| Surveying a broad landscape through
a narrow lens, 1215 sweeps readers back eight
centuries in an absorbing
portrait of life during a time of global upheaval, the ripples of which
can still be felt today. At the center of this fascinating period is
the
document that has become the root of modern freedom: the Magna Carta.
It
was a time of political revolution and domestic change that saw the
Crusades,
Richard the Lionheart, King John, and -- in legend -- Robin Hood all
make
their marks on history.
The events leading up to King John's
setting his seal to the famous document at Runnymede in June 1215
form this rich and riveting narrative that vividly describes everyday
life
from castle to countryside, from school to church, and from hunting in
the forest to trial by ordeal. For instance, women wore no underwear
(though
men did), the average temperatures were actually higher than they are
now,
and the austere kitchen at Westminster Abbey allowed each monk two
pounds
of meat and a gallon of ale per day. Broad in scope and rich in detail,
1215 ingeniously illuminates what may
have been the most important
year of our history.
|
1215
The Year of Magna
Carta
by Danny Danziger
and John Gillingham
Touchstone,
2005
Order
a copy. |
