I am trying to get my hands on the Museum of London books, "Textiles and Clothing" and "Dress Accessories".

I know they have a museum shop, but I was trying to see if there might be a way to get them in North america before forking out the cash to get them shipped to me from the UK.

Anybody knows of a place where I could find them?

Thanks!!

Hugo

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Search Title: Dress Accessories 1150 -1450.

Jenn

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Of course, looking around _before_ asking questions is always the best thing to do!

I ordered them out from amazon.ca. I received Dress accessories earlier this week, expect textile to show up later this month. I also got Pleynit Delit (sp?) for a nicely rounded package!

My next step is to get the other 2 MoL books, as well as Medievla Tailor Assistant.

General history?

Arms and Armour?

Jenn

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quote:

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Originally posted by Hugo:
I'm getting a pretty decent reference library built up. Any other suggestions?

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Well, it depends what other activities and time periods you're interested in, of course. There's the other books in the Museum of London series, some of which are available via Amazon -- Shoes and Pattens, Knives and Scabbards, and Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges.

I know that the MoL books are considered by many to be the cornerstone of a good reference library for medieval reenactors. I am looking for other books considered "Essentials".

Mostly interested in 15th c. England, and all topics are game: daily life, legal system, nobility and estate structure, guilds, urban development, military, anything!!

Note: I'm not looking for a list of all books written about these subjects, only those you consider essential to have for the serious medieval enthusiast, books that form the _core_ of a good reference library.

Many thanks!!

quote:

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Originally posted by Hugo:
Mostly interested in 15th c. England, and all topics are game: daily life, legal system, nobility and estate structure, guilds, urban development, military, anything!!

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Well, for 15th century England, get yourself a good edition of the Paston Letters. Some of them are online too, at the Electronic Text Center at UVa, but the commentary in some of the modern editions is remarkably useful. (I think the one I'd read was the Gies' A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England, but I can't remember for sure.)

The Babees Book, which is also online.

The above are my strongest suggestions for your library -- the following, perhaps not so much so, but good reads nonetheless, moreso if you're interested in those particular subjects.

The Great Household in Late Medieval England, by C. M. Woolgar; English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages by Chris Given-Wilson.

Cookbooks: Take a Thousand Eggs or More by Cindy Renfrow, and Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books ed. Thomas Austin. (You'll find a few 15th century cookbooks online too.) Viandier of Taillevent would be good to have, as well.

Fighting & warfare: Codex Wallerstein by Zabinski & Walczak, Medieval Combat (Talhoffer). Look around at Chivalry Bookshelf for books on combat and tournaments. (For more on tournaments, maybe Clephan's Medieval Tournament and/or Barber's Tournaments.) Perhaps also Christine de Pizan's Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry. Some books on the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses, too.

Contemporary literature: Look for works by Christine de Pizan; the Decameron; perhaps some morality plays and/or miracle plays; Mallory's Morte d'Arthur; and perhaps, while I'm recommending literature, works by Robert Henryson, Thomas Hoccleve, John Lydgate. I like to recommend Tirant lo Blanc, too, while we're in a somewhat literary vein, and from prior centuries, how 'bout I add Chaucer & Gower, and a heaping helping of lais and romances to the stack.

One thing you will note is it is extremely Burgundian/Continental in orientation (naturally since that's what we do ).

WA limited bibliography

There's a few things there that might be of interest from the casual observor's POV. Like I said it's way out of date.

(edited because there are days when I can't write a sentence to save my life.)

[ 03-24-2004: Message edited by: Fire Stryker ]

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quote:

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Originally posted by Hugo:

Mostly interested in 15th c. England, and all topics are game: daily life, legal system, nobility and estate structure, guilds, urban development, military, anything!!

Note: I'm not looking for a list of all books written about these subjects, only those you consider essential to have for the serious medieval enthusiast, books that form the _core_ of a good reference library.

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Ok here is my list. Everyone is on my bookshelf and these are the ones I pull down.

_English society in the Later Middle Ages 1348-1500_ by Maurice Keen. I would say it is a must have if it wasn't out of print.

_Standards of living in the Later Middle Ages_ by Christopher Dyer

_The Ties that Bound:Peasant Families in Medieval England_ by Barbara Hanawalt, it is irresponsible to talk about late medieval english social history without having read this book.

_Growing up in Medieval London_ by Barbara Hanawalt

_The Pastons and their England_ by H.S. Bennet, old but deals with the Paston letters thematically.

_Henry V_ by Christopher Allmand
_The Reign of King Henry VI_ by Griffiths
_Edward IV_ by Ross
_Richard III_ by Ross

_Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses_ by P. Haigh

While I have never had alot of need for pulling down books on law and I'm assuming you mean secular law the books I would pull were
_On the Laws and Governance of England_ By Sir John Fortescue which is mostly theory.

There really isn't a good book on law in 15th century England its also not as heavily explored as 13th century English law.

The book I have on my bookshelf where I would begin is _The criminal Trial in later medieval England_ by JG Bellamy.

Books I'd like to second.
_The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses_ by Andrew W. Boardman,
Gies' A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England,

Avoid the Gies books except that one as they deal mostly with the 13th century.

Great list! It's exactly what I was looking for: the stuff you _need_ to have read before you can even talk about the subject!

I'll let you know how the thing develops!

"The Wars of the Roses-From Richard II to the fall of Richard III at Bosworth Field seen through the eyes of their contemporaries"
Edited by Elizabeth Hallam
I like this book because it's made up of innumerable short "articles", so you can pick it up nearly anywhere and start reading. perfect for reading in the loo!

York Archaeological Trust

quote:

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Originally posted by Karen Larsdatter:
Shoes and Pattens, Knives and Scabbards, and Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges.
).

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J

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quote:

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Originally posted by Wolf:
besides the ones listed above along with textiles and clothing and dress accessories, are these the only 5 MOL books?

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Likwise the Bennet';s The Pastons and their England. Essential reading.

I would also recommend:
Medieval Women - Henrietta Leyser Ted Smart.
Purely because few books deal with women of the period and this book puts a lot of nonsense to bed. Such as employment, ie not all women were stuck to the kitchen.

also
Women in the Medieval town and city by Ulrika Uitz.
A translated german book mainly concentrating on germany and France. Some very interesting general information on how different towns had different laws governing rights etc. And some nice illustrations.

To get into to the language or at least to help understand it more I would really recommend:
The Oxford Book of Late Medieval Prose.
Edited by Douglas Gray
Oxford press

A really packed book full of poetry, letters, recipes, religion, prose the lot. I still have my rather raggy second hand volume and it is a treasure.

On the Pastons you could try
Private Life in the Fifteenth century
Roger Virgoe
Weidenfield and Nicholson.

less in depth than the Bennet but has pictures to back things up that Bennet lacks.

Wars of the Roses by Goodman.
can't remember the publisher but written in early eighties and a very good read.

They are good for a social perspective.

Also even if you may not be interested in medieval literature as I am not in particular you will find in anthologies as in teh Oxfod book of late medieval verse and prose a lot more back ground info than the average coffee table history book. because it may be too boring for the man in the street.

best of luck

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