I was extremely disappointed with this book - so disappointed that I quit reading about a third of the way through. Duby's goal is NOT to tell us what happened, but contemporary perceptions of what happened. In his introduction he writes "My aim has been to present the medieval world through the eyes of contemporaries and, as far as possible, to experience their own perception of their place within it." p. ix

Later (and this is the point where I stopped reading), He discusses how what happened appears different from what the chroniclers believe happened and (I'm paraphrasing) he explains that since his goal was not to present what actually did happen but rather how contemporaries felt about what was happening, he would concentrate on the latter. I looked for the specific phrase to quote but didn't find it. I think that's OK though because the book is virtually not footnoted (I found 2) and has a sparse bibliography so a failure to reference specifics shouldn't bother Duby.

I wouldn't have a problem with a book that discusses how contemporaries felt about what was happening around them (there is certainly a place for these types of works and I have several) if there was any indication in any editorial summary, amazon.com product description, or even what's on the back cover of the book that this was the topic - there isn't. I've since been told this is standard for Duby (his Wikipedia entry even discusses it) and I should have known better. Unfortunately, this was one of the very early books I bought on history (the lack of footnotes alone would keep me from it today).

Anyway, this is mostly a word of caution to anyone thinking about buying this book. It's not what it's advertised as - not completely anyway. I'd donate it to my local library except I like my library. ( )

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