Questions About The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century

by Ian Mortimer (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (2)

I'm interested in the trades & artisans of Medieval England. Anything about blacksmiths, goldsmiths, metalsmiths, etc in this book?

Jeffrey He does talk about the problem of fraudulent merchants and how they were often locked up in stocks in the public squares. Another point worth thinking…moreHe does talk about the problem of fraudulent merchants and how they were often locked up in stocks in the public squares. Another point worth thinking about in relation to the trades was just how unimproved and dangerous it was to transport goods in the 14th century. There were no maps. Getting from one place to another was simply a matter of heading off in the general direction of your destination and asking at each stop along the way. There were some old Roman highways still around but they were only kept up when the King, who was at least early in the century a frequent traveller, was heading that way. Robbers and tolls were a fact of life. It's amazing to me that any merchant could have made money back then. I guess one reason it was possible was because wages for their apprentices were so low. There was way more labour supply than demand. I would suggest reading the book not for specifics on the trades you mention, but more for setting the context around goods of that period. If you're a collector, I'm certain you'll appreciate your collection all the more knowing what an artisan had to do to produce the product that's made its way to your century.(less)

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Did this book have many Picture?

Nicole Not really throughout the book but there are two sections of 8 pages of coloured high-quality pictures.

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