Social History Resources

[The Big Peat]

Alreet peeps,

Little research question. I'm looking for some good reading material for fleshing out the everyday details of Ye Olde Life(e?).

Any period, any part of the world - I'm all up for culture blending and besides, this might be useful for other people with interests other than mine; books, websites, YouTube videos... anything and everything. Tell me the good stuff you use for this.

Thanks to all

 

[Toby Frost]

Ian Mortimer wrote two very useful books: A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England and A Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England.

 

[night_wrtr]

I heard good things about The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World by Robert Garland. I've had it on my list of things to check out, but haven't managed to get there yet. It is a lecture that you can find on Audible. Here is the description:

Spoiler

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

The past truly comes alive as you take a series of imaginative leaps into the world of history's anonymous citizens, people such as a Greek soldier marching into battle in the front row of a phalanx; an Egyptian woman putting on makeup before attending an evening party with her husband; a Greek citizen relaxing at a drinking party with the likes of Socrates; a Roman slave captured in war and sent to work in the mines; and a Celtic monk scurrying away with the Book of Kells during a Viking invasion.

Put yourself in the sandals of ordinary people and discover what it was like to be among history's 99%. What did these everyday people do for a living? What was their home like? What did they eat? What did they wear? What did they do to relax? What were their beliefs about marriage? Religion? The afterlife?

This extraordinary journey takes you across space and time in an effort to be another person - someone with whom you might not think you have anything at all in common - and come away with an incredible sense of interconnectedness. You'll see the range of possibilities of what it means to be human, making this a journey very much worth taking.
[/spolier]

 

[sknox]

Do a search on "daily life" in <fill in era/country of choice>. There's a bucketful.

One that's easy to lay hands on is the Gies books. Frances and Joseph Gies wrote a series of books entitled "Life in ..." a castle, a town, a village. All medieval Europe. Their material leans heavily on late medieval England, but that's the stereotype of the Middle Ages most English-speakers have anyway. There are also good scholarly books (= get them from a library because they're too expensive to buy) on specific topics, such as the poor in Renaissance Italy, or London merchants, or sailors and ship captains.

And, for general overviews, go back to your social history topic. "social history of the middle ages" or "social history of tokugawa japan" and so on.

I tend not to recommend specific books because what is exactly right for one person is too obscure for another, and old news to a third. You have to do some research on titles and judge for yourself.

 

[Brian G Turner]

'm looking for some good reading material for fleshing out the everyday details of Ye Olde Life(e?).

Do a search on "daily life" in <fill in era/country of choice>. There's a bucketful.

Yes - There are a load of books on Amazon titled "Daily Life in" and your culture of interest.

I accidentally went on a binge with these: Byzantine Empire, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Mediaeval Islamic World, Chaucer's England, Pagan Celts, and probably a few more.

 

[CTRandall]

Very different world but Elliot West has a number of essays on European settlement of the American West and relations with Native Americans. Not all of them give information about day-to-day life but "Child’s Play: Tradition and Adaptation on the Frontier" has some hilarious insights into what it was like to grow up on the frontier and it paints a vivid picture about what it means to raise an entire generation that is essentially alien to its parents. Plus, you'll never look at a dead cow the same way again (if you've ever looked at a dead cow before).

His essays appear in a collection titled "The Essential West" but, unless you're interested in the topic generally, you probably don't want the whole collection.

 

[The Big Peat]

You have to do some research on titles and judge for yourself.

Well that's what I'm trying to do here - get some titles so I can have a look for myself!


Thanks for the help so far everyone.

 

[Toby Frost]

One small thought re research: sometimes, the details of how we think Ye Olde Times should have been clash with the reality of how they actually were, and anyone making a second-world fantasy story has to make the choice. It appears that many medieval churches were brightly-painted, for instance, but this clashes with the miserable, oppressive image a lot of stories have of the church back then, and readers might be expecting drab grey stone instead.

 

[The Big Peat]

One small thought re research: sometimes, the details of how we think Ye Olde Times should have been clash with the reality of how they actually were, and anyone making a second-world fantasy story has to make the choice. It appears that many medieval churches were brightly-painted, for instance, but this clashes with the miserable, oppressive image a lot of stories have of the church back then, and readers might be expecting drab grey stone instead.

A good and valid point.

But I would contend that readers are always looking to have their expectations challenged to at least a certain degree. Present your differences vividly, logically and enticingly, and you've moved yourself a little closer to success.


In any case, certainly with secondary world, the purpose of close historical research is never so one has to ape it whole, but to give one a coherent model to work from.

 

[Juliana]

I'm sure @Phyrebrat and @The Judge will be along soon with more suggestions. (Tagging so they don't miss this!)

 

[sknox]

Not trying to be a jerk here, but I have to repeat that what is a good reference for one writer is useless to another. I have a big list of social history works, but they're all scholarly publications. I've been wading knee-deep in them for forty years. It's probably not the list you want and anyway most of it is on paper and note cards.

Also, there's simply no substitute for doing the bibliographic research. Among other benefits, you'll find stuff that may not be useful for one project but which can go into your backpack for use another time. It's not wasted motion and it really doesn't take all that much time.

But perhaps I can be a little more helpful. Try this for a search string
daily life in medieval england bibliography
if you want to scope in on more scholarly works, this will work
daily life in medieval england bibliography site:edu
if you want to exclude material, do this
daily life in medieval england bibliography -elizabethan -tudor
and if you want to include specifics, use quote marks
daily life in medieval england "henry iii" bibliography

Lately I've taken to doing a search to build a preliminary list, then I go to Amazon and to Google Books to do the equivalent of a library browse. I look at the cover, take a peek at the ToC if it's offered, read a sample if I can to get a sense of the readability.

 

[night_wrtr]

Not trying to be a jerk here, but I have to repeat that what is a good reference for one writer is useless to another.

That's true for just about anything. He can decide what will or won't work. Throwing out a few suggestions about what has helped or has useful info that he can look into further is what he's asking for. Especially other media that he may not have used.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Yes, but Peat is asking for tips and pointers, not planning a thesis.

I'm sure @Phyrebrat and @The Judge will be along soon with more suggestions. (Tagging so they don't miss this!)

Hi,

Sorry no tag notification. I have the medieval time traveller and a Victorian one but I’m not sure you’d learn anything new, Peat. I’ll bring them to the next meet.

pH

 

[Juliana]

Yes, but Peat is asking for tips and pointers, not planning a thesis.

 

[The Judge]

Nope, the tagging didn't work for me, either.

Anyhow, we actually have a couple of thread about books which are useful for world-building thanks to Phyrebrat asking much the same question a couple of years ago, in his case about the C18th:

• The first in time was 1700s, Regency and Victorian worldbuilding (I've picked up a few more books on that period since then, so I really ought to get round to adding some more recommendations there.)

• Then Teresa created another thread for the 7th to 17th centuries Resources for Worldbuilders 7th through 17th centuries NB I'd also recommend the Gies' Life in a Medieval Village/City/Castle -- of the three, I found the village one most interesting and useful.

TV wise there was a BBC series about farming/gardening in different eras, but which necessarily covered other general issues. I watched part of the Tudor Monastery Farm one and I've got the book which came out afterwards. I don't know if they've got DVDs of it available for sale, or if there are any snippets on YouTube but it might be worth looking. Similarly there was a series on sweet-making which was very interesting, and again there might be DVDs/YouTube highlights available.

And since this is a resource question, I'll move this over to Writing Resources with the other two threads.