pictures or read any article that tickles your fancy. It is filled with unique information about life in those times and the words of the people who lived then.
Herrin, Judith, ed.. A Medieval Miscellany.
London: Weidenfield & Nicolson Illustrated Books, 1999.
ISBN 0 297 82483
A Medieval Miscellany is currently available on Amazon.com for $37.50, however, there are many copies available for less that are also new or used.
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