When Knights Were Bold: Medieval Life; the Military Castles and Crusades, and the Towns, Guilds and Education of the Middle Ages

by Eva March Tappan

Medieval times for the military and for citizens, for wealthy or poor, for the farm worker and the intellectual, stand in deep contrast to modern times - this detailed and illustrated history delves into major facets of life in the Middle Ages. We hear how knights spent years in training as pages and squires, and how jousting tourneys between knights on horseback were popular entertainment. The architectural design of castles required advances in siege warfare; wars raged during most of the era. Yet these mighty structures in peaceable times served not merely a military purpose - the courts and feasts of kings and nobles, and the music and arts of Medieval times, commonly ensued in a castle setting. The economic system was called feudalism; whereby peasants worked a Lord's land, and swore an oath of fealty to his service. Some 110 illustrations accompany the explanations of life; plans of castles, drawings of town life, of armored knights and social gatherings. These fine sketches breathe further life into the author's narration, and their style is influenced by Medieval paintings and tapestries. The monastic origins of formal education and scientific culture, and events in the busy towns and cities, are described with accuracy and example. Eva March Tappan's abundant experiences as historian, author and teacher are evidenced by the high quality of her writing.

Genres: History, Medieval

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Eva March Tappan was a teacher and American author born in Blackstone, Massachusetts, the only child of Reverend Edmund March Tappan and Lucretia Logée. Eva graduated from Vassar College in 1875. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and an editor of the Vassar Miscellany. After leaving Vassar she began teaching at Wheaton College where she taught Latin and German from 1875 until 1880. From 1884–94 she was the Associate Principal at the Raymond Academy in Camden, New Jersey. She received graduate degrees in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Tappan was the head of the English department at the English High School at Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her literary career writing about famous characters in history and developed an interest in writing children books. Tappan never married.

Reviews

[Claudia]

This book is full of fascinating information about life in the middle ages. It's very readable and entertaining. This is not a dry history book. As a former science teacher, I was particularly interested in the science and medicine chapter.

[Sarah]

A truly interesting look at medieval life, from pages and knights to monks and kings.

[Lucy-Bookworm]

This is an interesting exploration of medieval life, focussing heavily on Knights & Monks but with plenty of interesting information about daily life, trade, the customs & rituals of knights/pages/squires, merchant guilds, education and much more.
The discussion of pages, squires, knights and their lieges was interesting, as was the in depth look at how the merchant & craftsmans guilds operated.
I liked the section focussing on the The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, and the way their focus changed & adapted from purely aiding sick & injured pilgrims to the Holy Land, to providing pilgrims with an armed escort before eventually becoming a significant military force.

This book was originally published in 1911 and whilst it does show its age at time, it remains a very readable and informative book that gave me new information in an enjoyable way.

[Cynthia]

I loved how antiquated this book is. The writing was a bit hard to read but I loved how it gave insight into Medieval times. I especially liked the chapter about chivalry. A fun read for anyone interested in knights, castles and life way back then.

[Sophie Jagau]

loved it. a bit dull at times, but overall, it's very nice.

[Amanda]

Great illustrations and good information. Easy to read. My students will love it!

[Ashley]

I think the author did a good job of explaining what it meant to be a knight, and presented the information in a way that was easy to follow.

[Phil Syphe]

The narrative is engaging, not dry, which in my opinion is always a plus point in non-fiction.

Despite the title, the subject focuses on all aspects of the middle ages, and except for two chapters, all proved interesting to read. I like best the opening chapters that are specifically about a knight’s life and how a man rose from being a humble page to knighthood.

[Isaac F]

I learned alot about the medieval times. The book also was very hard to follow but it did explain alot in a short amount of time. It did acount much to the lifestyle of knights it basically focused on everything else.

[Brooke]

This book was pretty good- and deserves props for several understated sarcastic commentaries on the facts being imparted- but overall, the agenda seemed to be making the Middle Ages sound as much like the early 20th century as it could.

[Laura Quilter]

When knights were bold by Eva March Tappan (1911)