Medieval society was obsessed with conformity. This is an account of the men and women who could not or would not observe the conventions of their times, such as homosexuals, heretics, prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds and fraudulent beggars.
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About the Author
Andrew McCall is a writer of popular history and a writer on advertising and television. His other books include The Mistress and the Ghastly Guest Book.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
There are no superlatives available to describe the excellence of this book. McCall manages to write a work that is not inly informative but also witty, thought-provoking and at times darkly humourous. This book has altered my perceptions of medieval life and moreover it has sparked such a fascination in medieval history for me that I have now applied to study History at University instead of Law. A must read for any budding medieval historian!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars
8 reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
"an hysterical fear of witches produced hysterical witches"
18 April 2004
By mwreview
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The Medieval Underworld, first published in 1979, caught my eye because of its very intriguing title and cover artwork. Although its subject matter will attract a lot of casual readers, I found the text to be at the level of a graduate student in Medieval studies. Andrew McCall's writing style does not help the less knowledgeable reader gain more wisdom on this subject as he often writes in very long and complex sentences. One sentence on page 53 is 124 words long! The author assumes quite a bit of previous knowledge on the part of the reader. Students of Medieval times will no doubt find this book very useful as it touches on fringe groups of Medieval society that may not be covered as thoroughly in other works. For casual readers, the book is very interesting but challenging. It is not a book to read on a lunch break at the office or in a noisy waiting room. It is a type of book that demands full concentration.
Briefly, this is what the book offers: The first chapter (8 pages) briefly examines two obvious questions stemming from the title: what are the Middle Ages and who consists of the "underworld"? McCall describes the underworld as "people unwilling or unable to comply with the laws of Medieval society" (p. 11). The second chapter (22 pages) examines church, state, and sin; in particular, Canon law versus secular law. Next is a 41-page look at crime and punishment. Such forms of punishment examined are compurgation (public swearing on oath), ordeal by boiling water, fire, and cold water, trial by battle (with several cool examples of its use), torture, and corporal punishment. Chapter four describes bandits, freebooters, and outlaws (51 pages). Many of such criminals were professional soldiers not paid during peacetime and hiding in the woods and wreaking havoc on unfortunate travelers who encountered them. Chapter five (46 pages) looks at thieves and beggars, including lepers, fake medicine men, counterfeiters, and other scam artists. Prostitutes are examined next. The Medieval names for brothel areas is one interesting (and humorous) footnote to this chapter (pg. 191). The next two chapters are on homosexuals (11 pages) and heretics (28 pages). The latter chapter includes a look at flagellants who would endure public displays of self-mutilation. Chapter 19 (21 pages) covers sorcerers and witches and chapter 10 is a very interesting examination of anti-Semitism (26 pages). The last chapter is a very brief look at Hell through Dante's Divine Comedy (4 pages).
The book has many illustrations, footnotes, a bibliography section, and an index. Although the text is difficult at times and could have been written more clearly, if a reader is up to the challenge, this book is very interesting and can be quite entertaining.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An amusing and poignant look at medieval society
6 Aug 2000
By thundercracker1978
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
A very accessable work to both the casual reader and the lay historian alike. But serious scholars of medieval European history will doubtless enjoy this book far more. McCall doesn't offer an in-depth analysis of the "fringe" elements of medieval Europe so much a brief description of the society that produced them and recounts many of the escapades of some of the more colorful individuals of the time. This is a fun book that left me laughing out loud at times and furthers the historian's creed: "The more things change the more they stay the same."
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
book badly in need of an editor
30 Aug 2003
By E. Atkinson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
While this book contains a great deal of information, sifting it from the confused writing style used to explain the information is the major challenge. The information is good and often illuminating, however it reads like a legal document. As noted above it badly needed an editor.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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