London, A Fourteenth-Century City and its People
When I was asked if I wanted to review this book, it is another I jumped at the chance, and it also jumped the queue in reading. Having a rounded idea of the period is a great way to help understand medieval combat and self defence in context. This is a really good book. Full of 14th century evidence divided up into various categories. The ones that appealed to me most were Theft, Assault, Murder, Defence and Curfew.
These are great snippets to add context to teaching.
This doesn’t feel like a read in one go book. It is a more a useful resource to have on your desk for research.
I’m not going to rattle off all the facts in the book, of which there are a metric ton – the intro jumped out..
London in the 14th century was probably 10 times bigger than other cities in the Realm with around 80,000 residents.
as did…
The murder rate in 14th Century London was 15 to 20 times higher than a modern day town of a similar size.
The great thing about these snippets is they will lead to further research. This is a must have book for anyone reenacting or researching 14th century london.
It is a fascinating read and will go onto my permanent bookshelf.
You can buy the book here from Pen and Sword books.
Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.
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