Medieval People

Eileen Power invites listeners to step inside medieval life by focusing on ordinary people rather than famous monarchs. Through vivid sketches of a peasant named Bodo, a Venetian trader echoing Marco Polo, a nun in a cloister, and a middle‑class household’s matriarch, the book paints daily routines, economic ties, and social customs that shaped the era. Each portrait draws on a variety of authentic sources—manorial records, travel chronicles, household manuals, family letters, and wills—bringing the texture of the past to life.

The narrative treats social history as a series of personal stories, showing how trade, agriculture, and domestic arrangements intertwined across the centuries. Listeners will hear about the wool trade’s bustling hubs, the cloth industry in East Anglia, and the quiet rhythms of monastic devotion, all framed by the same human desires for security, love, and learning. This approach makes the medieval world feel immediate and relatable, offering a fresh lens on a period often seen only through grand battles and royal courts.